Live Updates
  • Liverpool remain seven points behind Manchester United after a drab draw at Anfield.
  • David De Gea produces another superb save in first-half to deny Joel Matip.
  • Romelu Lukaku wastes United's best chance of the game in otherwise toothless performance from Jose Mourinho's side.
Jose Mourinho
Getty

Full-time: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United

Here's United's last change and it's a Premier League debut for Victor Lindeolf who is on for Young.

The cross comes into Lovren but he can't keep his header down and sends it over the bar.

Three minutes of time added on; Lukaku heads away that corner but the home side immediately win another one which Oxlade-Chamberlain will take again.

Liverpool are applying all the pressure in these final minutes. United look satisfied with a point here but the home side have a corner...

Jurgen Klopp's last throw of the dice; Dominic Solanke comes on for Firmino.

Just over five minutes remaining at Anfield. United have been turgid in this second half but Liverpool are still struggling to find that cutting edge despite the introduction of Sturridge.

And here come those changes, Salah and Coutinho make way for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sturridge. That means Klopp is keeping with the midfield three of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Can.

Now it's Klopp's turn to make changes, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Daniel Sturridge are both preparing to come on.

Another chance for Liverpool. It's fine build up play with Coutinho lifting a superb ball over through the inside left channel for Firmino, who is in loads of space with Antonio Valencia gone AWOL. He tries to loft a ball over to the far post where Salah is waiting but just overhits his ball.

And Mourinho follows that up by introducing Marcus Rashford, who is onto replace Martial.

Here's United's firs change of the game and Jesse Lingard is on for Mkhitaryan. The Armenian has been invisible for most of this match, it is a much needed change for United.

Huge chance for Can! Smalling and Herrera get themselves in a right mess, inviting pressure on themselves as Liverpool rush onto the loose ball. Play is switched to Gomez who swings in a delightful ball to Can who from six yards out gets his effort all wrong, hammering clean over the bar.

Coutinho again works some magic, scampering past Herrera through the middle before sliding a ball through for Firmino, but the Liverpool forward is just offside as the ball reaches him. De Gea makes the stop anyway.

It's been a sloppy start from United in the opening minutes of the second half with Coutinho finding more and more space to pick his way through.

And we are back underway for the second half.

Half-time: Liverpool 0-0 Manchester United

Lukaku denied! United's best move of the match frees the Belgian after a neat combination with Matic but the Belgian fires straight at Mignolet.

Again it's wasted by United however; they haven't tested Liverpool's fragile back line once so far this afternoon.

Five minutes of the first half remain and United have a corner.

De Gea rescues United! Firmino easily drags the ball past Darmian and pings a ball across goal where Matip is on the spot to hammer on goal. The United goalkeeper produces an astounding reaction save to keep it out, however, with Salah dragging the rebound wide.

United work a nice move down the right with Herrera flinging an inviting ball down the inside channel for Young to run onto. He cuts a cross back to the edge of the box where Matic meets it with a sweet half volley, but his effort veers just over the cross bar.

Lukaku gets on the ball for the first time out on the right, lacking support but does well to hold onto the ball before shifting inside. He looks across goal for Martial on the opposite flank but he overhits his cross.

United have been desperately poor in possession over the last 10 minutes but Martial finally gets a break out on the left, racing towards Matip who lazily sticks out a leg to bring the United forward down for a free kick.

Salah takes an awful dive on the edge of the United box after skipping past Jones but Martin Atkinson waves play on. It is Liverpool applying all the pressure at the moment; Romelu Lukaku is not getting a sniff at the moment.

Liverpool are having the greater share of possession at the moment but that fast start to the game has evaporated pretty quickly. Wijnaldum tries an effort from distance but it is easy stuff for De Gea to collect.

It's end to end at the moment, but with no real quality from either side. Poor passing, poor first touches... but hey, at least it's lively.

Martial dupes Gomez out on the left and somehow manages to keep the ball in play, allowing the Frenchman to drive at the Liverpool backline for the first time. He opts to take on an early shot however which is blocked at the first time of asking.

Matip clears to the edge of the box where Darmian tries to hook the ball back into the danger zone but loops it long and out for a goal kick.

Valencia skips his way down the right flank and wins the first corner of the game for United. First real test of that Liverpool defence.

And we are off and underway at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp on his selection plans this afternoon

"I thought it makes sense to bring in a strong line-up and in the end that was the result. I'm happy.

"We know Sadio's not available and that is not the best news, but when all the other boys came back in good shape, feeling good and looking forward to the game it was not too difficult.

"I have to say, a few decisions were close because a lot of players were in good shape before we left for the international break, but it was a decision for today and I hope it will work out."

Jose Mourinho on his selection plans this afternoon

"I don't think we have many options. Fellaini was injured with the national team, Bailly was injured with the national team and Rashford was injured with the national team. We don't have many options.

"I never complain about that. I was just mentioning it to you because the next question is maybe why is Rashford not playing? Why is Bailly not even on the bench? But, okay, since the moment we know the players we have available, we thought about the match and we thought about our options and we made these decisions." [via Sky Sports]

United didn't touch upon those injuries to Eric Bailly and Marcus Rashford during Friday's press conference but the former doesn't make the squad today while the latter is only fit enough for the bench.

Jose Mourinho makes three changes to his side - two of those enforced. Marouane Fellaini suffered a knee ligament injury while on international duty with Belgium so Ander Herrera comes into replace him in the middle of the park with Anthony Martial in for Marcus Rashford, who picked up a knock while on international duty with England.

Matteo Darmian comes in at left-back while Ashley Young starts on the right of Mourinho's attack. Chris Smalling comes in at centre-half with Eric Bailly another injury victim after the international break.

Jurgen Klopp makes two changes to the side that drew with Newcastle United prior to the international break. With Sadio Mane ruled out, Philippe Coutinho moves forward to join Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino in that front three, with the Brazilian replacing Daniel Sturridge up top. Emre Can comes in to strengthen that midfield alongside Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum.

Sturridge, Dominic Solanke and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain offer support on the bench.

BREAKING: Manchester United confirm both Eric Bailly and Marcus Rashford picked up injuries during the international break which rule them out of the starting XI this afternoon.

Manchester United team to face Liverpool: De Gea, Valencia, Jones, Smalling, Darmian, Herrera, Matic, Young, Mkhitayran, Martial, Lukaku

Subs: Romero, Blind, Lindelof, Tuanzebe, Lingard, Mata, Rashford

Liverpool team to face Manchester United: Mignolet, Gomez, Matip, Lovren, Moreno, Henderson, Can, Wijnaldum, Salah, Coutinho, Firmino.

Subs: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Klavan, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sturridge, Solanke.

BREAKING: Anthony Martial preferred on the left of attack over Marcus Rashford, Matteo Darmian starts at left-back.

BREAKING: Philippe Coutinho joins Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino up front, Emre Can starts in midfield.

Coutinho and Fimino only arrived back in Liverpool on Thursday [12 October] but manager Jurgen Klopp has no concerns over their condition and will have no hesitation in playing them against United.

"We work close together with other clubs to bring South American players home. Phil played two games, Roberto five minutes. They had a long flight.. but it was pretty comfortable. I saw the price! They should be okay."

Team news: Manchester United

There was some good news from the United camp, however, with Romelu Lukaku "fine" according to his boss after an ankle injury scare during the international break.

Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku suffered an injury scare while on international duty with Belgium Getty

Team news: Manchester United

Midfield options are dwindling fast at Old Trafford with Michael Carrick also unavailable today with an injury that also saw him miss victories against CSKA Moscow and Crystal Palace prior to the international break. Paul Pogba's absence is well documented as he continues to recover from a hamstring problem, leaving Jose Mourinho with the first-team options of Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic in the middle of the park.

Who is in reserve? Scott McTominay is the only other midfielder in the squad, although the manager did turn to Axel Tuanzebe to fill in as a defensive midfielder towards the end of last season.

Axel Tuanzebe
Reuters

Team news: Manchester United

Once upon a time, the sight of Manchester United fans bemoaning the loss of Marouane Fellaini would have been greeted with some rather quizzical looks. But given the damage the big Belgian is prone to causing to defences as muddled as Liverpool's, his presence will be sorely missed today.

Fellaini was cleared to play in last Saturday's (7 October) penultimate 2018 World Cup qualifier against Bosnia and Herzegovina by manager Roberto Martinez. His evening lasted just 29 minutes however after picking up a knock that forced him to be substituted, with Anderlecht's Leander Dendoncker onto replace him.

United might have breathed a slight sigh of a relief given their midfielder escaped without cruciate ligament damage which would have extended his time in the treatment room from weeks to months. But the injury was enough to rule him out of the next couple of weeks.

Fellaini
Fellaini managed just 29 minutes before he was forced off in Saturday's qualifier against Bosnia. Getty

Team news: Liverpool

While Mane is a major loss, a resurgent Philippe Coutinho is expected to come straight into that attacking trio. Both he and Roberto Firmino came through the international break unscathed, returning to Merseyside on Thursday to resume first-team training.

Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho
The Brazil pair will return for their clubs despite their international exploits. Getty Images

Team news: Liverpool

Probably the worst possible scenario for Liverpool unfolded during the international break; Sadio Mane returned to Merseyside carrying a hamstring injury which will rule him out for six weeks. It means the front three of the Senegalese, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino is disrupted.

Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana also remain on the sidelines with respective back and calf problems, although the latter is closing in on a return.

Sadio Mane

With both sides a bit battered and bruised after the much-loved October international break, Liverpool and Manchester United collide at Anfield for the first time this season both looking to send a very clear message.

A win for Jose Mourinho's side will see them open up a 10-point gap over their rivals and more importantly, silence those to suggest their impressive start to the season has been facilitated by an easy run of fixtures. A win in their first major test of campaign at the home of their most hated rivals will speak volumes.

For Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool, they have already slipped off the pace somewhat with a 5-0 hammering to Manchester City underlining the gap between them and the title favourites that grew over the summer. Halting United's surge will not only bring their rivals crashing back down to reality, but lift spirits after a sobering start to the season.

Stick around, all your team news is on the way.