Grosvenor Sport ambassador Jamie O’Hara previews the huge collision of Liverpool and Manchester United on Sunday, as well as two other key Matchweek 26 fixtures in Manchester City v Newcastle and Wolves v Tottenham.
Manchester City v Newcastle, Saturday 12:30 GMT
Score prediction: Manchester City 2 – 1 Newcastle 8/1
Anytime goalscorer: Erling Haaland 10/11
Eddie Howe will be gutted about Newcastle’s loss in the Carabao Cup final but they will be back, there is no way this club will be going anywhere. They aren’t going to be waiting around to get into any more finals; they are going to invest in players and they’re now going to be a real force.
It isn’t the big six anymore, it is the big seven. Newcastle are amongst it and they aren’t going anywhere.
It’s a massive game, it’s a huge game for Manchester City, they have to win, they can’t afford to lose. Arsenal have set such a pace in the league that Manchester City just can’t afford to lose a game if they want to win the title.
We keep talking about Arsenal and how they will crumble but Manchester City have got to catch them! Arsenal might slip up, but I’m not sure City will definitely catch them if they do. This isn’t the 100-point Man City of the past that was dominating teams and winning four or five nil every week. This team is finding it harder to get results.
Newcastle have dipped in form, and they have struggled a little bit, but I don’t think it will be a stroll in the park for City. I’ll go for a City win because they need it! I think it will be 2-1 and Erling Haaland will silence his critics once again.
Wolves v Tottenham, Saturday 15:00 GMT
Score prediction: Wolves 1 – 2 Tottenham 9/1
Anytime goalscorer: Harry Kane 29/20
This is a tough game for Tottenham. It’s a tough game. I know Wolves were beaten by Liverpool, but they were decent for large parts of the game, and they have some good players. I actually enjoy watching Wolves. Ruben Neves for me is a top player, he is another one that the likes of Manchester United will try and look at in the summer.
I don’t know what Tottenham is going to turn up, it’s so hard to predict which one will. If Spurs with Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski turn up and play exciting football like they can and they move the ball quickly and press the opposition, then of course they will win the game. They are in the fourth spot after all!
I can’t see Wolves going down, they are too good. They have a top manager, and you think this season the teams that have picked correctly with managers are going to be the teams that’s stay up. They had a really bad start to the season, but you watch them now and they look like a Wolves team; they can produce a brilliant performance and they have some really good players, so there is no way they go down this season.
I’ll go 2-1 Tottenham, because they will turn up. Harry Kane has fresh legs, and the team are under the cosh a bit after that performance so they will go for it.
I’m going to go with 2-1 to Spurs and Harry Kane to score, he is the only one that does score for Spurs at the minute.
Liverpool v Manchester United, Sunday 16:30 GMT
Score prediction: Liverpool 2 – 2 Manchester United 11/1
Anytime goalscorer: Mohamed Salah 33/20
Erik ten Hag is the real deal by the way. What a manager he is. He is unreal. I’m gutted Spurs didn’t get him a few years ago when he was available. I bet other teams are looking at him and wondering how they didn’t find him when he wasn’t on Manchester United’s radar, because he is fantastic.
He has improved every single player in the team, he has changed the whole philosophy of the football club, he has changed the way they play, the way they think and the way they act off the pitch. To do that in such a short space of time and win a trophy is unprecedented. He is top drawer.
It’s an end of an era for Liverpool. They will still get results and fight for the top four and it is a massive game as usual, but it is an end of an era for that team, and you know you’ve got to stand there and respect what they have done and how good they have been, but they look tired.
The legs are gone in some of them, they need reinvesting. I think they will fight it out with the character they have and the players they have, they will fight it out and somehow find a way of crawling into the top five. I just have the feeling that they will because of the character they have in that club, the summer for them is huge. They’ll need to reinvest.
Liverpool have some confidence back and some belief but Manchester United are flying; it should be a thriller. The two biggest teams in the UK clashing, no one can doubt that. It’s always a great fixture.
This is a very tough one to call. I think it will be a draw, I’ll go with 2-2, that’s not a bad result for either side. I’d put money on Marcus Rashford and Mohamed Salah scoring, I think it will be a good game.
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