Michael Carrick will name his Manchester United side against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday with team news due 15 minutes after Matchday Live begins at 14:00 BST and the game kicking off at 15:30 BST.
The fixture doubles as a potential curtain-raiser for next season: United need two points from their remaining four league matches to guarantee a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League and a win over Liverpool would seal qualification outright.
That urgency frames the personnel headlines. Lisandro Martinez is suspended after a straight red card in Monday night’s defeat to Leeds United and is serving a three-game ban, ruling him out of this tie. Leny Yoro returned to the squad against Brentford after missing the Chelsea game through injury and came on as a second-half substitute, giving Carrick a defensive option. Matheus Cunha missed the Brentford match with a hip flexor problem sustained against Chelsea; Carrick has described the issue as not too serious, but Cunha was not in the matchday squad. Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu was named in a Manchester United squad for the first time since he hurt himself against Arsenal in January, while Matthijs de Ligt continues to recover from a back issue.
The numbers underline why the match matters. United have scored in every game since Carrick took charge — a 13-game run — and arrive off consecutive wins over Chelsea and Brentford. A single victory would be worth three points and the guarantee of Champions League football; two points from the final four matches will also do the job if United avoid defeat here.
On the other side, Liverpool head to Old Trafford with a stretched squad. Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Wataru Endo are all expected to miss the trip. Mohamed Salah went off injured in Liverpool’s last outing against Crystal Palace; the club described his problem as a minor muscle injury and said he should be available before the end of the season. Goalkeeper availability has unsettled Liverpool too: both first-choice Alisson and backup Giorgi Mamardashvili have been unavailable for about a week, with Freddie Woodman given the nod in goal during that period. Manager Arne Slot has hinted Alisson may be closing in on a return.
Timing makes this a live, fast-moving story. Matchday Live begins streaming at 14:00 BST, and the official team news will follow 15 minutes later — meaning lineups will be confirmed at 14:15 BST ahead of the 15:30 BST kick-off. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the UK, and short highlights will be available two hours after full-time.
The tension is simple and sharp: Manchester United must cope without Martinez and with a partially rebuilt centre-back group, while Liverpool could be missing key attackers, midfielders and possibly their top goalkeeper. Carrick’s side have momentum and a scoring run that now stretches to 13 matches; Liverpool have injury absences and a patchwork defence. Which set of problems proves more damaging will determine whether United can take the two points they need or whether Liverpool spoil the party.
For fans hunting every update, manchester united vs liverpool team news will drop at 14:15 BST and will settle the most consequential questions before kick-off: who will marshal United’s back line without Martinez, and will Liverpool be able to field Salah and a senior goalkeeper? The answers arriving in that 15-minute window are the clearest indicator of which team heads into the 15:30 BST kick-off with the upper hand.
