Manchester United host Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, May 3, with the match due to kick off at 3.30pm UK and Ireland time, a fixture Michael Carrick called “kind of mind‑boggling” because of the attention it will draw.
Carrick, who took charge as head coach in January, said: “We're in a really good position going into the game,” and added that “it does have the feel of a one‑off game.” The immediate stakes are simple and stark: United sit third on 61 points and Liverpool are fourth, three points behind; United will secure Champions League football if they avoid defeat on Sunday, or if Bournemouth fail to beat Crystal Palace in the 2pm kick‑off elsewhere.
Sky customers can watch build‑up from 2.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, while non‑Sky viewers can stream the game with a NOW Day or Month pass.
For Liverpool, victory at Old Trafford would be enough to leapfrog United in the table. Jurgen Klopp's side enter the game having won their last three league matches; United, meanwhile, arrive after a 2‑1 victory over Brentford on Monday night and will be buoyed by a 2‑1 win at Anfield earlier in the season, when they beat Liverpool in October.
The two managers will also weigh individual form and fitness. Manchester United are hopeful Luke Shaw, Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Matheus Cunha will be available for the matchday squad, while United's team news update stated Liverpool were without Mohamed Salah. Bruno Fernandes looms as a subplot: he is one assist short of equalling the Premier League record for assists in a single season with 20 and has scored eight goals this campaign.
Carrick's own record since his January appointment is a major part of United's case for confidence — the team have won nine of their 13 matches under him — but the fixture brings contrasting threads. Liverpool's winning run gives them momentum; United's recent wins under Carrick give them stability. The historical ledger complicates the narrative: Manchester United have won just three of their last 19 Premier League meetings with Liverpool and could complete a league double over their rivals for the first time since 2015‑16.
There are sharper details that may decide the game. Casemiro scored against Brentford and has nine league goals this season, eight of them headers. Benjamin Sesko also netted his 10th league goal in that Brentford fixture, while other attacking figures around the division — Bryan Mbeumo with nine league goals and Matheus Cunha on eight — underline how many matchups across the table are close and consequential in the run‑in.
The tension is not only arithmetic. This is the first meeting between the sides that sees United start the day ahead of Liverpool in the table since March 2023, and that narrow margin turns Old Trafford into a pressure cooker: one result will reshuffle the top four and determine which club controls its destiny for Champions League qualification.
Carrick has repeatedly emphasised the occasion. “The interest, the amount of eyes that will be on the game on Sunday, it is kind of mind‑boggling, when you think about it,” he said. “It's a special game for so many reasons so I'm massively, massively looking forward to it.” He added bluntly that “Sunday is a whole different ball game.”
Whatever the result, the consequence is immediate. A draw hands Manchester United the simple path to Champions League qualification; a Liverpool win hands the initiative to their visitors. For Carrick and his players, the season will be judged not on months past but on the one 90‑minute test at Old Trafford on Sunday.
