LIVERPOOL, Sporting Alert – Manchester United v Liverpool, the oldest and most fierce rivalry in English football, will be one of the highlighted Europa League clashes streaming live on ESPN3 on Thursday.
This is the first European meeting between the two English Premier League big boys, and the first leg of this Europa League round of 16 will be at Anfield.
ESPN3 and WatchESPN will stream this game live and it will be available to those in the United States, starting at 3:05 pm, also live score updates will be on www.livescore.com.
Manchester United booked their place into this stage of the competition after knocking off FC Midtjylland 6-3 on aggregate in the previous round, while Liverpool edged past Augsburg 1-0 in their round of 32 matchup.
Meanwhile, in team news, the Reds are expected to name forward Daniel Sturridge in their starting lineup, after the international was rested for the last two fixtures of the competition while working on his fitness.
Sturridge will likely come into the side for Divock Origi, who is set to start on the bench alongside Christian Benteke.
Midfielder James Milner is doubtful for the clash after he left training on Wednesday with illness.
In the meantime, winger Antonio Valencia is likely to be on the bench for Manchester United after returning to training.
The Ecuador international has fully recovered from an operation on his foot to take part in a full week of a practice session with the senior squad, and manager Louis van Gaal hinted they he could be on the bench.
Holding Bastian Schweinsteiger has also returned to training, although the Germany international is unlikely to feature.
“Antonio Valencia and Bastian Schweinsteiger are coming back,” Van Gaal said. “I think a lot of players shall come back in the month of March.
“But when they come back, it is not so easy to decide if they can cope with the rhythm of a match because they are fit to train with us.”
He added: “Valencia has a week [behind him] so he is much closer to being on the bench, for example, but not to play a match as that’s different.
“I don’t think [any new players will be available] but Valencia is fit enough to be on the bench, but to play 90 minutes, I don’t think so.”
Captain and leading forward Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young, Will Keane and Luke Shaw remain on the sideline because of injuries, while winger Jesse Lingard is suspended.
Another English Premier League team in action in the Europa League round of 16 first leg on Thursday is league title chasers Tottenham Hotspur and they will travel to Germany to take on Borussia Dortmund.
This game will be streamed live on Fox Soccer 2Go USA and live score updates will be on www.livescore.com.
Teams:
Liverpool (squad): Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno, Allen, Henderson, Can, Firmino, Coutinho, Sturridge, Ward, Toure, Skrtel, Smith, Teixeira, Milner, Lallana, Benteke, Origi.
Manchester United (squad): De Gea, Romero, J Pereira, Darmian, Riley, Rojo, Varela, Valencia, Love, Jones, Blind, Smalling, Poole, McNair, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Rothwell, Fellaini, Carrick, Weir, A Pereira, Mata, Depay, Martial, Rashford.
Live TV and Streaming: UEFA Europa League
Thursday, March 10 (ET)
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3:05pm Villarreal vs Bayer Leverkusen Fox Soccer 2Go USA, Fox Soccer Plu…
3:05pm Athletic Club vs Valencia ESPN3
3:05pm Liverpool vs Manchester United ESPN3
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