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Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool Reportedly Rejected 3rd Barcelona Bid For Coutinho

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LIVERPOOL, Sporting Alert — Liverpool are determined to hold on to Philippe Coutinho through this transfer window, following reports that the English Premier League side rejected another offer from Barcelona.

On Friday, Sky Sports News reported that Liverpool have rejected a third bid of £113m from Barcelona for Coutinho, who is pushing to leave Anfield.

According to Sky Sports News, the proposed fee from the Spanish club could have also increased to “£118m on Coutinho’s appearances at the Nou Camp.”

The Brazil international submitted a transfer request last week in an attempt to force through a quick move to the La Liga side.

However, Sky Sports News claimed Liverpool remain firm on the desire not to sell the club’s best player and immediately declined Barcelona’s new offer.

Coutinho is currently on the sidelines with a back injury, but the skillful forward will surely be unhappy about the decision made by the Reds management staff.

Liverpool have also rejected two previous offers worth £72m and £90.4m from Barcelona.

Media outlets in England are reporting that Barcelona are willing to pay as much as £130m for Coutinho.

It was only recently Barcelona general manager Josep Segura suggested that the Spanish giants were in advanced talks to sign the 25-year-old — comments which have angered Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.

“I don’t know why other people are saying what they’re saying. I don’t even know him. I have never met him,” Klopp said this week.

English Premier League Top Goalscorers: Sep. 27

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LONDON, Sporting Alert – English Premier League top goalscorers and added stats after six round of matches in the new season.

After the last set of matches on Monday, the scoring list sees three players sitting at the top with five goals each.

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Chelsea forward Diego Costa, Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero and West Ham United midfielder Michail Antonio are the players leading the way at the moment.

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Costa, who has 14 shots thus far this season, has 10 of those going on target, while the Spanish international has also assisted on one goal in his 530 minutes of playing time so far.

Aguero, who recently returned from a three-match suspension, is averaging a goal every 70 minutes, while the Argentina attacker has 50-percent of his 14 shots going on target.

Antonio has played 502 minutes so far this campaign and has 47-percent of his 17 shots on frame.

Meanwhile, the English Premier League top goalscorers chart also sees seven players with four goals at this time.

Alexis Sánchez of Arsenal, Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling, Tottenham’s Heung-min, Romelu Lukaku of Everton, Etienne Capoue of Watford, Jermain Defoe of Sunderland and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Manchester United are the players with four goals after six played matches.

Of the top boys, Ibrahimovic has taken the most shots, with the former PSG striker taking 23 shots already.

The emerging Marcus Rashford of Manchester United has scored three times already this season, and was on target in the 4-1 victory over champions Leicester City on Saturday.

Liverpool’s Adam Lallana, who has all four of his shots on target this term and dished out three assists, and his Reds teams Philippe Coutinho, James Milner and Sadio Mane – all have three goals this season.

English Premier League Top Goalscorers

5 Diego Costa (Chelsea), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Michail Antonio (West Ham United)

4 Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal), Romelu Lukaku (Everton), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United), Jermain Defoe (Sunderland), Son Heung-Min (Tottenham Hotspur), Etienne Capoue (Watford)

3 Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Theo Walcott (Arsenal), Robert Snodgrass (Hull City), Leroy Fer (Swansea City), Salomon Rondon (West Bromwich Albion)

Tottenham v Liverpool: Preview, Times, How To Watch

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LONDON, Sporting Alert – Midfielders Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can are both doubtful for Liverpool for the trip to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Game time for Saturday morning clash is 7:30 am and it will be streaming live in the US on NBCSN and its platforms, including NBC Sports Live, as well as LFCTV GO and television coverage on Sky Sports 1/HD for the viewers living in the UK.

Coutinho, one of the Reds’ main attacking options for both goals and assists, is a doubt to face Tottenham with a minor hamstring problem.

The Brazilian missed Liverpool’s comfortable 5-0 victory at Burton Albion in the EFL Cup in midweek with the injury and manager Jurgen Klopp revealed that he will not be risking the player’s health.

“The muscle was a little stiff. He felt something so we didn’t want to take a risk [against Burton],” Klopp said on www.liverpoolfc.com.

The German coach said a decision will be made on Friday.

“We left him out of training until now. We have to make a decision on Friday with what we can do with him.

“It is not a situation to take any risk. We have to talk to the player.

“From the medical side, it is not a big issue, but it was big enough to leave him out of the squad for Burton.”

Meanwhile, Emre Can is also doubtful for the clash with Tottenham after he sustained an ankle injury in the clash with Burton.

The German international is not expected to be risked as well.

Elsewhere, striker Divock Origi is expected to be ok, after suffering from cramps in midweek.

In Tottenham team news, captain and first choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris remains out with a hamstring problem so Michel Vorm will be in goal again.

In other team news, midfielder Mousa Dembele is suspended for this clash, but midfielder Dele Alli could return having overcome an illness.

LAST TIME OUT

  • Liverpool suffered a 2-0 defeat at Burnley last week
  • Tottenham edged Crystal Palace 1-0

Squads

Tottenham (from): Vorm, McGee, Walker, Trippier, Davies, Rose, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Vertonghen, Carter-Vickers, Dier, Wanyama, Mason, Carroll, Winks, Alli, Eriksen, Onomah, Lamela, Chadli, Njie, Son, Janssen, Kane.

Liverpool (from): Mignolet, Clyne, Lovren, Matip, Milner, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Mane, Sturridge, Firmino, Manninger, Klavan, Moreno, Alex-Arnold, Grujic, Stewart, Origi, Ings.

Coutinho Hat-trick Helps Brazil Rout Haiti 7-1

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Philippe Coutinho bagged a hat-trick to lead Brazil to a convincing 7-1 victory over Haiti in a Copa America Group B match Wednesday night.

Coutinho was scoring the first-ever international hat-trick of his career and the victory lifted Brazil to first place in the group.

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“We had a good game and are leaving here happy,” Coutinho said. “We have to keep our focus for the next game (against Peru).

“We have to be dreaming about big things, but we also have to prepare well for the next game. Peru is a very strong team.”

The Liverpool FC star playmaker collected his first two goals in the 14th and 29th minutes to help Brazil take a 3-0 lead into the halftime break, before completing his hat-trick in second-half stoppage time.

Renato Augusto added a brace, while substitutes Gabriel Barbosa and Lucas Lima also netted for the five-time World Cup champions, who drew 0-0 with Ecuador in their tournament opener.

“We have been encouraging Coutinho during training to be the player he is in Liverpool, take advantage of his opportunities and he did that for us,” said Brazil head coach Dunga.

“He has been acquiring more trust and belief in himself and taking more risks. That is what we wanted.”

James Marcelin scored Haiti’s lone goal in the 69th minute, but the score was already out of control at 5-1.

With the win, the South Americans moved to four points in the group standing after two games and will complete the group stage Sunday against Peru, which defeated Haiti 1-0 in their opener.

“It’s not just important for Brazil to win, but for us to be the best players on the field in every game,” Dunga said.

“This was a good game. We did many of the things in the game that we worked on in training, but we are always seeking perfection.”

The defeat saw Haiti eliminated from the 2016 Copa America with one game still to play.

Arsenal v Liverpool: Lineups, Live Stream, LiveScores

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LONDON, Sporting Alert – Roberto Firmino will make his first Liverpool start in tonight’s Barclays Premier League clash with Arsenal at Emirates Stadium.

Watch Live Arsenal v Liverpool Stream on NBCSN | Live Radio Commentary on talkSport | Follow Live Scores

Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger will be without his centre-back pair of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker for this contest.

Mertesacker misses the game because of illness, while the club also confirmed that Koscielny will not feature because he has a mild back injury.

This means Gabriel and Calum Chambers will start as the centre-back pair, who could find it difficult to deal with Liverpool attacking players Christian Benteke, Firmino and Philippe Coutinho.

With Jordan Henderson out summer signing Firmino has been handed a place in the starting team, as manager Brendan Rodgers makes three changes to his lineup from the last outing.

Meanwhile, according to the reports from the Gunners’ dressing room, Gabriel will be the man marking Benteke tonight on set-pieces and corner kick so that is going to be a battle to watch out for.

Midfielders Emre Can and Lucas Leiva will both start in the midfield, which means James Milner will play a more attacking role out wide.

The visitors are also without Adam Lallana, who picked up an injury.

Divock Origi, Danny Ings and Jordon Ibe are all on the bench for Liverpool, which seek its third successive victory to start the season.

Meanwhile, Arsenal make two changes from the side that edged Crystal Palace, but Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remain on the substitutes bench.

Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud all start again for Wenger.

Beside Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mathieu Debuchy, Kieran Gibbs, Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini are also on the bench for Arsenal, which seek its second win of the season.

Frenchman Olivier Giroud, who has scored 42 times for Arsenal, will lead the attack once again.

Arsenal v Liverpool Teams

Arsenal Team: Cech, Bellerin, Chambers, Gabriel, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Giroud. Subs: Debuchy, Gibbs, Arteta, Ospina, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Flamini

Liverpool Team: Mignolet, Can, Lovren, Skrtel, Clyne, Milner, Coutinho, Lucas, Gomez, Firmino, Benteke. Subs: Sakho, Moreno, Origi, Ings, Ibe, Bogdan, Rossiter

Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Yaya Returns, Coutinho Starts: Liverpool v Manchester City Live

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LIVERPOOL (Sporting Alert) — Key midfielder Yaya Toure returns to the Manchester City starting side for today’s English Premier League clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

Liverpool v Manchester City EPL Preview and Channel Listings

Follow The Live Score Updates From Anfield | Liverpool v Manchester City Live Match Center

Toure was unavailable for Tuesday’s Champions League defeat at home against Barcelona because of suspension, but is back and will play alongside Samir Nasri, Fernandinho and David Silva in the Citizens’ midfield.

Striker Edin Dzeko keeps his place in the starting lineup as the partner for Sergio Aguero, with January recruit Wilfried Bony left on the bench again.

Eliaquim Mangala plays with captain Vincent Kompany at center-back, with the overlappers are Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has decided to leave both Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli on the substitutes’  bench in his four changes from the side that was defeated by Besiktas in Europa League on Thursday.

However, skillful playmaker Philippe Coutinho returns to the starting XI after he was rested in midweek, while Jordan Henderson passed a late fitness test on his ankle to take his place in midfield.

Raheem Sterling will lead the frontline with Coutinho and Adam Lallana supporting on either side of the pitch.

Manchester City can move within two points of leaders Chelsea in the points standings with a win, while Liverpool can replaced Southampton into 5th place with a victory.

Milestone Watch @StatCity:

Man City forward Edin Dzeko is one goal away from his 50th English Premier League goals, while his strike partner Sergio Aguero is two away from netting his 100th in all competitions.

Managers Interview Before The Clash

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers speaks to Sky Sports about his team selection and why Sturridge is not starting.

“Daniel Sturridge is still in a post-injury phase really, so we’re having to be careful with him. He’s getting his fitness back in his game, and after travelling back after Thursday I felt it was too much of a risk to play him. Inside the next week or so he will be ready to play more regularly.

“Jordan Henderson wasn’t left out on Thursday, he had a problem with his ankle. He has been a big influence on the team, Philippe Coutinho had also played in a lot of games, and I felt it was time to give him a rest.

“But with both of those coming back in today we have an exciting team, the players at the front like Raheem Sterling, Coutinho and Adam Lallana, they have helped a lot in this great run we have had. Hopefully we can keep that going today.”

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini also spoke about his team selection as his side hunts its first win at Anfield since 2003.

“It is the same team that played the last Premier League game – the same team that beat Newcastle 5-0. Eliaquim Mangala did very well against Stoke and Newcastle so he deserves to play.

“We have not only scored nine goals in our last two Premier League matches, but we have only conceded one goal.

“That’s why I decide to go with a similar team – I hope it is the same team which we have seen in the last two games.”

Starting Teams

Manchester City: Hart, Zabaleta, Mangala, Kompany, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Yaya Toure, Silva, Nasri, Dzeko, Aguero. Subs: Caballero, Demichelis, Clichy, Lampard, Bony, Milner, Fernando.

Liverpool: Mignolet, Can, Skrtel, Lovren, Henderson, Allen, Moreno, Markovic, Lallana, Coutinho, Sterling. Subs: Ward, Toure, Lambert, Sturridge, Borini, Balotelli, Williams.

Turkey v Brazil Starting Team, Live Scores

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ISTANBUL, Turkey (Sporting Alert) — Leading defender Thiago Silva starts on the bench for Brazil in tonight’s football friendly international clash with Turkey at Ataturk Olympic Stadium.

Turkey v Brazil Live Scores

Silva recently returned from injury for Paris Saint-Germain and is expected to get a run out with the national setup as the game goes on.

Brazil’s back four, with Silva on the bench and Dani Alves not in the side, consist of Danilo, Miranda, David Luiz and Filipe Luis.

Fernandinho, Oscar and Luiz Gustavo start in midfield, while Neymar leads the attack alongside Willian and Luiz Adriano.

Douglas Costa, Casemiro, Marquinhos, Alex Sandro, Conceicao Anderson Talisca and Philippe Coutinho are all on the substitutes bench.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid midfielder Arda Turan leads the list of starters for Turkey.

Hamit Altintop, Mehmet Topal, Umut Bulut, Mevlut Erdinc, Ozan Tufan and Bilal Kisa all start as well for the home side.

Turkey v Brazil

Turkey team: Demirel, Kaya, Koybasi, Irtegun, Tufan, Kisa, Altintop, Turan, Topal, Bulut, Erdinc. Subs: Tekin, Inan, Buyuk, Ozyakup, Erkin, Sahan, Ekici, Camdal, Sen, Potuk, Aziz, Ayhan, Babacan

Brazil team: Diego Alves, Danilo, Miranda, Luiz, Luis, Fernandinho, Oscar, Gustavo, Willian, Luiz Adriano, Neymar. Subs: Rafael Cabral, Douglas Costa, Casemiro, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Alex Sandro, Mario Fernandes, Firmino, Anderson Talisca, Coutinho, Fred, Neto

Referee: Ravshan Irmatov (Uzbekistan)

Neymar scores all 4 goals in Brazil win over Japan

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SINGAPORE (SportingAlert.com) — Striker Neymar scored all four goals, including a second half hat-trick in Brazil’s 4-0 victory over Japan in an international football friendly game on Tuesday in Singapore.

The Barcelona forward opened the scoring in the 18th minute when he finished well after being played through on goal by strike partner Diego Tardelli.

The forward then scored three more goals in the second half as Brazil won it’s fourth straight friendly game since losing 3-0 to the Netherlands in the 3rd place playoff clash at the 2014 FIFA World Cup at home.

Neymar and Brazil’s second goal game in the 48th minute following another through ball pass this time from Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho, while he completed his hat-trick with an easy tap home from close range in the 77th minute after Coutinho’s shot was pushed into his path by goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.

The fourth goal game nine-minutes from time when substitute Kaka floated in a cross for the captain to leap high and head home past Kawashima. That goal saw him surpassing World Cup winning forward Bebeto as Brazil’s 5th all-time leading goal scorer with 40 goals from 58 caps for the senior national team.

Brazil came into the game on good form after blanking fellow South American arch rivals Argentina 2-0 in another exhibition on Saturday as Dunga makes his second spell with the national team.

Brazil: 1. Jefferson 2. Danilo 3. Miranda 14. Gil 6. Filipe Luis 17. Luiz Gustavo 22. Elias 19. Willian 11. Oscar 46’9. Martins Diego Tardelli 10. Neymar. Subs: 12. Rafael 5. Romulo 8. Josef Souza 7. Robinho 13. Juan Jesus 15. Dodo 16. Mario Fernandes 18. Augusto Everton Ribeiro 20. Kaka 21. Philippe Coutinho 23. Grohe Marcelo.

Japan: 1. Eiji Kawashima 21. Kosuke Ota 16. Tsukasa Shiotani 3. Gotoku Sakai 6. Masato Morishige 8. Junya Tanaka 22. Taishi Taguchi 17. Ryota Morioka 7. Gaku Shibasaki 9. Shinji Okazaki 19. Yu Kobayashi. Subs: 12. Shusaku Nishikawa 2. Hiroki Mizumoto 4. Keisuke Honda 5. Yuto Nagatomo 11. Yoichiro Kakitani 13. Hajime Hosogai 14. Yoshinori Muto 15. Daisuke Suzuki 18. Mike Havenaar 20. Daigo Nishi 23. Shuichi Gonda

Live Manchester City v Liverpool TV Channels

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MANCHESTER (SportingAlert) — Starting lineups and live streaming coverage of today’s English Premier League clash between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium. Game live at 3:00 pm ET

Watch Live Coverage on: Deportes Telemundo En Vivo, NBC Sports Live Extra, Mun2, NBCSN, Sky Go Extra, Sky Sports 1/HD, NOW TV, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Go, TalkSport Radio, NBC Sports Live Extra, LFCTV GO

Named in the starting lineup for Liverpool is full-back Alberto Moreno, who makes his Reds debut, while midfielder Lazar Markovic is amongst the substitutes for the game.

Also in the starting XI for the visitors are Joe Allen takes the place of the linked away Lucas Leiva, with captain Steven Gerrard, Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling all starting as well.

Martin Skrtel partners Dejan Lovren at center-back, while Rickie Lambert, Javier Manquillo and Emre Can are all on the bench.

New £16 million signing Mario Balotelli is in the stands after traveling with his fellow Liverpool teammates Jon Flanagan and Adam Lallana to watch the game against his former club.

Meanwhile, for Manchester City, there is still no place in the starting XI for forward Sergio Aguero, as Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko continues to head the attack.

Aleksandar Kolarov is on the bench, with Gael Clichy starting at full-back.

Manchester City XI: Hart, Zabaleta, Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Fernando, Yaya Toure, Nasri, Silva, Jovetic, Dzeko. Subs: Caballero, Sagna, Kolarov, Fernandinho, Milner, Navas, Aguero.

Liverpool XI: Mignolet, Johnson, Moreno, Skrtel, Lovren, Gerrard, Henderson, Allen, Coutinho, Sterling, Sturridge. Subs: Jones, Manquillo, Sakho, Toure, Can, Markovic, Lambert.

Watch Liverpool v Preston North End Live on LFCTV GO

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(SportingAlert) — Rickie Lambert and Emre Can both make their debut for Liverpool in today’s pre-season football friendly clash against Preston North End at Deepdale.

The game will be broadcast live on BT Sports, with live online streaming at LFCTV GO. Kick-off is at 3pm BST.

Can, a German international, will start in midfield alongside Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva, while former Southampton forward Lambert will start in the attack.

Making a surprised start today as well is striker Fabio Borini, who will reportedly move away from Anfield after a fee with Sunderland was agreed for him.

Philippe Coutinho also starts.

Martin Skrtel, who starts in the backline captains the Liverpool this afternoon, with Steven Gerrard still away.

Meanwhile, League One outfit Preston North End, who were beaten 4-0 in this fixture last year, will be using this as another key fixture in their preparations for next season.

“It is going to be a big test for us, as it was last year when we played them, obviously we are really thankful to Brendan coming back and bringing his team over at the weekend,” Preston North End boss Simon Grayson said.

Grayson has handed home debuts to Jamie Jones and Calum Woods, while veteran forward Kevin Davis will start the second half.

Liverpool team: B Jones, Kelly, Flanagan, Skrtel, Wisdom, Lucas, Allen, Can, Coutinho, Lambert, Borini. Subs: Ward, Smith, Enrique, Coady, Coates, Phillips, Robinson, Stewart, L Jones, Peterson, Suso, Rossiter, Ibe, Adorjan.

Watch Liverpool preseason game with Brondby; Team News

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(SportingAlert.com) — Tiago Ilori and Jordan Rossiter have both been handed starting places for Liverpool in their first preseason friendly game with Brondby in Denmark this evening.

Watched live online via LFCTV GO

Manager Brendan Rodgers, who is without several of his key players, including the stars who were involved at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, is using this opportunity to take a look at some of the youngsters in the squad.

Ilori will play alongside this evening’s skipper Daniel Agger, who is returning to face his former club at Brøndby Stadium.

Rossiter starts in midfield and will be alongside the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Lucas Leiva.

Returning from his loan spell with Sunderland, Fabio Borini plays in attack Suso, who is also back from a loan spell in Spain, and Joao Carlos Teixeira.

England internationals Adam Lallana, Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert are amongst the players not available for this game.

Liverpool team: B Jones, Kelly, Ilori, Agger, Smith, Lucas, Rossiter, Coutinho, Suso, Borini, Teixeira. Subs: Ward, Allen, Ibe, Coady, Skrtel, Flanagan, Adorjan, Phillips, Wisdom, L Jones, Peterson, Stewart.

Manchester United vs Liverpool: Live Stream, Teams and Scores

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MANCHESTER (Sporting Alert) — Liverpool make one change from the last outing for today’s English Premier League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Manchester United vs Liverpool: Live Video Stream | Latest Live Soccer Scores | Live Radio Streaming

Manager Brendan Rodgers has recalled forward Raheem Sterling, who replaces Philippe Coutinho in the only change to the side that beat Southampton 3-0 the last time out.

The game also sees the return of midfielder Lucas Leiva and defender Mamadou Sakho, who have both been named on the substitutes’ bench, while Joe Allen continues in midfield alongside Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard.

Manchester United boss David Moyes also made one adjustment to his side from the last outing, a 3-0 win over West Bromwich, with departing captain Nemanja Vidic coming in for Chris Smalling, who has been omitted from the match day squad.

Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Juan Mata all start for Manchester United who are still holding hope of securing a top four place.

Manchester United XI: De Gea, Rafael, Jones, Vidic, Evra, Fellaini, Carrick, Januzaj, Mata, Rooney, van Persie. Subs: Lindegaard, Ferdinand, Cleverley, Kagawa, Valencia, Young, Welbeck.

Liverpool XI: Mignolet, Flanagan, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Gerrard, Henderson, Allen, Sterling, Suarez, Sturridge. Subs: Jones, Sakho, Cissokho, Lucas, Coutinho, Moses, Aspas.