Manchester United draw Liverpool in Huge FA Cup Game

On Monday 11th January 2021, the FA Cup round 4 draw was held, and saw many big games made, but not as big as Manchester United taking on Liverpool at Old Trafford.

This match is considered one of the best rivalries in football that stems back to 1894 when the two teams met for the first time. As of January 11th, 2021, Manchester United and Liverpool have faced each other 204 times, with Man United winning 80 times, Liverpool winning 67 times and them drawing 57 times.

With 131 total trophies between them, the match is set to take place between the dates of 23rd-24th January 2021. It will be their 18th meeting in the FA Cup and the winner of this match will face either West Ham or Doncaster depending on the result of that game. As we know from past games whether it’s a game between Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benítez or Jurgen Klopp and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, it is always exciting to see these two English giants going head to head no matter the occasion.

Liverpool’s recent runs in the FA Cup are not something to write home about for Jurgen Klopp. The Liverpool manager often uses them to rest his players and play the youth squad, however since this is a huge match with a lot of hype surrounding it, the question is, will Jurgen Klopp play a strong side and try and go all the way in the FA Cup. Liverpool has won the Premier League and the Champions League under Klopp, but never gone far in the FA Cup, is it time that Klopp plays a strong side and brings FA Cup success back to Anfield? I asked Keith, a Liverpool fan, about his thoughts,

“I would love to see the FA Cup coming back to Liverpool, I think the FA Cup has lost its value over the last few years and for us to win it, it would feel like a big cup again and not just a cup that has been overshadowed by the Premier League and the Champions League for some time now.”

This shows that fans want success in the FA Cup as much as they want success in any other league or cup, this is why I think Klopp should play a strong side to try and advance further in the competition and lead Liverpool to their 8th FA Cup win.

Manchester United, on the other hand, have had a small sense of success in their recent runs in the FA Cup, making it to the final, semi final and quarter final in the last 3 years of the competition but never winning the cup. Ole Gunnar Solskjær will no doubt go strong for the FA Cup tie against Liverpool and will continue trying to make it over those final steps that the Red Devils couldn’t in the last 3 years. I asked a Manchester United fan what he had to say about this draw,

“Manchester United have no other option than winning this match, this is a must-win, do or die match. There is no chance we can let Liverpool knock us out of the FA Cup.”

This shows the huge fight we have coming up between Manchester United and Liverpool at Old Trafford. Depending on whether Jurgen Klopp plays a strong enough side, this will be a match that is like no other. A prestigious match taking place in a prestigious competition, leaving both sets of fans on the edge of their seats asking, which team will push hard enough to come out victorious.