LIVE: Manchester United vs Liverpool – Premier League

Departing Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah insists he is at peace with his decision to leave at the end of the season and go out on his own terms.

“I feel to go through the season this is the right thing to do now, and I have peace with it,” he said in an interview with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard on TNT Sports.

“The season was tough for all of us. I don’t want to say much. I’m happy about it, everything that is going on this season makes me like ‘No, it’s time to go’, so I’m happy.”

But he would not be drawn on what comes next.

“Honestly I feel I have a lot to give: physically I feel very good, I played many games this season,” he said.

“I didn’t decide yet what I’m going to do, to be fair, I have a lot of options which are good options.”

Liverpool forward ⁠Mohamed Salah will miss ⁠Sunday’s game due to a muscle injury, but manager Arne Slot confirmed on Friday that he was expected to return before the end ⁠of the season.

Salah was forced off during Liverpool’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last week with a hamstring concern, prompting fears it could end his campaign and potentially his Anfield career, with the Egyptian ⁠set to leave at the end of the campaign.

Liverpool said on Wednesday the injury was not as serious as initially feared and that Salah should feature again before the campaign concludes.

“As we know from Mo [Salah], he is always working incredibly hard when he is fit but also when he is injured to be back ‌as soon as possible,” Slot told reporters.

“We expect him to be back for the final part of the season but not for Sunday [against Man Utd].

“In all ways, it is a big relief that his injury is minor, so he is able to play for us and at the World Cup. If ever there was a player that deserves a big send-off, it is definitely Mo.”

Read more here.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has praised Carrick for improving United and stressed the importance of the game.

“We ⁠are aware of the fact that it is a very big game, not only because we play United but also to qualify for Champions League and ⁠to get the highest possible position in the league table,” ⁠Slot said.

“We always know that they are really good but now they are showing it in the league table. It might be a bit of an advantage that they only play once a week.

“When we have played them every time, I have seen ‌how good they are and now they have, especially under Michael Carrick, become more consistent in their results.

Carrick says his club had made great strides since last season when they finished a miserable 15th in the table, 42 points behind champions Liverpool.

“I just think this probably shows the improvements of the group, really, and getting stronger,” the former United midfielder said, adding that the team are “coming into this game in such a good position on the back of good results and trying to achieve and moving forward”.

“So fully aware of the situation in the league and how close it is between us. But that’s not something, really, we’ve focused on going into this game. I think it’s a one-off game.”

United’s boss believes Manchester United vs Liverpool is always a “standout” fixture even though neither club are challenging for the Premier League title this season.

England’s two most successful clubs, with 20 league titles each, meet at Old Trafford with both firmly on track to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

“Certainly one of my favourite games. Without doubt, it’s a standout game,” Carrick said. “There’s big games and big rivalries that we have with other teams, but certainly this one is right up there.

“The history, the ups and downs the past has produced in these types of games and the excitement and entertainment, and the emotion, which is a huge part of it – it makes it a really special game.”

Goalkeeper Alisson Becker is still out with an injury, but Slot said he is “very close” to being able to train with the squad again.

Deputy keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili is also sidelined for several weeks after sustaining a knee wound in the Merseyside derby win over Everton in April, so third-choice stopper Freddie Woodman is set to continue in goal after impressing in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace last weekend.

Along with Salah, Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni and Hugo Ekitike are also unavailable due to injury – with the latter set to miss the World Cup with a ruptured Achilles tendon.

Left-back Milos Kerkez is a doubt as he has been nursing a knock.

Predicted starting XI:

Woodman (goalkeeper); Jones, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Szoboszlai, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak

Carrick said forward Matheus Cunha had returned to training after a recent injury setback and should feature and he also said he was hopeful that Luke Shaw would be fit enough to play.

Matthijs de Ligt is still working his way back to full fitness and will not be involved against Liverpool.

Predicted starting XI:

Lammens (goalkeeper); Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko

Red cards for hair-pulling have never been so frequent in the Premier League.

The latest came on Saturday when Sunderland defender Dan Ballard was sent off for yanking the hair of Wolverhampton striker Tolu Arokodare as they competed for the ball in the first half of the teams’ game at Molineux.

In January, Arokodare was the recipient of a hair tug by Everton defender Michael Keane, who also was shown a straight red card in a match that finished 1-1 in January.

Last month, Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez was sent off for pulling the hair of Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in their match at Old Trafford.

That decision, given after a VAR check, was described as “shocking” by United manager Michael Carrick but was not overturned.

Pulling an opponent’s hair is deemed violent conduct and earns a three-match ban.

Arsenal threw down the gauntlet to Manchester City ⁠in the Premier League title race ⁠with a 3-0 home win over Fulham, putting them six points clear at the top.

City, who have two games in hand, play at Everton on Monday.

West Ham United’s survival hopes suffered a blow when they went down 3-0 at Brentford, for ⁠whom the win raised the possibility of playing European football for the first time.

Newcastle United emerged from their slump with a 3-1 home victory over European hopefuls Brighton, coming as a timely boost for manager Eddie Howe.

Sunderland drew 1-1 at relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers, a match most notable for Sunderland’s Dan Ballard being sent off in the 24th minute for pulling the hair of home forward Tolu Arokodare – the same offence that Everton’s Michael Keane saw red for against Wolves in January.

Hello, welcome and thanks for joining our live coverage as Manchester United host Liverpool for a Premier League clash with major implications for the race to qualify for the Champions League.

United have improved considerably ⁠under caretaker boss Michael Carrick, who took charge after Ruben Amorim’s dismissal.

They sit third in the table, three points ahead of Liverpool, and need two more points to secure a top-five finish and a spot among Europe’s elite next season.

Defending champions Liverpool have had a dire season by their standards, but they come into the match off the back of three successive Premier League wins and will be desperate to beat their old rivals as they also look to secure a Champions League place.

I’m Patrick Keddie, and I’ll take you through our live build-up to the match along with all the photo coverage of the day.

Manasi Pathak will bring you the team sheets as they drop and the comprehensive text commentary of the game.

Your Premier League Sunday is sorted ✅ pic.twitter.com/GQOAxDYBjW

— Premier League (@premierleague) May 3, 2026