Manchester United v Liverpool: Dejan Lovren To Miss Clash

Dejan Lovren is set to miss out of Liverpool's crucial trip to Manchester United on Sunday.

Liverpool take on their rivals in one of the biggest matches of the season to date, with a victory for them potentially season-defining.

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Jurgen Klopp has been dealing with a defensive crisis of late, with Joe Gomez and Lovren both out of action.

Virgil van Dijk's suspension for Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Bayern Munich meant the manager had to field a centre-back pairing of Fabinho and Joel Matip.

Luckily Van Dijk returns this weekend, but Lovren remains absent with a hamstring issue.

Speaking to BT Sport after the Bayern game, Klopp confirmed that the Croatian would play no part on Sunday:

There was not a real doubt, to be honest. It was not mind games but Dejan had no chance for the game actually, I don’t think he even has a chance for the next game.

He will take his time.

Lovren hasn't played since getting injured early in the FA Cup third round defeat to Wolves in early January.

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His inability to stay fit for large periods of time is becoming a key issue, with the Reds badly in need of non-injury-prone defenders.

Manchester United V Liverpool Head To Head

1. Manchester United have won seven of their last nine home league games against Liverpool, losing 0-3 in March 2014 and drawing 1-1 in January 2017.
2. Liverpool won the reverse fixture 3-1 and are looking to do the league double over Manchester United for the first time since 2013-14. They’re already the side to do the Premier League double over the Red Devils more than any other in the competition (4).
3. Only Manchester City and Chelsea (6 each) have won more Premier League away games against Manchester United than Liverpool (5).
4. This will be the first time Manchester United have hosted Liverpool in a league game with the Reds as high as second in the table since October 1996 – Man Utd won 1-0 thanks to a David Beckham strike.
5. Manchester United are on the longest current unbeaten run in the Premier League (W8 D1), and their longest run without defeat in the competition since October 2017 (10 games).