At the moment, the gap between Manchester United and Liverpool could not be bigger, with United are fortunate to still be in contention for a Champions League position. Now, we have United have won only four of their last 13 games in all competitions and will finish without silverware for the fifth successive campaign - their worst such run in almost 40 years. Liverpool have plenty of reasons to be optimistic coming into the next game after a 5-0 triumph at Old Trafford earlier this season and were granted two more over the weekend. Rangnick has revealed that he would be without two players for the encounter at Anfield, with midfielders Fred and Scott McTominay still expected to be sidelined after missing Saturday's win over Norwich. Rangnick started Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, and Bruno Fernandes in the midfield, with Nemanja Mati and Juan Mata coming off the bench. Pogba has been booed by his own fans, Lingard has long been thought surplus to requirements, and Fernandes has looked like a shell of his former self this season. That's a highly attack-minded midfield trio, even when those three are at their best. Matic is set to return to the starting lineup against Liverpool, but he isn't the most mobile of players. Luke Shaw is set to miss the rest of this campaign and Raphaël Varane is not 100% ready with an injury of his own, but the Manchester United midfield will be where their biggest problems come on Tuesday. On the home side, Fabinho and Thiago, who didn't participate in the game at Old Trafford, would no doubt appreciate the opportunity to play against such quality opponents, having already beaten a far superior Manchester City midfield this week with their skill and pressure. That will be a major advantage with Fabinho and Thiago potentially added to the mix since the first meeting (provided they are not rested) and Fred and McTominay, who were dominated in the reverse game, now missing for United. There are several reasons why Liverpool are heavy favorite going into the game, but one of the most important is the midfield. Even with full squad I would expect United to lose in this game, or better said, Liverpool to dominate the match and win by 2, 3 or even 4 goals difference.