Manchester United legend tips Liverpool to win as Mourinho’s men “lack identity”

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Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has suggested that the smart money would be on Liverpool beating his old club at Anfield on Monday night.

The old foes clash again in one of the most highly-anticipated encounters of the season thus far, with Jose Mourinho coming up against Jurgen Klopp.

While Liverpool have impressed so far this season and will move level at the top of the Premier League table with a win, United have stuttered and sit in seventh place, six points adrift of the leaders.

Having assessed what he has seen from both clubs so far this season, Scholes believes that Liverpool will naturally be favoured to win the game, but believes it’s down to the two managers who are at different stages of stamping their mark on their respective teams.

“If you were betting, you would be betting on Liverpool,” he told BBC Sport.

“He [Mourinho] was not ruthless enough in the off-season. There is so much confusion about who should play.

“With United it is still a settling-in period – it is going to take a bit of time for them to knit together and see what they are about. Is there an identity to the team yet? I don’t think there is.”

In contrast, Scholes is impressed with what he is seeing at Liverpool and believes that Klopp’s ideas have gotten across to the players now and there is a clear direction in their play which makes them dangerous.

“You can see Jurgen Klopp has stamped his way of playing football on the team.

“There is a definite way about them. You know how they are going to play: they are going to be quick; they are going to try to take the ball off you and try to score goals by flooding the box.”

The 41-year-old won 11 Premier League titles during his time at Old Trafford, and so he certainly knows a thing or two about a title-winning side and one that is capable of matching expectations.

It’s clear that he sees a big difference between United and Liverpool currently, but given his allegiance, he’ll undoubtedly be hoping that Mourinho can work it out between now and the end of the season, preferably starting at Anfield against their bitter old rivals.

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