Man Utd-Liverpool combined XI: Sky Sports pundit snubs Pogba as seven Liverpool players dominate line-up

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Graeme Souness has picked his Man Utd-Liverpool combined XI, and it’s probably no surprise that it’s dominated by the latter.

The fierce rivals clash at Old Trafford on Sunday as United look to deal another blow to Liverpool’s Premier League title aspirations and simultaneously continue to close the gap as they chase down the pack in the top four.

Although there are only five points between the two sides, Souness evidently believes that his former club have the far superior individuals as he’s gone 7-4 in Liverpool’s favour when it comes to his combined XI.

David De Gea is selected in goal which is only to be expected given the respective problems of Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet, but the entire backline is formed of Liverpool players.

Nathaniel Clyne, Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and James Milner get the nod from Souness which is slightly surprising as although they are all talented players, the likes of Antonio Valencia and Chris Smalling would argue that they deserve a bit more recognition.

Further up the field, there is no place for Paul Pogba despite the fact that the Frenchman has taken big strides in more recent weeks after initially struggling following his summer return to Manchester.

Instead, Souness has gone for an industrious and classy midfield three of Michael Carrick, Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana, with Juan Mata and Philippe Coutinho providing the quality and creativity out wide.

Fortunately, he’s gone with Zlatan Ibrahimovic to lead his line as ultimately there can only be one option in that spot. The big Swede has scored 18 goals in all competitions so far this season, and he’ll be looking to make it 19 at least this weekend and continue to be a decisive figure for Jose Mourinho’s side, particularly in massive games such as this one.

Image courtesy of Sky Sports.

More Stories Adam Lallana David de Gea Dejan Lovren Graeme Souness James Milner Joel Matip Jordan Henderson Juan Mata Michael Carrick nathaniel clyne Philippe Coutinho Zlatan Ibrahimovic