Liverpool v Man Utd: BBC Sport readers pick combined XI

Last updated on 13 October 2017.From the section Football219

Pick your combined Liverpool-Manchester United XI?

Two multi-million pound squads, one starting XI.

With Liverpool hosting Manchester United in the Premier League on Saturday, we merged both groups of players in our selector tool and asked you to pick the strongest side possible.

About 80,000 of you chose your preferred team, with Manchester United's players proving much more popular.

Only two of Liverpool's team made BBC Sport readers' starting line-up.

BBC Sport readers' combined Liverpool-Man Utd XI

Goalkeeper - a De Gea landslide

Some selections were difficult, but when it came to choosing a keeper there was only ever going to be one winner.

An overwhelming 96.5% of "managers" chose Manchester United and Spain number one David de Gea.

Liverpool have been rotating their keepers but Simon Mignolet, who usually starts ahead of Loris Karius in the league, was almost 80,000 selections behind De Gea, being included in just 2.6% of teams.

Defence - no faith in Liverpool's back four

It is seven games since Liverpool kept a clean sheet and manager Jurgen Klopp is consistently criticised for failing to address his team's perceived weakness at the back. It is an area Phil McNulty discusses here in his review of the German's two years at Anfield.

If defence is Liverpool's weakest position, it is an area where United - as so often is the case with Jose Mourinho's teams - have demonstrated strength.

They have conceded six goals in 11 games this season, and only twice in seven Premier League matches. Along with Manchester City, theirs is the best record in the top flight while, despite Liverpool being seventh, only West Ham and Crystal Palace have conceded more than them.

It is no surprise then that Manchester United players fill all four defensive positions.

Antonio Valencia was the overwhelming choice at right-back, included in 60% of teams in that position.

Eric Bailly and Phil Jones take the centre-back slots. Joel Matip was the third most popular choice, though he was picked about 20,000 fewer times than Jones, meaning that was a clear-cut decision.

Perhaps the toughest defensive choice came at left-back, where Luke Shaw got the nod despite making only one appearance - as a substitute in the EFL Cup win over Burton - this season.

The former Southampton player was picked at left-back by 14.6% of people, just pipping Daley Blind, Ashley Young and James Milner.

Midfield - power, skill and speed

The most difficult selection decisions came in midfield.

The 4-4-2 formation was the most popular and Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba were way out in front as the top picks in central positions.

The wider areas were less clear-cut, with Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane among a group of players picked in large numbers in different positions, owing to their flexibility.

But it is the Liverpool pair who take the other two midfield slots, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan just missing out. The Armenian received more than twice as many votes as Adam Lallana, who did not even come close to making the team. There was no place for Mohamed Salah either.

Attack - Lukaku plus one other

Sixteen goals in 13 games for Romelu Lukaku this season - he has only failed to score in one match since moving to Old Trafford - means the powerful Belgian was the second most popular pick overall.

He made it into 90.3% of teams - only De Gea featured more often.

The 4-4-2 formation afforded space for a strike partner for Lukaku and, while the selections were split among a host of players including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Roberto Firmino and Anthony Martial, it was Marcus Rashford who got the nod.

Not had a go yet? Pick your XI

Pick what you think would be the best team and share it with your friends.

My Manchester United-Liverpool XI

Manchester United host Liverpool this weekend in the Premier League. Select your combined starting XI - and then share it with your friends using our team selector.

Can't see this selector? Visit this page.

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219 comments

Comment posted by BaggiosPonytail, at 11:49 13 Oct 2017
Shaw at LB?!
Comment posted by User0338497287, at 12:14 13 Oct 2017
17. Posted by itsafunnyoldgame
Yeah... far too early for Lukaku to be mentioned as a great striker, he's only been in the top three goal scorers for 5 years now, lets wait till he retires and then we'll make a decision hey???!!!!
Comment posted by King Zlatan, at 12:08 13 Oct 2017
Shaw.... can't make it into his own team....
Comment posted by D1679367011128, at 12:15 13 Oct 2017
This seems about fair to me, even with the lack of liverpool players. United have a fantastic side on form, contrary to what the ABU's have you believe...
Shaw? Potentially he could be the best left back, however the past two years for him have been anything but consistent. I'd even put Robertson ahead of him.
Comment posted by John Prescott , at 12:05 13 Oct 2017
If shaw is in at left back, it only proves how poor liverpools options are in that area of the field. I would have thought Salah would have been in there too.
Comment posted by J , at 13:07 13 Oct 2017
@39. JohnD1962

"What a load of rubbish. Sturridge is a better player than Rashford. Shaw? Really?"
__

Shaw I'll not argue with..he has no business in the XI.
But 'Boo Boo' Sturridge? 90% of life is just showing up & the lad doesn't show up 90% of the time. He's a walking Red Cross advert.
~XLIV
Comment posted by arashikage, at 17:26 13 Oct 2017
Coutinho and Mane would clearly walk into Man Utd's first team, after that, only Firmino and Salah would be close to be being considered in my opinion. Pogba and Matic are better than their Liverpool equivalents as are the Man Utd defence and goalkeeper.
Comment posted by Andy, at 19:14 13 Oct 2017
Not saying about the sides etc, but the 3.5% who did not pick De Gea do really need to be committed for Psychological Testing, out of all the positions and players in the two sides that can play keeper how did he not get 100%. If not how did Mignolet beat Romero to 2nd place....
Comment posted by User0472500374, at 14:57 13 Oct 2017
I'd say that's pretty accurate. I cant think of anyone other than the 2 mentioned who I would like to have in the UTD squad. The most worrying thing is that 100% didn't pick De Gea! That means that there are some out there who would prefer Mignolet or Karius.... Wow
Comment posted by Justanopinion, at 15:16 13 Oct 2017
Checked and Liverpool have only played twice against teams in the bottom half. ALL Utd's games have been against bottom half teams and five of the bottom six!

---
"89. GORDO101011
JustanOpinoion

Liverpool have won 2, & drawn 3 games vs mid/bottom clubs this season. If you had Man United's fixture list, judging by your performance so far, you would be sitting on about 12-13 points. "
Comment posted by We all laugh at the London stadium, at 12:11 13 Oct 2017
At the end of the day, it looks like even the Pool fans have acknowledged the failings that only the Klott refuses to accept....

Summed up perfectly that Shaw that never plays...get's picked ahead of Moreno...
Comment posted by User0706664498, at 15:59 13 Oct 2017
Looking at the players on offer from both sides, it shows just how far the standard of the Premier League/First Division has dropped - and yes I suppose Huddersfield Town playing in this division backs that statement up as well despite me being a Town fan. I think both current Liverpool and Man Utd squads compare unfavourably to their respective great sides of the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s.
Comment posted by A-D-George, at 15:49 13 Oct 2017
@102

Really? How come two players (inferior to Messi) made it into the team then?

Although we've always been a bigger club (in terms of following), I highly doubt that the it would account for the huge discrepancies in voting patterns.

Perhaps it's just hard to admit that, player for player, United may be better ATM. Liverpool fans can be just as biassed anyhow (eg. Gerrard>Scholes)
Comment posted by sportsfan40s, at 20:29 13 Oct 2017
Football fans really are the thickest bunch. On cricket and rugby threads 90% of the posters are able to be objective and put forward mature arguments. On football threads as evidenced here 90% of contributions are "my team is better than yours. Your team is rubbish ha ha."
Pathetic simpletons. Grow up.
Comment posted by A-D-George, at 15:31 13 Oct 2017
@90
United fan here, and I absolutely agree. There's no way any of us (decent) fans are getting carried away.

But the refreshing difference is, those are exactly the teams we kept drawing with last year. So to beat some of them by 4 goals shows that JM is buying into the club philosophy and DNA.

Whether that translates into (more) trophies remains to be seen. But it should be interesting.
Comment posted by Matthew, at 13:23 14 Oct 2017
How on Earth did Jones and Shaw make it onto this team???
Comment posted by D1710601043106, at 19:03 13 Oct 2017
@157

Can you see the flaw in your argument?

You say loserpool are bigger (yeah right!) than Manchester United 'cos they won the European/CL more times, then you go on to say that Citeh (noisy neighbours) are bigger than Manchester United even though Citeh have never won the European/CL.

Can you see it now? Can you?

27 soon to be 28 years of joy.
Comment posted by BlueStig, at 12:23 13 Oct 2017
@ We all laugh at the London stadium

'Summed up perfectly that Shaw that never plays...get's picked ahead of Moreno...'
-----------------------------------------------------------------

And ahead of the MU left backs!
Comment posted by J , at 13:01 13 Oct 2017
Agree with Shaw being the outstanding misfit; has no business in there, but not at the expense of any loserfool defender. A fair & balanced 4-4-2. Tomorrow should clear things up for the scouse whiners.
Nigh on 3 decades...;)
~XL
Comment posted by Llew ab Islwyn, at 18:03 13 Oct 2017
I'm hear to laugh at Liverpool fans 😎😎