Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is backing Manchester United to win at Anfield for the first time in seven years on Sunday.

The Red Devils are in excellent form heading into this weekend’s encounter against Liverpool and Merson believes the away side will punish their opponents on the counter-attack:

“This is how quickly football changes. You’d be surprised if Manchester United got beaten here. How many times have we been able to say that about this game in the last few years? The way Manchester United are playing, they will take the game to Liverpool.”

“They are excellent on the counter and their players seem to make the right decisions whenever they break. United will want Liverpool to have a go at them so that they can hit them on the counter. Klopp’s side could play right into United’s hands on Sunday.”

Merson has gone with a 2-1 win for United, which is a realistic prediction based on the form of the two teams heading into the derby.

While Liverpool did win against Wolves midweek, their defence has been pretty awful this season and manager Erik ten Hag has plenty of attacking weapons at his disposal to exploit his team’s opponents.

Of course, no game is won on paper, and the atmosphere at Anfield is a factor. The key will be to silence the crowd early on, either with a goal or a dominant spell in the first half. It’s a big test for United but it’s one they will need to pass if they want to remain contenders.