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By Simon Evans
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Manchester United may not be participating in the title race, but the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer team could have a big influence on the Premier League winner, starting with the Liverpool confrontation at Old Trafford.
Manchester City are leading the Premier League in terms of Liverpool's goal difference to Juergen Klopp with both teams scoring 65 points – 14 ahead of United, fourth.
City does not appear in the Premier League this weekend, as they will face Chelsea in the League Cup final, thus giving Liverpool the opportunity to return to the top of the table.
United must still play City again in this campaign, but, perhaps surprisingly for some, their fans would probably prefer to do more harm to Liverpool's ambitions.
Liverpool has not won the title since 1990, while United won 13 and his fans like to remind their rivals in the Northwest.
Local pride aside, however, it's also a crucial match for Solskjaer who wants to convince the Old Trafford hierarchy that he is the man of choice to run the club permanently after the end its interim period.
The Norwegian is already a very popular figure with United fans after leading the team to 11 wins in his first 13 games in charge. If he won the Liverpool scalp, his approval ratings would go to the extreme.
It was a defeat against Liverpool who gave Solskjaer a chance when Jose Mourinho was sacked following a 3-1 defeat at Anfield in December.
United has qualified for the quarter-finals of the FA Cup with an impressive 2-0 win at Chelsea on Monday as Liverpool prepares for this weekend's game after a 0-0 draw at home. Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
"It's a big game against Manchester United, it's still big against them, it's also a game in hand and we can not wait to see it," said Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson.
"It's a huge game, it's a different team playing a very good football, I think we have to be suspicious of them, but they know what they're up against and they have to be suspicious of us." -he adds.
United hopes that Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard will recover in time to face Liverpool. They missed the Chelsea match after being injured during the Champions League defeat to Paris St Germain last week.
"You look at their team sheet or team list and it's full of stars. They came to the party and they have a fantastic team. They have also recovered injured, which is still helping and they also have a strong team, "said Robertson.
Tottenham Hotspur also hopes to bridge the gap with City and captain, Harry Kane, could be back in the starting lineup at Burnley on Saturday after a few weeks of ankle injury.
(Report by Simon Evans edited by Ed Osmond)
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