How Mohamed Salah can surpass Wayne Rooney as Liverpool welcome rivals Manchester United to Anfield in huge Premier League clash

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The Premier League returns this weekend after the international break and will showcase one of the biggest games of the season as Liverpool welcome bitter rivals Manchester United to Anfield on Sunday. Despite a slow start to the campaign, Liverpool star Mohamed Salah could surpass a Premier League record set by Wayne Rooney, while Reds boss Arne Slot will want to avoid an unwanted milestone.

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Premier League football returns following the international break and one of the biggest matches of the season will take place as Liverpool host bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

Both teams experienced different emotions in their previous games before internationals took centre-stage as United secured a much-needed win over Sunderland to ease pressure on manager Ruben Amorim, while the Reds suffered a last-gasp defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Despite an unconvincing start to the campaign, United could find themselves just two points behind the reigning Premier League champions with a victory on Merseyside this weekend.

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In Amorim's first trip to Anfield last season, his team came away with a 2-2 draw in an entertaining match, and he will be hopeful of becoming the first United manager to win at Liverpool since Louis van Gaal in 2016.

With league leaders Arsenal playing on Saturday, Liverpool could find themselves four points adrift at the top before the clash against United.

Although the Reds will be fully focused on getting all three points on Sunday, star player Mohamed Salah has the opportunity to surpass United legend Wayne Rooney, while Arne Slot is looking to avoid matching a record set by a Liverpool manager 11 years ago.

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Salah eyes Rooney record

The Manchester United fans travelling to Anfield will be well aware that Salah always finds his scoring boots against their team.

But after a record-breaking 2024/25 campaign where he was the standout performer in the Premier League as Liverpool stormed to the title, the Egypt international has endured a slower start this season.

Salah has only scored twice in the opening seven league games this season and Slot publicly defended his player after a number of missed chances in the defeat to Chelsea.

"What I like is that he got many times in a position he would like to be in, and I would like him to be in," he said. "He has shown in his career and since I’m here that he can score goals.

"Today, he had many opportunities to do what he has done so often, but he is a human being. It is not like every chance he gets is always a goal."

Salah will be licking his lips at the prospect of facing United as he has scored the most goals in Premier League history against the Red Devils with 13 strikes to his name.

'The Egyptian King' has also scored in his last four matches against United in all competitions.

However, there is one record that still eludes Salah and if he wants to achieve it, he will need to surpass United legend Wayne Rooney.

Salah has 19 goal involvements (goals and assists) in the league against United, but Rooney holds the record against a single club with a total of 23 against Newcastle United.

Player	Opponent	PL Goals & Assists
Wayne Rooney	Newcastle United	23
Harry Kane	Leicester City	22
Alan Shearer	Leeds United	21
Frank Lampard	Bolton	21
Les Ferdinand	Everton	20
Mohamed Salah	Manchester United	19

Table provided by Opta

Many might think it could be too much for Salah to notch up four goal involvements against United in one game, but the star forward has already achieved the feat on two separate occasions.

The first took place during Liverpool's memorable 5-0 win at Old Trafford in 2021 where Salah scored a hat-trick and provided an assist.

The second took place two years later in another demolition job for the Reds as the Egyptian scored a brace and contributed with two more assists as Liverpool stormed to a 7-0 win at Anfield.

Salah continued his stunning form against United in Liverpool's 3-0 victory in Manchester last season where he set up Luis Diaz twice in the first half before getting on the scoresheet after the break.

Although Salah has struggled in front of goal lately, he could be facing the perfect opponent to get himself and Liverpool back on track.

Slot wants to avoid losing record

Despite winning their opening seven matches this season, Liverpool find themselves in an unfamiliar situation.

The Reds have lost three consecutive matches in all competitions after defeats to Crystal Palace and Chelsea in the league, while they endured a torrid night in the UEFA Champions League against Galastasray.

Slot could become the first Liverpool manager to lose four games in a row in all competitions since Brendan Rodgers.

Brendan Rodgers dejected after Liverpool's defeat at Crystal Palace in 2014.

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The 2014/15 campaign was the last time Liverpool suffered four defeats on the bounce and all matches took place in November.

The Reds kicked off the month with a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle and they lost by the same scoreline at Real Madrid three days later, where Rodgers famously benched skipper Steven Gerrard.

Jose Mourinho was next to inflict more pain on Liverpool as his Chelsea team sealed a 2-1 win at Anfield before Crystal Palace made it four in a row following a battling 3-1 victory.

Slot will be hopeful that he avoids the same fate as Liverpool look to kickstart their campaign after a disappointing spell.

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