The England international looks set to face arguably his toughest test yet as the Premier League leaders travel to Old Trafford
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says that Harry Maguire is more than capable of dealing with Liverpool’s attack ahead of their meeting on Sunday.
United host league leaders Liverpool having won just two league games all season, with both victories coming at Old Trafford.
Solskjaer’s side kept a clean sheet on both occasions, but the manager is fully aware that his defence are about to face their biggest challenge so far.
Liverpool go into the fixture top of the table with eight wins from eight, and are behind only Manchester City in goals scored.
United’s Harry Maguire will therefore be in for a busy afternoon as Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah look to improve on their tallies for the season, but his boss believes the world’s most expensive defender can step up to the test.
“He’s already shown how good he is,” Solskjaer said ahead of the game. “He shows us every single day but of course in big games you get more pressure at Man United, and at Liverpool.
“In the big clubs and in the big games, it’s the ones who can step up. That shows the character of you and I don’t doubt for one second Harry is going to play a good game against them.
And while the meeting with Liverpool will undoubtedly be an important stepping stone for the England international, Solskjaer has explained that his £80m centre-back is a signing for the long-term future.
“You don’t buy a player for one type of game,” added the Man Utd boss. “We signed Harry because we can see a leader who can be here for many years.
“But if we can get a great performance from Harry to build on, that’s going to be the catalyst to start from.
“If he can head the ball between the posts when he’s three yards out that would be a good start!”
The world’s two most expensive defenders look set to go head-to-head on Sunday, with Maguire certain to come face-to-face with Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk at some stage throughout the 90 minutes.
The hosts are unbeaten in their last five league meetings with Liverpool at Old Trafford, but the visitors head into the game as strong favourites as they seek to equal Man City’s English top-flight record of 18 consecutive victories.
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