Is The Biggest Premier League Rivalry In Danger Of Fizzling Out?

The real biggest Premier League rivalry does include a team from Merseyside, but it’s Everton’s red counterparts: Liverpool. Since the Premier League began, Liverpool and Manchester United have been locked in an endless rivalry. It’s regularly one of the most-watched matches and includes some of the most ferocious challenges and heartstoppingly brilliant moments.

United held the crown for many years, though recent form sees Liverpool as the team to beat. While the Merseyside Reds march towards another title battle, Manchester United are stuck in another season of mediocrity. It’s making many fans wonder if this rivalry will hold up. If United continue on their downward slump, could this once-great battle no longer be the hottest ticket on the calendar?

Matches between Liverpool and Manchester United remain passionate affairs, but the stakes simply aren’t that high anymore. Both of these sides were members of the prestigious “Top 4” for ages; they regularly qualified for the Champions League and swept up multiple trophies of domestic and European varieties throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

Granted, Liverpool didn’t win the Premier League until 2020, ending a 30-year wait for top-flight title honours. Throughout this time they still remained fairly competitive and won numerous League Cups, FA Cups and Champions Leagues. As such, it was always a big game when Manchester United were in town, though the Red Devils' recent form has made it fizzle out.

The truth is it’s hard to care as much about a rivalry when one team is struggling to qualify for Europe. These days, everyone knows the likely outcome before the match begins - including the bookies. You can check endless online bookmakers; CasinoGam.uk recommends UK gambling sites not on GamStop for the best range of odds, and they’ll all put Liverpool as the favourites - even when United are at home.

It’s a stark contrast from matchups of the past where things could go either way. Since Sir Alex left the Theatre of Dreams, United have been on a downward slope with no signs of things turning around. If this continues, how can you consider the Liverpool match a true rival anymore?

The ironic thing about the Liverpool vs Manchester United rivalry is that both teams have local rivals as well! Manchester City spent aeons in the wilderness and even had a good few years in the division below Manchester United. As such, this wasn’t seen as a big rivalry at all. Hardly any United fans cared about City until they started winning things.

The Manchester Derby wasn’t a highlight - to be honest, it wasn’t even in the top five Premier League rivalries for some time. When the Sky Blues started winning and being title rivals, we saw a change. The games became more intense and rival fans hated each other more and more.

It’s the perfect example of how the competitive nature of two teams determines the intensity and importance of a rivalry. As United continue on a downward spiral and struggles to qualify for top-tier European football, Liverpool fans become less bothered with them. The rival has lost a lot of its pazazz and is starting to show shades of the Manchester Derbies of old.

Another big factor influencing the importance of this rivalry is the birth of new rivalries in the Premier League. Many existed before, though modern times have made them bigger and better.

The current crop of in-form teams is establishing key rivalries in the 2020s that we expect to dominate the headlines for years to come. Just look at the Arsenal vs Liverpool match the other day. The Gooners won 3-1 and celebrated like they’d won the league! It shows how much the game meant to them because the stakes were extremely high and this was a fight between two title rivals.

Alongside this matchup, you have others that stand out when the fixtures come out each year:

We’re entering a new era where Manchester United vs Liverpool is not the match it once was. It’s still fairly big right now, but as the seasons go on and the gap between the sides increases, it makes you wonder how long until this isn’t advertised as a “Super Sunday” match.

For now, it’s fair to say the biggest draw in Premier League football is Manchester City vs Liverpool. They’re easily the best two teams of this generation, so maybe this will develop into a rival for the ages too.