Simon Mignolet is hoping to prove how far he has come since Liverpool last played at Old Trafford.
When Liverpool visited Manchester United in December, the Belgian’s form had slumped, so Mignolet was forced to sit and watch his team suffer a 3-0 defeat with Brad Jones in between the sticks.
Since then the £9m goalkeeper has turned his Anfield career around and has cemented his place as Liverpool’s number one.
In 2015, no goalkeeper in the Premier League has kept more clean sheets than Mignolet’s tally of 12.
He is quoted in the Liverpool Echo: “It’s a totally different picture this time.
Last time I went there and sat on the bench. It was a difficult time. It was the day before the game when the gaffer told me I wouldn’t be playing.
“We trained a bit later that day before travelling to Manchester. I said to myself that I wanted that period out of the team to be as short as possible.”
Mignolet survived the first three games of the new season without conceding a goal, but the Reds then suffered a disappointing 3-0 defeat against West Ham.
The 27-year-old is hoping that Liverpool can keep a clean sheet on Saturday:
“I want to continue in the same way. We started the season off with three clean sheets and we need to get back to that on Saturday,” added Mignolet.
The arrival of fellow Belgium international Christian Benteke gives Mignolet an option of playing the long ball rather than playing in short from the back.
“You always play to your strengths and to the weaknesses of the opponent. Christian has got a lot of ability to keep the ball but also to play. He can hold the ball up and link the play really well with the likes of other quality players we have up front,” he explained.
