'Manchester United Have Benefited From No Fans In Stadiums Unlike Liverpool'

Defending Premier League champions Liverpool have been 'hurt' by no fans being allowed into stadiums as Manchester United have benefited without them.

That's according to The Anfield Wrap's Gareth Roberts, who claims that Jurgen Klopp's Reds "look like they're missing the fans."

Liverpool watched their 68-match unbeaten home run in the Premier League come to an end with a shock 1-0 defeat to Burnley on Thursday.

The Reds are now six points behind league leaders Manchester United, with Jurgen Klopp even admitting that he "can't imagine the title race at the moment."

United, on the other hand, climbed back to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Wednesday.

Speaking on Off The Ball, Roberts argued that Liverpool have been "conservative" without fans while the absence of United supports has meant that they are not "giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer loads for his negative football."

He explained: "I do think Liverpool now look like they're missing the fans. Some of the football from Liverpool at times has been conservative.

"You know, they're chewing the ball a little bit, they're overthinking it, they're taking extra touches. I would almost say that wouldn't be allowed if there's 54,000 of us in the stadium, so if Mo [Salah] turns away from Scott McTominay and plays it into midfield, he gets 54,000 people saying, 'What are you doing, Mo?! Take him on, have a shot.'

"And he [Salah] hasn't got that; he hasn't got that -- he hasn't got that to sort of keep him honest if you like.

"Against United, conversely I think, the no fans thing might be helping them in that they haven't got 70-odd thousand Man United fans in there giving Ole Gunnar Solskjaer loads for his negative football, so he's able to do the [Jose] Mourinho-esque approach to games and no fans to keep him honest."

Roberts' comments haven't been met well with United fans as they branded the reasoning as "pathetic" and 'delusional.'

United and Liverpool will clash on Sunday at Old Trafford in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Roberts added that the FA Cup needs to become a 'big priority' for Klopp, saying that Liverpool "need it for a shot in the arm."

He continued: "At the weekend, I think Liverpool have got to go strong now and they've got to go out and try to win it.

"It's not been Jurgen Klopp's biggest priority in his time here but it is now. I think we need it.

"We need it for a shot in the arm, we need it for confidence and it's always glorious to beat Manchester United particularly on their own patch, so yeah, fingers crossed."