If he is fully fit then he starts for me.
These are the sort of fixtures you want Steven Gerrard playing in. United aren't particularly blessed with pace which will suit Steven.
No disrespect to Joe Allen, he has played very well recently and you could argue that it would be unfair to drop him, but in a must win game against Manchester United of all teams then Stevie gets the nod every time.
I disagree, they'll have players like Carrick, Herrera, Mata and Fellaini trying to control the central midfield with Rooney dropping deep to supplement them. We need a couple of work horses like Hendo and Allen to stifle them and creativity/pace of Couts and Sterling to stretch them.
Gerrard doesn't offer much over and above Allen in this kind of game partly because he's too slow to mark their attackers and partly because United play with a 5/6 man midfield typically when you add Rooney, which means Stevie won't have the time on the ball to pick out decisive passes, which is his strength. I'd go with
Migs
Can Skrtl Sakho
Marko Allen Hendo Moreno
Couts Sterling
Studge
Stevie, Lallana and Balotelli to come on in the second half depending on how the game is going. Balo loves United
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