In-form Liverpool ace brutally snubbed as Ferdinand puts five Man Utd stars in combined XI

Rio Ferdinand has chosen his Liverpool and Man Utd combined XI
Rio Ferdinand left out some big names as he chose a combined XI between rivals Liverpool and Manchester United.
On Sunday afternoon, Liverpool travel to Old Trafford to face Man Utd in a huge FA Cup quarter-final clash. The match is massive for both teams, but for very different reasons.
Liverpool are looking to send Jurgen Klopp away with several pieces of silverware when he leaves Anfield at the end of the season. They have already won the League Cup and remain in the mix for the FA Cup, Premier League and Europa League.
For Man Utd, meanwhile, the FA Cup represents their last opportunity for a trophy this term after disappointment in both the Champions League and League Cup.
Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag will find it extremely tough to keep his job this summer, though he can give himself a better chance of doing so if the Red Devils triumph in the FA Cup and manage to sneak into the top four.
Ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Man Utd, Ferdinand was asked to produce a combined XI of the two sides.
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While Liverpool have been far better than Man Utd for large parts of the campaign, five of Ten Hag’s players still made the cut. Ferdinand even chose Man Utd striker Rasmus Hojlund over Darwin Nunez, despite the latter managing nine goals and three assists in his last 11 appearances across all competitions.
Starting with the goalkeeper, Ferdinand went through his team on his Vibe with Five podcast.
Dalot, Mainoo get the nod from Ferdinand
“I’m going [Andre] Onana,” he said. “[Diogo] Dalot has to play. [Conor Bradley] is doing well as well.
“I said about Dalot before, I don’t know what he is, you know? I remember Cristiano [Ronaldo] said to me: ‘This boy will be a good player, trust me. He works hard, has good attributes’… and he was right. He’s been really good.
“[Ibrahima] Konate and Virgil [van Dijk], straight in, [Victor] Lindelof’s done alright [at left-back], but Andy Robertson goes in.
“[Wataru] Endo has been your guy. I think Endo, with the importance to the team, he just sits there and stops counter-attacks. I’m going Kobbie Mainoo [too].
“For a young kid to come in and have the impact he’s had so far, the calmness he plays with… He has to get a mention.
Garnacho and Hojlund in for Diaz and Nunez
“I’ll give you [Mo Salah]. [Alejandro] Garnacho has been brilliant, I love him. I’m going to put Garnacho on the left.
“Darwin has had a couple of good games! Before this month you wouldn’t be sitting there with your chest out saying Darwin. I can’t give you Darwin over Hojlund with as much conviction as you’re saying.”
While Liverpool fans will be shocked that Nunez has been left out of the team, Ferdinand will argue that before his injury Hojlund managed seven goals in six league matches.
Nevertheless, Nunez will be hoping to prove the pundit wrong by getting on the scoresheet for Liverpool at Old Trafford.