If we’re brutally honest, we don’t know who in their right mind would want to actually create a combined Liverpool and Manchester United eleven in the forthcoming release of FIFA 16 given the fact you’re either a Kopite or a Stretford Ender, right?
That said, when devising the best ranked combined eleven between the two sides, it’s good to see who the guys over at EA Sports are rating highly this time around and who out of both sides has more players stuffed into this eleven than the other in terms of prestige and bragging rights.
As the real world version of Manchester United versus Liverpool played out last weekend, it was of course the Red Devils who stole the show, comfortably disposing of their rivals while also finding time for £36 million new boy Anthony Martial to find the scoresheet in his first ever United appearance.
With Brendan Rodgers again under intense scrutiny for his tactics after Liverpool didn’t really seem to go for it in the first half at Old Trafford, Liverpool fans could be forgiven for getting that sinking feeling of here we go again!
If their season does continue meandering into mediocrity over the coming months, Liverpool fans might actually want to begin playing FIFA 16 far more regularly in order to detach themselves from what’s really going on while scoring a double hat-trick with Philippe Coutinho away at Everton etc.
But as we initially stated, just who does make it into the best combined Liverpool and Manchester United eleven within FIFA 16?
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Click on the image below to reveal the best combined Liverpool and Manchester United FIFA 16 XI.
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David De Gea
With Simon Mignolet rated at 78 in FIFA 16 and David De Gea receiving a mighty 86 rating, this one was no contest when it comes to the goalkeepers.
FIFA have got this one absolutely right with De Gea quite rightly billed as one of the world’s top goalkeepers while many Liverpool fans are often caught wondering why they can’t get an upgrade on their sometimes error-prone Belgian international.
Nathaniel Clyne
Two players were tied on a rating of 81 at right back in FIFA 16 and those guys were Manchester United new boy Matteo Darmian and this chap, Nathaniel Clyne.
We’ve plumped to include Clyne in this particular combined eleven simply because he’s been an established Premier League competitor for a few seasons now and most definitely one of the standout full backs in the top flight as a whole.
Darmian has been steady and impressive in his fledgling Red Devils career to date but we’re going with the determined pace and crossing abilities of Clyne on this occasion.
Martin Skrtel
He does make the odd mistake but just not as many as Chris Smalling and Phil Jones do reflected in the fact that Martin Skrtel is rated at 81 in FIFA 16 with the aforementioned Red Devils duo languishing with ratings of 79 and 80 respectively.
Mamadou Sakho was also awarded a rating of 81 in FIFA 16 but we’re going with Skrtel who has proved himself to be a dependable leader in Liverpool’s team down the years.
Marcos Rojo
With Phil Jones and Chris Smalling receiving ratings of 80 and 79 within FIFA 16, one Manchester United player who trumps them both despite being somewhat a missing person due to injury right now is Marcos Rojo who is rated at 81.
Enjoying fantastic performances for Argentina at both the World Cup and Copa America both last year and this, it is a shame that United fans haven’t seen so much of the tenacious defender who has endured his fair share of injury setbacks.
With the comedian Dejan Lovren somehow doing well to even get a rating of 79 and Kolo Toure even worse on 78, Rojo wins outright here.
Alberto Moreno
Considering he is being usurped at left back by young Joe Gomez right now, FIFA 16 seem to rate Alberto Moreno a lot higher than Brendan Rodgers currently does with the Spanish international receiving a rating of 79.
Two more than 77-rated Luke Shaw, Moreno takes the spot at left back with the former Sevilla man being one of few Reds purchases of last summer to have impressed in parts last term.
While he may have a rating close to the 80-mark, he’ll have to prove he can get back into Rodgers’ best starting eleven or risk a downgrade in FIFA 17!
Bastian Schweinsteiger
In fairness, Manchester United dominated the midfield when it came to comparing the ratings of both the Red Devils and the Reds’ options in the middle of the park.
By far and away the highest ranked central midfielder from both clubs was Bastian Schweinsteiger who is still rated at a world class 86 and considering he’s pretty much won the lot including the World Cup last summer with Germany, we can’t really argue with that!
The closest to such a rating for Liverpool was James Milner down at 80. Ouch!
Oh and Jordan Henderson is still stuck in the 70’s at a rating of 79 despite what Liverpool fans will tell you waas a huge improvement last season.
And to think, he’s the UK cover star of FIFA 16 as well! *cringe*
Morgan Schneiderlin
Four down from Bastian Schweinsteiger’s 86 but still very much respectable at a rating of 82 is Morgan Schneiderlin who was wasted no time in getting comfortable in Manchester United’s midfield.
A classy midfielder who is capable of doing a little bit of everything, Schneiderlin very rarely disappoints when deployed but given the embarrassment of riches Louis van Gaal can choose from in the middle of the park, Schneiderlin was actually a substitute behind the 81-rated Ander Herrera last Saturday evening against Liverpool.
Juan Mata
Failing to score against Liverpool for the third game in a row at the weekend, Juan Mata enjoyed his fair share of personal success against the Reds last term, scoring three goals against United’s Merseyside opposition for Louis van Gaal’s men.
Having significantly improved from the days where he’d just joined United, Mata retains a high rating of 84 in FIFA 16 and this beats off competition from the 82-rated Roberto Firmino, not to mention trumping United team-mate Memphis Depay on 81.
Wayne Rooney
A cover star for the FIFA series for years, we think the guys over at EA Sports are reluctant to knock Wayne Rooney’s rating down a peg or two whenever he experiences a bad patch of form.
Still one of the best rated strikers in the game at 86, we’re deploying the England record breaker in the number 10 role where he can dictate the pace of the game, not to mention the fact that Anthony Martial will probably be starting games as the out-and-out striker after his superb goalscoring cameo last weekend.
Philippe Coutinho
Quite simply Liverpool’s highest rated player in FIFA 16, this completely mirrors the fact that Philippe Coutinho is now undoubtedly the Reds’ talisman, most important player and go-to guy for creativity and flair.
Weighing in with a rating of 84, Coutinho will be one of the most exciting players to control in FIFA 16 given his deadly accuracy when shooting from range, not to mention what we expect will be a plethora of flicks and tricks in the Brazilian international’s locker.
Daniel Sturridge
When it came to selecting a centre forward for this combined FIFA 16 eleven, with Wayne Rooney being deployed in the number 10 role, it was actually Liverpool’s forgotten man Daniel Sturridge who won outright when it came to his rating.
Rated at 83 in the latest FIFA release, the crocked England international obviously beat off competition from 66-rated James Wilson, 77-rated Anthony Martial but also Liverpool team-mate Christian Benteke who received a rating of 82, oh and Danny Ings, languishing with a rating of 75.
