Rivaldo Exclusive: Man Utd a good bet to win Sunday's English 'Clasico'

• Rivaldo predicts Man Utd win at Anfield

• Madrid will beat Barcelona in Thursday Copa clash

• Messi deserved his award but Vini was unlucky

United can win at Anfield

We will have an English football classic at Anfield on Sunday, with Manchester United arriving in good form and Liverpool enduring a difficult moment by their standards.

United won their first trophy for six years last Sunday and are looking very strong in the Premier League and in the Europa League.

They will see Sunday's match as an opportunity to get a rare win at Anfield against their rivals Liverpool.

Klopp's team are going through a bad phase that culminated in their 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid at home in the Champions League.

Now United a good chance to win away from home and my prediction is 2-1 to the visitors.

Madrid better than Barca befor Copa del Rey

Barcelona good form came to an end with their elimination from the Europa League against United last week.

After that, my old club lost away from home to Almeria, an average team in La Liga.

Their rivals Real Madrid, meanwhile, have won the Club World Cup and won at Anfield, so the club from the Spanish capital arrive in better shape for the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday.

For that reason, and although I'm rooting for Barcelona, I believe Real Madrid are worthy favourites. They look good for a 2-1 win.

Messi deserved his award

Last week, I said Karim Benzema was likely to win the FIFA 'The Best' award but it turned out to be Lionel Messi who won, and I understand the voters' decision.

He won the World Cup at the age of 35, giving fantastic performances
throughout the tournament in Qatar. This week's award was almost a career prize for everything he has given to football.

There were even many Brazilians who cheered his achievement, despite the great rivalry between Brazil and Argentina.

This only happened because Brazilian people recognise everything Messi has given to football and his extraordinary quality as a player who stood out in a generation of footballers.

Scaloni is Argentina's future

Argentina's Lionel Scaloni was named best coach in the world in 2022 and I highly value the work he has been doing with his team.

Besides winning the Copa America and the World Cup, he managed to create a very cohesive group around Lionel Messi. That was key to their march to glory in Qatar.

Argentina's combination of experienced players and a lot of youth has generated huge benefits for the Argentine people.

The news that he will stay on for another four years is a deserved reward for his fantastic work. He is the future of the Argentine national team.

Vini Jr. can be best in the world

There was only one Brazilian player among FIFA's Best XI in 2022 (Casemiro)
and many consider that Vini Jr. should have been included in this team.

I agree with them because he played a crucial role in Real Madrid's achievements, winning the Champions League and La Liga.

But the FIFA gala ended up revolving around the World Cup, and as Brazil did not go beyond the quarterfinals this ended up hurting his chances of getting recognition.

I am sure that if Vini Jr. keeps performing so well he will end up being among the nominees in 2023, not only to be among the 11, but even fighting to be the best in the world since his influence at Madrid is undoubted.