Of course this is the first time Jose Mourinho will lead Manchester United against Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool but the United manager has faced Liverpool many times during his career managing in England so he knows the intensity and importance of the fixture. Liverpool are riding high coming into Monday night’s game, having won their last four games in a row whereas United drew their last game against Stoke City after beating Leicester 4-1 in their previous match and losing to Manchester City in their game before that and only just sneaking by Hull City by a goal in their Premier League fixture before that. So the form book favours Jurgen Klopp.

As ESPNFC reported, Mourinho had this to say about the upcoming trip to Anfield.

“I like the atmosphere, normally the characteristics of the matches, but being Manchester United manager means something more, because we cannot compare the historical rivalry between my previous club [Chelsea] and United and Liverpool.

“I look forward to it. I always like to play at Anfield. I won many times there. I also lost. I won big matches, I lost big matches, so I cannot say I like to go there because I’m always successful, because it’s not true, but I do like to go there.

“It is just a big match. It can be comparable to Inter vs Milan, Real Madrid vs Barcelona, Benfica vs Porto — these kind of matches — and I like it.”

So Jose certainly seems ready for the game and it will be interesting to see if he continues to leave Wayne Rooney on the bench and indeed if he finds a place for Marcus Rashford in his starting XI. We likely won’t find out his starting line-up until right before the game. When asked about Liverpool’s great start to the season Jose replied in his sometimes grumpy manner when asked about rivals saying, “I have nothing to say.”

We think the game could end in a 2-2 tie as both teams will be going for the win but Jose will really want a win as the next League match for United after Liverpool is a visit to his former club Chelsea.