Two of the Premier League's biggest rivals meet at Old Trafford on Sunday, though it is fair to say there has been a gulf in class between these sides, at least over the course of a season, in recent campaigns.
This is, of course, Arne Slot's first game in charge of Liverpool against United.
None of the Reds' last nine managers have won their first league meeting with the Red Devils, since Bob Paisley beat them 3-1 in November 1975.
Meanwhile, George Kay is the only Liverpool manager to win his first away league game against United, winning 5-2 at Old Trafford in November 1936.
Will Slot be able to buck that trend on Sunday, putting out a statement regarding Liverpool's title aspirations in the process?
Ahead of the latest meeting between England's two most successful clubs, we look at all the best Opta facts surrounding the game.
What's expected?
It will surprise few to hear the Opta supercomputer makes Liverpool favourites for this one, with the Reds given a 48.4% chance of victory.
United, meanwhile, only came out on top in 28.2% of the simulations the model ran. The match was drawn in 23.4% of scenarios.
Liverpool have lost just one of their last six Premier League away games against United (two wins, three draws), while only Manchester City (nine) have won away at Old Trafford more often than the Reds (seven) in the competition's history. Is it any surprise they are favourites?
United have won just one of their last 12 Premier League meetings with Liverpool (five draws, six losses), beating them 2-1 at Old Trafford in their third game of the 2022-23 campaign.
However, United boss Erik ten Hag has got previous against Slot, having faced him four times in the Eredivisie. Slot's AZ beat Ten Hag's Ajax twice in 2019-20 before Ten Hag twice beat Slot's Feyenoord side in 2021-22.
This will be the first Premier League game between two Dutch coaches since February 2016, when Guus Hiddink's Chelsea won 2-1 at Ronald Koeman's Southampton.
Ten Hag to unleash young guns?
Last season's FA Cup triumph, in all likelihood, preserved Ten Hag's status as United boss, and the high point in that run undoubtedly came against Liverpool in the last eight.
Going 2-1 down in normal time and 3-2 behind in the extra period, United twice found themselves on the brink of elimination, only to stage a miraculous comeback and steal a 4-3 win.
Amad Diallo was the hero on that occasion, scoring a dramatic 121st-minute winner before being sent off for removing his shirt in the wild celebrations that followed.
Diallo scored just his second Premier League goal in United's 2-1 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion last time out, and with the Red Devils likely to play on the break against a confident Liverpool outfit, he could do more damage on Sunday.
The 22-year-old has registered 36 carries through his three appearances in the Community Shield and the Premier League in 2024-25, ranking fourth in the United squad behind centre-backs Lisandro Martinez (52) and Harry Maguire (41) and midfielder Kobbie Mainoo (37).
Many United fans have called for Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho to start on either flank, and an injury to Mason Mount could allow for that possibility this weekend, potentially with Marcus Rashford playing a central role.
Garnacho has two goal involvements (one goal, one assist) in all competitions this term, scoring in the Community Shield and assisting Joshua Zirkzee's winner against Fulham on matchday one in the Premier League. That is more than any other United player, despite the Argentine only playing 85 minutes overall.
With Liverpool likely to leave space down the flanks, United's best route to victory could come via their young wide men.
Arne slots right in
It's been a case of so far, so good for Slot at Anfield. Liverpool have won their first two matches under their new boss, who has big shoes to fill following Jurgen Klopp's departure.
Both of those victories have been by 2-0 scorelines, versus Ipswich Town and Brentford. Only twice before have they won each of their first three in a campaign without conceding, doing so in 2013-14 and 2018-19 – they beat United 1-0 on September 1 in their third game in 2013-14, so the omens are good.
Slot will be just as pleased with the Reds' performances, though, as he will be with their results.
No team has had more shots than Liverpool in the Premier League this season (37), while the Reds also have the highest expected goals total (5.3) and the lowest expected goals against total (1.0) thus far.
Liverpool's pre-season was overshadowed by suggestions some of Klopp's most seasoned campaigners – most prominently Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk – could follow him through the exit door. However, both have made the transition to Slot's more possession-based style look serene.
Salah has already netted twice for Liverpool this season, and he is the highest-scoring visiting player to Old Trafford in Premier League history, with six goals. The Egyptian has netted in each of his last six away games against United in all competitions (nine goals in total).
Van Dijk, meanwhile, is set to make his 200th Premier League appearance for Liverpool, having been on the winning side in 139 of 199 outings to date, already the most wins any player has picked up in his first 200 for the club in the competition.
It will be intriguing to see how daring Slot's approach is, with Liverpool ranking fourth in the Premier League for possession share (62.2%), successful passes (1,172) and passes completed in the opposition half (537) through the first two matchdays.
A victory at Old Trafford, especially if achieved in a convincing manner, could provide lift-off for the Dutchman's reign.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester United – Marcus Rashford
Rashford might well be United's best hope, particularly if they are forced to soak up pressure and hit Liverpool on the break.
He has only scored more goals against Leicester City (eight) in all competitions than he has against Liverpool (seven).
All seven of these strikes have come in his 10 appearances against them at Old Trafford, including an extra-time strike in last season's memorable 4-3 FA Cup victory.
Liverpool – Dominik Szoboszlai
Szoboszlai has been involved in more attacking sequences (20 – four shots, five chances created and 11 build-up involvements) than any other player in the Premier League this season.
Five other Liverpool players rank in the top 10 by that metric – Luis Diaz (19), Trent Alexander-Arnold (16), Salah and Andy Robertson (both 15).
Given United's tendency to give up space in midfield, the dynamic Hungarian could be the driving force for Liverpool.
Merino set to miss several weeks for Arsenal with shoulder injury
Arsenal's new signing Mikel Merino is set to be out for several weeks after suffering a fractured shoulder in his first training session.
The midfielder, who joined from Real Sociedad in a £31.6million deal earlier this week, sustained the injury in a clash with Gabriel Magalhaes.
Merino had been expected to make his debut for the Gunners against Brighton on Saturday, but Mikel Arteta confirmed that would not be possible.
"Very unfortunate," Arteta told a news conference. "On Thursday, he had a collision, and he has a shoulder injury, unfortunately.
"It looks like he's going to be out for a few weeks. First session. He was really excited, and everything was looking really good.
"He landed on the floor and Gabi landed on top of him, and it looks like he has a small fracture, probably.
"We have to see [how long he is out for]. He was in so much pain. We'll have to do some more tests on that and then we'll have more conclusive answers."
Arsenal have also announced the signing of Neto on a season-long loan deal from Bournemouth following Aaron Ramsdale's departure to Southampton.
The goalkeeper started the Cherries' first two Premier League games of the season, making 11 saves and conceding just twice.
In 63 appearances for Bournemouth in all competitions, he kept 13 clean sheets and helped them to a 12th-place finish in the top-flight last season.
Barcelona can still improve despite great start to LaLiga, says Flick
Despite winning all three games in LaLiga so far, Hansi Flick believes Barcelona still have room to improve ahead of their clash with Rayo Valladolid.
With rivals Real Madrid struggling to fit new signing Kylian Mbappe into their stellar squad, and winning only one game so far, Barca have opened up a lead at the top of the league standings on nine points, two ahead of second-placed Villarreal and three from Celta Vigo in third.
"It's going to be a long season, and I'm not focused on the opponents. I'm focused on Barca, we've done well in the first three games and hopefully tomorrow we'll be victorious," Flick told a press conference on Friday.
"The players are fit and rested, they are training really well, and I'm pleased. We believe in our strength and in our idea of the game.
"Of course, there are many things we need to improve, like being focused from the start of the matches and not wait 10 minutes to get going. To be confident from minute one, that's what I expect from the players.
"It sounds like something basic, but it's part of the hard core of our idea of the game. The quality of this team is sky-high, fantastic."
Barcelona had to fight back to win after conceding first-half goals at Valencia and Rayo Vallecano, and needed a late Robert Lewandowski winner to break the deadlock at home against Athletic Bilbao.
Flick said he was delighted with the strength of character in the team.
"We have a special atmosphere and a very good mentality. They are very professional players with a great attitude. They are acting as one. The attitude, the mentality, the teamwork... I love it. This is the only way to win, in unison," Flick said.
Kompany urges Bayern to cut out errors against Freiburg
Vincent Kompany has urged Bayern Munich to stop making mistakes ahead of their Bundesliga match against Freiburg at home on Sunday.
Bayern narrowly secured a 3-2 victory against Wolfsburg last time out, courtesy of a late goal from Serge Gnabry, after conceding twice early in the second half.
"We observe everything, delve into details to find solutions and strive to create a perfect picture. We performed very well in the first half against Wolfsburg but lost momentum just after half-time," Kompany told reporters on Friday.
"Such lapses often occur due to mistakes. However, we fought back and persevered. The mentality was commendable. We need to address these issues as a team."
Freiburg claimed an impressive 3-1 win against last season's runners-up, Stuttgart, in their first match and Kompany acknowledged that Sunday would pose a different challenge.
"It's a difficult game for us but our objective at home at the Allianz Arena is always clear," Kompany said.
Despite injuries to defensive players, including Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic, who are out for the start of the season, Kompany was unconcerned about the overall squad situation.
"We're close to having everyone available. I don't want to exert too much pressure. We don't have many worries. I hope we’ll have everyone fit soon," he said.
Kompany said he was excited about the new-format Champions League after Bayern found out their fate in the competition in Thursday's draw, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona among their adversaries.
"It feels new and exciting. I'm looking forward to it because it'll be different. You have eight opponents in very different situations. Previously, it was often clear who would advance after four games," Kompany said.
"I’m excited about the fixtures. An away game in Rotterdam is always nice; playing at home against Paris and away in Barcelona. The key is to keep the players fit, then we can relish the games."
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