Liverpool v Manchester United: Premier League – live!

... but with United slowly getting on top, and threatening to get back into the game, Liverpool find a third! Robertson scampers down the inside-left channel and lays off to Diaz on the overlap. Diaz looks up and cuts back for Mane, who steers into the bottom right! That’s a lovely goal ... and a reminder what Liverpool can do when they pick up the pace.

66 min: Diaz tries to pick up the pace with an electric run down the middle. He’s brushed off the ball by Fernandes, and wants a foul. He’s not getting one. The punters at Anfield aren’t happy. The first half, when it appeared Liverpool could do anything, seems a long time ago now.

64 min: Alisson makes a huge double save! Sancho slips Rashford into the box on the left. Rashford shoots. Alisson blocks. Elanga has another go. Another fine save. Liverpool clear, then the flag goes up for offside ... incorrectly, because had either Rashford or Elanga scored, that goal was standing, VAR would have seen to that.

63 min: Salah and Mane launch a lethargic counter, which breaks down quickly. Anfield screams in annoyance. United are getting back into this. Liverpool are getting complacent all right.

61 min: Henderson goes down on the edge of the United box, off the ball, Maguire having clipped his ankle. No free kick. Liverpool fans wonder if VAR will take a look. There’s no real reason to, though, an accidental coming together and nothing more.

59 min: Thiago clips Elanga 35 yards out. Bruno takes the free kick, with everyone lined up on the edge of the Liverpool box. A dreadful delivery floats harmlessly through to Alisson. United are improving, though, and on that subject, here’s Michael Wilson: “Yup another old stager who was around after Sir Matt’s first stint. For all you youngsters out there this isn’t the lowest point ... ye!. We’ve been here before, splashing the cash on big names with no end product, Mickey Thomas, Gordon Hill, Brian and Jimmy Greenhoff! It’s darkest before the dawn.”

58 min: Sancho is sent scampering down the left by Elanga. He nips past Alexander-Arnold with ease ... but then the Liverpool right back steps in to reclaim possession. Fine last-ditch defending.

56 min: Lindelof climbs all over the back of Mane, but there’s no free kick forthcoming. Anfield screams as one in irritation, though I suspect much of their annoyance is a result of their team’s second-half incoherence.

55 min: Sancho drops a shoulder to get into the Liverpool box from the left. He dribbles a shot into the arms of Alisson. That’s United’s first shot on target. Small acorns.

54 min: Jurgen Klopp continues to prowl around the technical area in slightly agitated fashion. His team haven’t come out for the second half yet.

52 min: Credit to the United travelling support. They’re in great voice at the minute. A marked contrast to the first half, where the home fans were giving it plenty. A few nerves among the Liverpool supporters as their team misplace a few passes?

50 min: Liverpool have slowed things down and United look a lot more comfortable as a result. “Against City, it was Ashley Young and Michael Carrick who did all the talking about the badge, fans and watching City celebrate a title,” recalls Ruth Purdue. “Who do you think could do that now?” It’s not clear, is it.

48 min: A free kick for United out on the right. Play is switched to Matic on the left. His cross is mopped up by Van Dijk, but this is a slack start to the second half by Liverpool, and it’s no surprise that Jurgen Klopp is hopping mad. He gives Van Dijk the what-for, too. The big defender nods in acknowledgement.

47 min: ... but then Van Dijk gets complacent and gifts United a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, but Van Dijk cops a bollocking off Robertson for his mistake.

46 min: A slow start to the half as Liverpool pass it around the back in the 1980s style.

After a little bit of faff, referee Martin Atkinson requiring a new mic kit, Liverpool get the second half underway. They’re kicking towards the Kop this time. United have made a tactical change: Sancho on for Jones, with the team switching to a back four.

HALF TIME xG SCORE: Liverpool 1.45-0.00 Manchester United. According to the stats folk at Sky, this is the first time United have failed to register a single attempt on target in the first half of a Premier League game for four years. The last occasion? When they went in 2-0 down at Manchester City, only to end up 3-2 winners. However bad things seem, football always offers a little hope. They couldn’t, could they?

Half-time postbag / Catharsis Corner. “This United team - and the club in general - remind me of the teams of the mid to late 70s and early 80s (when I was first following football as a young lad and teenager). Some genuinely talented individuals, who on occasion can combine to good effect, but too rarely act as a team playing in a coherent and club-wide system. Ronaldo as the updated version of Lou Macari ... Mourinho as the modern incarnation of Ron Atkinson ... and remember, it took Sir Alex five years to get the club back on track” - Thomas Jaggers.

“United may be poor but at one point in the early 70s Alex Stepney, the goalie, was for a few weeks our leading goal scorer having scored two penalties! The beauty of sports fandom is the peaks and troughs. This is a bit of a trough!” - Jonathan Griggs.

“I remember Peter Beardlsey scoring a hat-trick at Anfield vs United with United wearing almost this exact same kit. That was the dying embers of the last truly great Liverpool team, and the beginning of the United glory years. Probably wouldn’t bet on a similar trajectory here” - Drew Ellis.

Another long ball nearly catches Liverpool out. Alisson comes out to high-kick it away, under pressure from Rashford. A couple of situations late in the half will give United some hope of getting back into the match, but on the whole this is a half-time scoreline that seriously flatters United. As things stand, Liverpool will be top of the Premier League tonight.

45 min: There will be one added first-half minute.

43 min: Thiago strides into space down the middle. He’s got almost too many options, Mane, Salah, Diaz and Alexander-Arnold all screaming to be pinged clear. In the end, he overthinks it, and the chance is gone. United will be relieved that Liverpool have been pretty wasteful in the final third.

42 min: Salah scampers down the right and wins a corner off Fernandes. Alexander-Arnold fails to beat the first man. United have done well to calm Liverpool down ... a bit.

40 min: Fabinho has the chance to play Salah clear down the middle, but falls backwards while passing and the opportunity is gone. Meanwhile here’s Tony Bartholomew: “All the talk of this being the worst Manchester United side they’ve ever seen. They clearly don’t remember watching them when they were proper pony in the 80s, particularly the 86-87 season which I think is when Ferguson started. They came 11th and their best goal scorer was Peter Davenport.”

38 min: Fernandes tries to release Lingard down the left, but there’s too much juice on the pass and it’s a goal kick. Then a long pass down the middle releases Rashford, but a heavy touch sends the ball through to Alisson. A little encouragement for United in the last few minutes.

36 min: Diaz and Mane nearly open United up again with some intricate interplay down the inside-right channel. United’s offside trap saves them again.

34 min: United win a corner. It nearly leads to a goal ... up the other end. A counter’s launched by Alisson. Diaz and Salah nearly combine to send Mane clear. Not quite. Fernandes tries to mop up, but is harried and hassled by Diaz and Thiago, and ships possession. Fabinho tries to work space for a shot. The ball squirts right to left and tees up Diaz, who slams home, but is clearly yards offside. Liverpool don’t look in the mood to declare.

32 min: One corner leads to a second. The second is half cleared. Henderson returns the ball into the mixer. Van Dijk heads down for Mane, who nearly shovels an improvised shot over De Gea and into the net. De Gea claims on the line, and the whistle goes for offside anyway. “Ten Hag’s checking the fine print,” quips Tony Hughes, because somebody had to say it.

31 min: Diaz zips down the left, reaching the byline, and winning a corner off Jones. Alexander-Arnold to take.

30 min: Thiago is orchestrating everything. He swans around the middle of the park like he owns it, which right now he kind of does. He sprays a pass towards Salah on the right. Salah tears infield, but his shot is deflected and gathered by De Gea.

28 min: De Gea’s snatched clearance nearly tees up Alexander-Arnold from long distance. The keeper rushes back towards his line just in time, giving Alexander-Arnold second thoughts. Thing is, a third goal wouldn’t flatter Liverpool.

27 min: A rare United attack. Elanga tears down the left, getting the better of Alexander-Arnold. But the cross is no good. Wan-Bissaka is unable to keep the ball in play.

26 min: Anfield is bouncing. What an atmosphere. United can hardly get a touch.

24 min: “I’ve been watching Manchester United for 42 years, and this is as bad as it gets,” sighs Gary Neville on Sky. Robertson swings a ball in from the left. Mane can’t keep it in at the far post. Goal kick, which counts as blessed relief for United right at this minute.

Thiago and Alexander-Arnold work the ball in from the right. Mane, his back to goal, 30 yards out, spins and plays a glorious pass down the right channel to release Salah into the box. Salah sidefoots calmly into the bottom left. United are being given the royal runaround here.

21 min: Liverpool pass it around patiently. Very patiently. The start of a 25-pass sequence. Then ...

19 min: Mane hassles Matic down the Liverpool left. Matic attempts to send the ball back to De Gea but only whacks it out for a corner. Robertson sends it deep. It’s half cleared. Henderson sends an ambitious volley deep into the stand behind. Liverpool have enjoyed 75 percent of possession so far.

18 min: United are all over the shop at the back. Elanga slices a clearance out for a corner on the right. Alexander-Arnold takes. Another wasted corner, in callback to an old fanzine.

16 min: Thiago shuffles to make space for himself, 25 yards out. He slips a pass to Mane on his right. Mane shoots. A deflection sends the ball looping over De Gea but wide left of the unguarded goal. The resulting corner is hit long for Fabinho, who fails to connect in the Konate style. United clear their lines.

14 min: A first snatch of real possession for United. Some patient passing. Matic then clips a ball down the middle in the hope of releasing Lingard. Alisson comes to the edge of his box to claim.

12 min: A first corner of the evening, for Liverpool, comes to nought. The hosts have been utterly dominant so far.

10 min: Pogba has pulled something. He limps off, to be replaced by Lingard. On Sky, Gary Neville points out that we could have just seen Pogba play his last few minutes in a United shirt. That injury’s going to have to clear up quickly if that’s not to be the case.

8 min: The figure seven ticks over on the clock, and all four corners of Anfield break into applause, sending Cristiano Ronaldo, CR7, and family a message of sympathy. A chorus of You’ll Never Walk Alone, too. A lovely, if awfully heartbreaking, moment of solidarity and love. Some things are bigger than rivalry.

7 min: Dalot was caught out of position there, too. Alexander-Arnold whacks the ball away in celebration and nearly hits De Gea, who isn’t best pleased. The pair square up, but the referee is on point quickly enough to calm everyone down.

Maguire goes wandering upfield. Mane rolls an instant pass down the right to fill the gap. Salah zips up the flank and whips an instant low cross into the centre, where Diaz opens his body and sidefoots powerfully into the top right. Easy as that.

4 min: It’s Fernandes versus Alisson take two! The same near miss. Great footwork, but Fernandes might be onto something here.

3 min: Fernandes tries to close Alisson down. He nearly manages it, too, only for Alisson to throw an outrageous dummy and send him off the wrong way, before calmly passing upfield. The crowd enjoyed that; whether his manager or team-mates did is another matter. A few hearts in mouths.

2 min: United are kicking towards the Kop in this first half. Early doors, but it looks as though they’re playing with only Rashford up front, Fernandes and Elanga dropping back into midfield.

United get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes a knee. The gesture is met with good grace. There’s no room for racism.

The teams are out! Liverpool wear red, forcing Manchester United into their Sharp / Lee Sharpe throwback strip. Speaking of retro stylings, here’s the very kind Justin Kavanagh: “A great Joy of Six, Scott, as always. However, with Phil Jones in, and Crisitano Ronaldo out, I’m not sure how much further nostalgia United fans can take. To put it in perspective, imagine a recently resigned Luis Suárez was out tonight for Liverpool, and Danny Wilson was getting a surprise recall.” We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.

A reminder of where both teams stand. Liverpool can go top - for 24 hours at least, Manchester City playing host to Brighton tomorrow evening - with a draw. A win for United would haul them level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, three clear of Arsenal, who travel to Chelsea tomorrow. Plenty riding on this.

Jurgen Klopp talks to Sky. “We decided months ago that we would give it a go in a situation that was not obvious. So it means you just have to go in each game as though it is the last you will ever play. That’s what we have to do tonight. All teams have their own reasons. United have changed the system, it will be hard work for us, and that’s what we have to be ready for. They have big strength in counter attacking. We have to see who can make the best of it. There is no guarantee of anything, so that’s why I ask for a great atmosphere. It’s Man United, a derby, nobody feels tired before these kind of games.”

Ralf Rangnick speaks to Sky. “We need the best possible balance of being stable defensively, and have some threats in the transitional moments. [Three at the back] worked well in training yesterday so hopefully we can see it on the pitch today. We have another game coming up on Saturday and I decided to give Jadon Sancho a rest, though he may come on. Both teams need to win the game. We need a top performance in all areas, tactically, physically and mentally.”

Further nostalgia. There’s still over half an hour until kick-off, you see.

A reminder of what happened when these teams met last October ...

... and in the interests of nostalgic balance, here’s how things unfolded the last time Manchester United won at Anfield.

Liverpool make two changes in the wake of Saturday’s first-half demolition of Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final. Jordan Henderson and Joel Matip take the places of Naby Keita and Ibrahima Konate, both of whom drop to the bench. Roberto Firmino, who came on at Wembley, misses out altogether.

Manchester United make four changes to the XI named for last weekend’s 3-2 win over Norwich City. Phil Jones makes a surprise return to what looks like a back three (or back five, depending on how you slice it). Nemanja Matic, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Marcus Rashford also step up. Alex Telles, Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho drop to the bench, while Saturday’s hat-trick hero Cristiano Ronaldo is on compassionate leave. Sleep well, little man.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Salah, Mane, Diaz.
Subs: Konate, Milner, Keita, Gomez, Jones, Jota, Tsimikas, Origi, Kelleher.

Manchester United: de Gea, Jones, Maguire, Lindelof, Dalot, Pogba, Matic, Wan-Bissaka, Elanga, Rashford, Bruno Fernandes.
Subs: Bailly, Mata, Lingard, Sancho, Henderson, Alex Telles, McTominay, Mejbri, Garnacho.

Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire).

It’s Liverpool versus Manchester United, with league titles and European Cup qualification on the line. A biggie that requires no hype. Kick off is at 8pm BST. It’s on!