When Liverpool last faced Manchester United, Gary Neville said his former team were 'obliterated'. The Reds won 5-0 at Old Trafford and they were essentially able to stop attacking by the 50th minute.
Jurgen Klopp's men were truly dominant back in October. Tonight the two rivals will meet again on Merseyside. Anfield will host the high-profile bout between the pair of historic rivals, with the home side likely to make use of the same tactics as last time.
During the clash in Manchester six months ago, Klopp fielded Roberto Firmino in his front three and his inclusion was crucial to how the Reds exploited one of United's major tactical flaws.
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Simply put, the Red Devils are extremely vulnerable in the middle of the park, and they are prone to being outnumbered because of the attacking nature of their forwards.
The likes of Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga are regularly caught up the field, and they don't contribute much on the defensive side of the game.
As a result, United's midfield duo tend to struggle. 4-2-3-1 has been the go-to shape at Old Trafford for some time and since Ralf Rangnick took charge on a temporary basis, it has largely remained in place.
Their 4-2-3-1 shape can seem like a 4-2-4 at times, with Fred and Scott McTominay tasked with managing wide open spaces in the middle of the pitch.
Klopp seemed to be aware of the weakness and his players targeted it. With Firmino included in the team, the Brazilian was inclined to retreat into midfield, helping the likes of James Milner, Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson at the time.
The four players formed a diamond of sorts around Fred and McTominay - as shown above - which allowed the Reds to advance into the final third with ease on a regular basis. As Neville admitted in his brutal post-match verdict in October: "[United] have been obliterated, pulled to pieces, dismantled and I did not think they would play like that today."
Liverpool could be set to use the same tactic once more, especially considering Ralf Rangnick is still using 4-2-3-1 as his favoured formation. The veteran coach initially tried to change things by using 4-2-2-2 upon his appointment but over time, he's been forced to revert back to the formation used by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer throughout his time in charge.
United also have injury concerns ahead of the clash, with numbers potentially light in midfield.
It remains to be seen as to whether Klopp will mix things up on Tuesday but based on the success of his plan against United earlier in the season, it'd make plenty of sense for his players to attempt to establish their diamond once more.
