Manchester United have had a difficult time at Anfield in recent seasons.

Roy Keane and Gary Neville were correct to criticize Manchester United’s surrender at Liverpool last season, and they will be hoping for a better performance on Sunday.

They were crushed 7-0 last season, 4-0 the year before, and haven’t scored a goal or won in nearly eight years. Erik ten Hag did orchestrate an Old Trafford triumph early in his reign, but the specter of the March thrashing will be front and center ahead of Sunday’s game.

United trailed 1-0 at the interval but capitulated in the second half, prompting widespread condemnation. Roy Keane and Gary Neville, members of a team that routinely defeated Liverpool during a trophy-laden period, were among the most vociferous.

A duplicate 7-0 scoreline is priced at 150/1, and United must take what Neville and Keane said nine months ago and ensure that the mentality and thinking are proper in order to get a win.

The first priority will be to establish the tone and demonstrate to everyone that they are ready to battle. United were sloppy in losses to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich this week, but they must be powerful and solid at Anfield.

“You’ve got to show some sort of pride, fight, spirit, and they didn’t show any of that,” Keane said last year. “The senior players were embarrassing; they lacked leadership skills.” The players will be embarrassed and ashamed of themselves. They went disappeared when things became rough.”

United will be without their suspended captain this weekend, as Bruno Fernandes will sit out the game after receiving five yellow cards. Last season, the Portugal international drew a lot of criticism for his body language, and whomever captains the team on Sunday must guarantee that the attitude is right, and that the veteran players and those with big game experience step up to the plate and ensure that the occasion doesn’t get to the Reds.

“They’ve not understood, I don’t think, the dangers of this fixture when you concede a goal and that crowd gets up,” Neville said after last season’s disaster. “It can just swallow you alive, and that Manchester United team was eaten alive in the second half.”

“It never happened to us (his United team) because we were aware of what could happen out there – you show respect, you’re not complacent, you’re not naive.” They were unprofessional in the second half.”