4 Legends On Liverpool V Man. United

Experts were in abundance when talk at the recent Legends of Football charity dinner turned to the biggest fixture in the English game - Liverpool v Manchester United.

Ex-players from each club, including one who played on both sides of the divide, spoke to MUTV about Monday's meeting between the arch rivals and discussed the game's significance. Below, you can see what Nicky Butt, Jamie Carragher, Michael Owen and Gary McAllister had to say...

NICKY BUTT (UNITED 1992-2004)
"For me growing up, it was always the first game I looked for. In those days, it wasn’t Man City or Arsenal, it was Liverpool. For me now, even as a former player, I still look for that fixture. It’s always a massive game when it comes along and, in my opinion, the Liverpool people are the same kind of people as us in Manchester: people who love their city and their football club and, on the day, the match is the be-all and end-all. It’s a game everyone loves, no matter what side of the fence you sit on."

JAMIE CARRAGHER (LIVERPOOL 1997-2013)
"I think Liverpool have to go in as slight favourites because of the start we’ve made and because we're at home, but we thought that last season and United got a 1-0 win at Anfield. I’m sure Jose Mourinho will be looking for the same result. Even though he’s never managed in a Liverpool/Man United game before, his rivalry with Liverpool when he was Chelsea manager was pretty big so he'll be well aware of the atmosphere at Anfield."

MICHAEL OWEN (UNITED 2009-2012, LIVERPOOL 1997-2004)
"It’s always special and you want it to be a game that is deciding things at the top of the league. In the last three years, United have been off the pace a little bit, while Liverpool challenged for the league a few seasons ago but haven’t really had a strong challenge since. Both have chances of doing something this season and that just adds to the spice of it. United had a few decent results before a bit of a blip against Stoke, whereas Liverpool are looking strong at the moment so it will be an interesting game."

GARY McALLISTER (LIVERPOOL 2000-2002)
"United have obviously got a new manager and there is a little bit of a transition there with a lot of new players coming in. Paul Pogba's impressive and there will obviously be loads of homework done at Melwood to stop him playing at Anfield; then Liverpool will concentrate on what they want to do. They’ve got match-winners and players who want to get on the ball and that will be their focus. I can see goals; I don’t see this game being dull and boring."

The four ex-players were all speaking to MUTV at the Legends of Football dinner, a special event in London which raised more than £400,000 for music-therapy charity Nordoff Robbins.