Exclusive Column: Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand has provided an exclusive column for ManUtd.com ahead of Manchester United’s highly-anticipated Premier League match against historic rivals Liverpool on Sunday, providing his expert analysis of both clubs, their tactical approaches and hopes this season…

“When you consider what Manchester United and Liverpool bring together in terms of history, memories and winning the Premier League and the old Football League, there can’t be any other kind of game that matches it. The fixture creates so much hype and this weekend is no exception.

"I think we’ve got the best managers in the world here in the Premier League. Other than maybe Carlo Ancelotti, Diego Simeone and Zinedine Zidane, I think we’ve got the best, the most entertaining and the biggest personalities all here. Jose Mourinho is, of course, one of them and so is Jurgen Klopp, who I have to say has been a breath of fresh air since coming to England. The way he sets his teams up, from Dortmund to this Liverpool team, is exciting. They’re great to watch. They play with verve; they have a direct, aggressive, quick, attacking mentality and attack in numbers. No matter which club you support, Liverpool under Klopp are a very good team to watch and that makes them dangerous. They’re going to win games 3-2 or 4-3 and while I think, defensively, they have an Achilles heel, if they’re going to outscore teams then they’re going to be a big threat.

"With the team that Klopp is building, the expectations are rising around Liverpool. Expectations are nothing new for Jose Mourinho or United. I think Jose has had one of the hardest jobs out of the top teams in terms of personnel, changing the mentality at the football club, going against the philosophy that had been drilled in over the last couple of years, reshuffling things, and it was a huge job for him. It still is.

"What he needed to do was find a formation and find the personnel to fit it. He’s come across it, and the real crux of that was within the football club when he got there, and that’s Michael Carrick. I said it under Louis van Gaal and David Moyes: Michael is so crucial to the football team. It’s obvious how good he is on the ball, but I think more important is how he is defensively. The roving eye just looking for an entertaining football match probably won’t see it, but in terms of defensive positions and shielding the back four, he’s one of the best I’ve played with. I think he’s the best around at the moment.

"When there’s a turnover and Michael receives the ball, he doesn’t play it sideways if he doesn’t have to; he’d rather play a ball through the lines and into the attacking third. Our most dangerous players are our attacking players and they need the ball quick and early. Over the last few years, we were playing so slowly that other teams were able to get back into their two blocks of four and wait for us to break them down. That becomes difficult, no matter who you are, whereas when Carrick plays, he gets the ball, plays it through the lines and then our attacking players are facing the opposition’s back four, which gives us more opportunities to get shots off or create chances, and goals are scored this way. He’s a vital component to the way that works, and also to Mourinho’s tactics. There aren’t many players in the world who can carry that out, but Michael is one.

"Another key to United’s improvement has been the form and the star quality of the summer signings. Pogba, Mkhitaryan and Ibrahimovic are world-class superstars. We’re now back into signing world-class players. With Mourinho, I just think it’s a case of how long it’s going to take him to get things how he wants them. I think, looking at the run we’re on now, finishing in the top four is definitely something we can look at. Anything beyond that would be great but I’m not looking any further than getting back into the Champions League, consolidating and moving on from there.

"With that in mind, this weekend’s game just grows and grows in importance. It was huge anyway because it always is but, when you consider the stakes for both teams, the talent on the pitch and the quality of the two managers, it’s a game which is just absolutely huge."