Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius fully prepared for Manchester United battle
Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius heads into probably the biggest match of his career confident in his position as Jurgen Klopp's new first choice.
The German has taken over from long-time number one Simon Mignolet for the last three games but the visit of Manchester United on Monday represents the former Mainz player's biggest challenge to date.
Despite the often precarious nature of being a goalkeeper, when one mistake can lose you your place, the 23-year-old insists there is no ill-will between him and Mignolet, who in three unchallenged years in the team failed to properly establish himself beyond doubt.
"It's not about being best friends but we get on well," he said of the Belgian. "On the pitch we know we are rivals but that doesn't mean you wish anything bad on the other.
"You prepare for the game any way so it doesn't really make a difference if you know a month before, a week before, a day before, because it won't really change anything in your training."
Karius has played against Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund in his homeland but with Mainz's standing as a relatively small club in Germany the Premier League clash of England's two most successful clubs is on another level entirely.
When asked if it would be the most significant outing of his career he said: "Probably. With all the history of both clubs, the rivalry, it's a very big match.
"Manchester United has a good, strong team but we have a great team and we play at home.
"We have respect for them but we're not scared of them. We'll have a good plan - or more than one plan - so we will be well prepared."
Captain Jordan Henderson has plenty of experience of the rivalry in his five years at the club and knows exactly what to expect.
And he admits the biggest problem is not being ready for the game but being in control when it kicks off.
"It is the rivalry, the success both clubs have had and it's like a derby," he told LFC TV. "The atmosphere is incredible and that transcends onto the pitch.
"I don't think it is one you have to get yourself pumped up for it.
"You can get pumped up for games and sometimes you can cross the line very easily in big games with the adrenaline going."
Dropped England captain Wayne Rooney will receive "the respect he deserves" back at United, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
The 30-year-old striker returned to club duty earlier this week following an international break where he was booed by fans at Wembley three days before interim Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate left the country's all-time record scorer out of his XI in Slovenia.
Mourinho is set to do likewise against the Reds, but the United manager insists Rooney can rely on the backing of the Old Trafford faithful after certain sections of the England support turned on him against Malta.
"He was not booed by Man United fans," Mourinho said.
"To be honest, the last match when he went to the warm-up I was feeling Old Trafford was behind him and immediately supporting him during the warm-up before he came on against Stoke.
"I think at Man United he feels at home, at Man United he feels the respect he deserves. Not at Anfield, obviously, but he knows that here he is respected."
Such receptions will not be forthcoming at Anfield, where Rooney scored the winner in the league last year, given the United skipper's ties with the blue half of Merseyside.
Mourinho is also assured of a frosty welcome after the rivalry his old club Chelsea shared with Liverpool during his time in west London, and any ill feeling towards the Portuguese will not have dissipated since he took up his new post across the M62.
He has claimed victories in each of his previous two trips to Liverpool in the league, with a success during Chelsea's most recent title-winning campaign following the win at the back end of the previous term when the Reds looked to be on the cusp of a first Premier League crown.
The latter win, which came sandwiched between two Champions League semi-final ties with Atletico Madrid in 2014, was celebrated with great delight by Mourinho and he admits these types of rivalry games are the ones he relishes tackling.
"For me, to play Liverpool is to play against a big club," he added.
"In Madrid I wanted to play against Barcelona, against Atletico, against Valencia. In Inter I wanted to play against Milan, against Juventus, against Roma. In Chelsea I wanted to play against Man United, Liverpool, Arsenal, all the big clubs in the country.
"Now in Man United it's the same. I love to play against the big opponents and Liverpool is a big opponent."
Source: PAR
