Ronaldo, Salah, Rooney: A combined XI of Man Utd 2008 and current Liverpool team | OneFootball

Liverpool welcome age-old rivals Manchester United to Anfield today for what could prove to be a crucial clash in the Premier League title race.

‘Noisy neighbours’ Manchester City will be keeping a close eye on the bout, desperately hoping their closest enemies can give them a massive boost in the run-in.

For Liverpool, the clash represents yet another in what Jurgen Klopp has described as a long string of finals as the season draws to an exciting close.

So far, Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’ have shown some real bottle and that steely-mindedness doesn’t look like cracking anytime soon.

The Reds were in terrifying form as they dismantled the aforementioned City in the first half of the FA Cup semi-final over the weekend, putting on one of their best-ever displays since the German boss arrived.

There can be no denying that this is one of the greatest Liverpool sides we have ever seen, but just how good are they?

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Well, to answer that question, we thought we would have a go at creating a combined XI made up of players from the current Liverpool juggernaut, and one of United’s truly supreme line-ups – the 2008 vintage.

Now, this goes without saying that you may disagree with some of our picks but the business of jamming every single superstar into the XI is just too tall a task.

Current Liverpool and 2008 Manchester United combined XI

Alisson

We really went back and forth on this one but, ultimately, we feel the revolution that the Liverpool defence underwent after the Brazilian arrived was enough to see him edge out Edwin van der Sar.

Defence:

LWB: Andy RobertsonCB: Rio FerdinandCB: Virgil Van Dijk CB: Nemanja VidicRWB: Trent Alexander-Arnold

With three of the best centre-back to ever grace the Premier League to pick from, we felt it was only right to fond a way to get them all in the side.

Fortunately, with Robertson and Alexander-Arnold also available, it made the decision to go with three central defenders and two marauding wing-backs rather an easy one.

Midfield:

CDM: Paul Scholes CM: Thiago Alcantara

Again, you might not like it, but we simply couldn’t leave a bona-fide legend like Scholes out. The sheer weight of silverware to his name was always going to see him book his spot in our line-up.

Thiago has been simply world class of late, as his highlights against City prove, and would thrive in this team.

Attack:

This is where the United contingent comes into its own. While the Liverpool attack is obviously terrifying, the combination of Rooney and Ronaldo is just inevitable and far too good to ignore.

Mohamed Salah, who has been breaking records for fun since arriving at Anfield was also a pretty easy pick.