A clash more sour than sweet

It has always been the most incendiary fixture in English football and any hope that some of its roughest and most unpleasant edges could be softened by education and diplomacy have now disappeared into the ether; Manchester United v Liverpool on Saturday will be, as seems to be the favoured adjective of the tabloid press right now, toxic.

In fact, even that description fails to do justice to the atmosphere awaiting Luis Suarez at Old Trafford when he comes face to face with Patrice Evra for the first time since his unacceptable racist abuse at Anfield earned him an eight-match ban.

It’s an episode that has seen the United-Liverpool rivalry take on a new, even nastier edge; but those who follow the fixture closely know it has always been there, in some shape or form, for the last 30 years.