Anfield — launchpad or graveyard for title hopes

Liverpool may still be waiting to win the Premier League but they put their latest title credentials on the line against Manchester United today with Roberto Firmino refusing to accept that there is only one championship contender on the field at Anfield.

It has been many, many years since this derby was a real title six-pointer and Liverpool’s shaky early-season form suggests it may be premature to suggest this weekend’s fixture breaks the mould, despite the endless hype which inevitably surrounds it.

However there is no doubting that the fixture has a huge psychological impact on the belief of both teams in terms of their own ambitions for the campaign.