This is a contest that requires little introduction as the Reds of Manchester and Merseyside collide for the 199th time at Anfield.
Britain's two most successful and decorated sides resume their storied rivalry in the Saturday lunch-time kick off, with unbeaten, in-form United set for the most difficult challenge of the campaign so far.
Both sides have injury problems ahead of the clash with the hosts star man, Senegalese frontman Sadio Mane, out for up to six weeks with a hamstring tear.
Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino are likely to play, but Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren look set to miss out.
Midfield trio Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba are all sidelined for the Reds, but Phil Jones and Romelu Lukaku are both fit and expected to feature.
Ander Herrera will come in alongside Nemanja Matic with the Reds likely to field a back three with wing-backs.
Jurgen Klopp's side have proved the epitome of inconsistent so far this season, having picked up five points from their four games since the 4-0 demolition of Arsenal at Anfield.
They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle by Leicester and drew both of their opening Champions League games, with brilliant attacking play undermined by slipshod defensive shortcomings.
Both meetings last season ended in stalemate, as Jose's defensive masterclass secured a goalless draw at Anfield followed by Zlatan's late equaliser in the 1-1 in January's return fixture.
United hold a superb recent record against the Merseysiders having won four times in a row under Louis van Gaal, with the Europa League KO in March 2016 the only blot on the copybook.
United have won six on the spin, but this is a fixture where form counts for nothing as the Reds run out into the hostile Anfield atmosphere in the first Premier League game after the international hiatus.
Boss Jose Mourinho understands the importance of the match, but is treating the clash of the North-West heavyweights no different to any other game.
He said: "I know the tradition, the feelings around the supporters, but I look at this in a professional way, to tell my players that every match is important, not just one.
"Every point is important, there is no easy match and none that you prepare more carefully for than others.
"For us it is not a problem, but it is not nice for the opponents to say that this is our first difficult fixture.
"We want to win, but we play against a strong team who want the same, they play at home and we know they are good in matches against the top teams so it won't be easy.
"Everybody knows that there are better teams than others, as at the end of the season we see the champion, runner up, third and fourth - but to say they're easy matches to win I think is a bit aggressive to the others."
Form guide: Liverpool D D L W D D United W W W W W W
Match odds: Liverpool 13/8 Draw 12/5 United 8/5
Referee: Bradford - based official Martin Atkinson is the man in the middle
Jurgen Klopp and Jose Mourinho have been in charge long enough to know that Saturday's clash is more than just another game.
The intrinsic, deep-rooted rivalry between Britain's two most successful clubs is a lesson in hatred and history: we hate them, they hate us, rifts run deep and even the smallest of incidents are never forgotten.
Yet the touchline battle will see a rivalry just as entertaining as anything that takes place on the pitch in front of the world.
The ebullient, warm and affable German takes on the prickly, purposeful and pragmatic Portuguese as two of the most charismatic bosses in the game go head-to-head.
Energetic and engaging, both men are leaders of clubs who share a storied rivalry and a tribal loathing.
Polar opposite personalities they may be, but Messrs Klopp and Mourinho are united (pun intended) in a common cause: to bring back success to two giants of the English game who have seen others hit the front of the pecking order in recent years.
United have started the season looking like the title contenders we hope to be and victory at Anfield would open up a ten-point gap on Klopp's side after seven games.
That's a margin that looks insurmountable, even at this early stage, but the trip to Anfield presents unbeaten United with our first fixture of the season against heavyweight opponents.
City beat champions Chelsea on the own patch last time out and Jose's United are in need of a similar statement win here.
Defeat at Anfield would put our second season revival - after Mourinho's indifferent first campaign at the helm - under scrutiny.
Even during that transitional maiden campaign in charge, Jose led the team to three trophies.
Klopp, by contrast, has yet to win anything in his two years and comes into this clash under the first hint of pressure since he took over.
Klopp and Mourinho will use different ways to get one over on each other on Saturday.
Liverpool's manager is a lover of the high press: a breathless, all-action, counter-attacking "gegenpressing" style developed and fine tuned during his years at Dortmund.
Jose by contrast, is more conventional.
He usually spends big on seasoned professionals and moulds a team on solid defensive organisation, prioritising clean sheets, points, ugly wins and trophies.
He likes tall, quick, powerful players and employs a side full of specialists, with summer additions Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku prime examples of the classic Jose blueprint.
For all their differences, Klopp and Mourinho are two successful, well-respected coaches who create strong team spirit and inspire loyalty and admiration.
Win at Anfield and Jose's standing will be further enhanced, putting him and his opposite number even further apart and - for this season at least - on entirely different missions.
United go into our biggest game of the season without the bulk of our midfield after Marouane Fellaini suffered a knee injury on international duty.
The rejuvenated Belgian is set for a "few weeks" out after he strained ligaments during Belgium's thrilling 4-3 win over Bosnia which sealed their place in Russia.
Pogba, who had started the season in sublime form, remains sidelined with the hamstring team he picked up during the Champions League win over Basel last month.
Pogba and Nemanja Matic proved a beautifully balanced pairing in the Reds swashbuckling start, and Fellaini then got his chance when the Frenchman was struck down by that injury.
It was testament to Fellaini's superb form - the best of his Old Trafford career to date - that Pogba was not missed and United continued their prolific, free-scoring run.
I never thought I'd say that any Fellaini absence would serve as a huge blow, but the Belgian has been pivotal in our unbeaten start and looked to be a key man in both boxes at Anfield.
Liverpool have been by hit their own injury problems, with Adam Lallana not yet ready and last season's Player of the Year Sadio Mane out for six weeks with his own hamstring issues.
Jose is a momentum manager - once he hits upon a winning formula and formation, he very rarely changes it, but he'll have no choice but to do just that on Saturday.
He'll try and keep opposite number Jurgen Klopp guessing, but it seems likely that Jose will revert to three at the back and go with the Basque - Balkan pairing of Ander Herrera and Matic in midfield.
Both excellent players in their own right, the duo are more than able deputies for the absent Fellaini and Pogba, and would walk straight in to the starting XI of any other Premier League side.
Yet, such is the embarrassment of riches at United and Jose's disposal that Herrera (Player of the Season last year don't forget) has found himself on the fringes.
If he does get the nod, it would be only his second league start of the campaign.
He will be expected to be the more forward-thinking of the two, but will also need to drop back to help Matic deal with the threats of Philippe Coutinho and Mo Salah.
Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young will probably start as wing-backs, with Phil Jones expected to be fit and line up alongside Eric Bailly as part of a possible three-man defence.
Whatever happens, Jose will have a plan to strike victory on enemy territory and keep our unbeaten start going.
The international break is over and club football returns with a bang with the most eagerly awaited fixture on the English calendar.
We travel to Anfield on Saturday lunchtime, as the Reds of Manchester and Merseyside - Britain's two most successful and widely-supported sides - lock horns competitively for the 199th time.
The head-to-head results are perhaps more one-sided that you would expect for such a bitter, storied and high-profile rivalry.
United have won 79, Liverpool 65 and the other 54 have ended all square - including both meetings last season (0-0 in the corresponding fixture, 1-1 at Old Trafford).
Louis van Gaal, perhaps justifiably so, had his critics during his time in charge at United, but there can be denying that the Dutchman nearly always got it right when it came to the arch enemy.
The unwanted Europa League KO aside, he won four out of four in the league against the Merseysiders - from the 'Juanfield' match where Steven Gerrard got sent off 38 seconds after coming on, Anthony Martial's breathtaking debut goal to Wazza's Kop end smash and grab winner.
That 2-0 defeat in March 2016 proved our only reverse in the eight meetings prior to this one, but form, stats and past records are tossed aside when it comes to this fixture.
In-form United have swept aside all comers in a near perfect start to the season, and along with City have set the early pace at the top of the league.
Pep Guardiola's side lead the way, albeit only on goal difference, having thrashed this Liverpool side and beaten the champions on their own patch in a blistering start to the season.
Following that statement win of City's at Chelsea last time out, United and Jose now have their chance to put down one of our own.
As good and as impressive as our start to the season has been, we've yet to face any of last season's other top six sides and - on paper at least - Liverpool look to be the truest test of our credentials so far.
Jurgen Klopp's side are the epitome of a Jekyll and Hyde team: their brilliant, flamboyant attacking play undermined by chaotic, harum-scarum defensive shortcomings.
Liverpool will be without their star man - last season's Player of the Year Sadio Mane is out for six weeks with a hamstring problem sustained on international duty with Senegal.
Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini will both miss out for United, which means that Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera are likely to come into the midfield.
Whatever line ups Messrs Klopp and Mourinho select, the latest instalment of English football's fiercest feud is set to be another thriller.
Having won six of our first seven league games, October looks set to be United's most demanding month of the season so far.
The team will play six matches in three different competitions in the space of 17 days and will go a long way to determine whether the Reds can last the course, both domestically and in Europe.
The Premier League makes way for the latest round of international fixtures (yawn) but returns with a bang in a fortnight's time.
Jose's unbeaten Reds travel to Anfield for the most eagerly anticipated fixture on the calendar and one that looks to be United's most difficult challenge of the season so far.
The Reds of Manchester and Merseyside meet competitively for the 199th time on Saturday 14th October with a traditional lunch-time kick off.
Like United, Jurgen Klopp's side are blessed with a wonderful array of attacking talent, underlined by their continued inability to defend.
That's followed four days later by our trip to Portugal to face a below-par Benfica on Champions League Matchday Three.
Rui Vitoria's side have lost both of their encounters in the competition thus far, but they are the top seeds in the group and the trip to Lisbon is never one to be taken lightly.
It's rare these days - particularly in the Premier League - to visit a ground that you've never played at before, but that's what awaits Jose and United on the 21st.
We travel across the Pennines to the John Smith's Stadium to take on David Wagner's newly promoted Huddersfield - the league's surprise package so far - in another rare Saturday 3pm kick off.
The fixtures continue to come thick and fast with United in action again three days later, this time in the Carabao Cup.
It's likely to be a rotated Reds team in south Wales in our latest defence of that competition at Swansea City in the fourth round.
The final league game of the month sees another of the Premier League's high flyers visit Old Trafford in the shape of Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham on the 28th (another 12.30 kick off).
Spurs - having finished second in each of the last two seasons - have struggled to adapt to their Wembley surroundings but boast a 100% record on the road.
United will look to avoid a fright on Halloween as Benfica provide the final opposition of the month, and a win could seal qualification the Champions League knockouts with two games to spare.
Romelu Lukaku may be taking all the plaudits for his red-hot start to life at United, but our other big Belgian has also received widespread praise. Much-maligned midfielder Marouane Fellaini scored twice in one match for the club for the first time, and was voted United's man of the match against Palace.
His status as David Moyes marquee summer signing - coupled with the fact that he's considered the antithesis of the United identikit - has seen Fellaini made a scapegoat in the turbulent post Ferguson years. But the unmistakeable Belgian has been a key cog in Jose's rejuvenated Reds so far and continued his impressive scoring form with a goal in each half to notch his maiden brace for United. Fellaini now has four goals this season, more than last term's tally and level with his total across the previous two campaigns.
After Juan Mata's early opener, Fellaini's two goals - a volley and a trademark header - sandwiched Lukaku's late fourth. His other two goals this term have both come as a substitute, against Leicester in the league and Basel in our first Champions League match.
It's all credit to Fellaini who has worked hard to revive a United career that hit its nadir last December against Tottenham. That was a match that saw him booed by sections of the Old Trafford crowd when he came on as a sub, having conceded a late penalty at Everton the previous week. But since then, he's not looked back and has shown consistency, courage and mental strength to become a key man for Jose.
That's despite him being strongly linked with a move away to Turkish side Galatasaray in the summer.
Fellaini scored the decisive goal in the semi-finals of both the EFL Cup and Europa League and was hailed for his dominant performance in the final of the latter, as United overpowered Ajax to win 2-0. The 29-year-old has responded well to the responsibility of filling in for the injured Paul Pogba - and it's testament to him that United's momentum has not been checked by the Frenchman's absence.
Fellaini has linked superbly with Nemanja Matic and has used his physical presence and aerial ability to control the midfield. United boss Jose Mourinho was full of praise after the win against the Eagles, and said:
"He is a great player, a great character and a fighter. I am really pleased that I helped him reach this level and to change the perception of the fans. I am very happy for him."
United ruthlessly despatched Roy Hodgson's struggling Palace to condemn the Eagles to a seventh straight league loss without scoring.
The Reds have now scored four goals in a game six times and the result matched United's best-ever tally of 19 points after the opening seven Premier League matches - set in 1999 and 2011.
By contrast, Palace have made the worst start ever by a team in the top four divisions of professional football.
Hodgson, who replaced the sacked Frank de Boer last month, faces arguably the toughest challenge of his veteran managerial career to turn around their seemingly irreversible fortunes.
The result saw the Reds - albeit temporarily - move three points clear at the top of the Premier League, although City leapfrogged back over us with their own impressive 1-0 win at champions Chelsea.
Juan Mata's first goal of the season set United on their way, before Marouane Fellaini scored twice and Romelu Lukaku added the fourth late on.
The Belgian now has eleven goals in ten games and matched Andy Cole's record of seven in his first seven United league matches.
Phil Jones, Fellaini and Valencia all came back in, but any fears of a sluggish start following those midweek exertions were quickly banished.
United moved ahead inside five minutes when the recalled Mata steered home from ten yards after excellent wing work from Marcus Rashford,
David de Gea saved well from Bakary Sako and Yohan Cabaye fired wide from distance but, against the run of play, the Reds moved 2-0 ahead ten minutes before the break.
Ashley Young crossed for Fellaini who volleyed home from all of a yard at the back post.
Four minutes after the interval the Reds put the result beyond doubt - if it wasn't already - when Rashford's free-kick picked out Fellaini who headed in for his first brace for United.
Young tried his luck with a 20 yarder, while at the other end Sako miscued a header and then blazed over the bar as Palace searched for their elusive goal.
Lukaku dragged his shot uncharacteristically wide, but the big striker was not to be denied and he completed the rout moments later.
He matched Cole's mark when substitute Anthony Martial made his mark again as he pulled the ball back and Lukaku tapped in from close range.
United go into the two-week international break level on points with City and just one goal worse off, with the trip to Anfield looming large as our toughest test of the season so far.
Overall team performance: 8/10
United Faithful Man of the Match: Marouane Fellaini
