Liverpool vs Manchester United - Combined All-Time XI

Defence

Right-back - Gary Neville

Neville with current United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

A one-club man, Gary Neville is a former Manchester United captain who has won every single trophy with the Red Devils in his long career. One of the best full-backs of the modern game, Neville was an aggressive and tenacious player who could read the game very well and had a keen sense of tackling and positioning.

Not traditionally the fastest or the strongest player, it was Neville's intelligence and leadership skills at the back which helped him excel at his role. He was one of the best defenders in the world at his peak and the former England international even had a couple of offensive tricks in his arsenal, which could be seen by his overlapping runs and passes into the box.

Having won eight league titles and two European Cups with the Red Devils, Neville remains as one of the smartest and most loved players to have played at Old Trafford. There has been no better right-back at either Liverpool or Manchester United in history, and as such, Neville's place here is well deserved.

Centre-back - Rio Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand is arguably Manchester United's greatest ever defender

Sir Alex Ferguson signed Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United for a whopping £30M in 2002, which was an exorbitant amount for a defender at the time. Almost two decades down the line, everyone agrees that the price was worth it as Rio established himself as the greatest defender in the history of the club.

Having won 6 Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy, the former Leeds United player was named into the Premier League Team of the Year six times. A maestro on the ball with his amazing distribution skills, Ferdinand was a technically gifted centre-back whose pace and tackling prowess were probably second to none at his peak, and he slides into this team with relative ease as perhaps the best centre-back to have taken part in this historic fixture.

Centre-back - Alan Hansen

Alan Hansen (R) is Liverpool's best-ever defender

Virgil van Dijk may be the best defender in the world right now, but he has some ways to go if he hopes to overtake the legacy and consistency of Alan Hansen. Signed by the legendary Liverpool manager Bob Paisley in 1977, Hansen went on to become the greatest Liverpool defender ever as he leads that historic team to unprecedented domestic and European success.

A great reader of the game who could tackle the ball as well as he could pass it out from the back, Hansen was the leader of a defence which won three European titles in four years. The former Scottish international represented the Reds for over 13 years, and he won everything there is to win for his team during that time. Barring Graeme Souness and Kenny Dalglish, no Paisley signing had more impact on the club's fortune than Hansen.

Left-back - Bill Foulkes

Bill Foulkes is one of Manchester United's most legendary figures

One of the surviving members of the Munich Air Disaster which shocked the footballing community and broke Manchester United, Bill Foulkes remains one of the most historic figures in the club's history. Having made 566 appearances for the Red Devils, only three players have represented the club more times than Foulkes.

Not only is the former England international one of the greatest defenders of his era, but he was one of the strong figures who helped the club recover and come back from the disaster which had affected his team. He was an integral part of the Manchester United team who became the first English club to win the European Cup, and he also won four League titles with the club.

Although Foulkes played the latter half of his career as a centre-back, the strong and pacy defender started off his career as a full-back and performed well at the role for his team. A truly versatile presence at the back who was a manager's dream, Foulkes' place here is well-deserved.