Gary Pallister states his prediction for Man United v Liverpool

Gary Pallister believes that Manchester United will need to score the first goal against Liverpool on Thursday to have any hope of progressing through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

The Red Devils are preparing to welcome Jurgen Klopp’s men to Old Trafford as they look to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit from last week’s clash at Anfield.

United showed some fighting spirit as they battled back from a goal down to earn a 1-1 draw and force an FA Cup quarter-final replay against West Ham United on Sunday afternoon.

And former Red Devil Pallister feels that it will be down to Louis van Gaal’s men to take the initiative against the Merseyside outfit, as he also urged the Old Trafford faithful to help make it a tricky night for the visitors.

Speaking to United’s website, Pallister said: “It was just a shame we didn’t play well on the night and lost but, if we can reproduce the kind of atmosphere there was at Anfield this Thursday, we can make it very uncomfortable for Liverpool.

“I’m sure the players and the fans will be up for it and doing everything they can to help us get back into this tie.

“If we concede, we’ll be right up against it and we’ll need to score four. So we can’t afford to concede and we need to show the intent to get at them.

“The atmosphere will be key – we need to build one inside the stadium and I’m sure we will because, whenever United play Liverpool, it’s always a great atmosphere.

“Hopefully we can do that and it will make Liverpool a bit nervous.”

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United will face Everton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup if they get past West Ham at Upton Park.