B/R's All-Time Liverpool-Manchester United Premier League Combined Starting XI
There are heated football rivalries, and there's Liverpool vs. Manchester United.
English football's two most successful teams meet again on Sunday at Anfield.
Some of the greatest Premier League legends have played for both clubs, but who would make an all-time team featuring the best of the best?
B/R Football's Leo Collis and Nick Akerman determined that by picking a combined starting XI.
Disagree with our experts? Submit your thoughts on the team in the comments section of the B/R app.
Goalkeeper: Peter Schmeichel
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Manchester United's 1999 UEFA Champions League-winning squad was defined by strong characters; leaders on the pitch who could set an example via their attitude and performance.
Peter Schmeichel is, arguably, the most intimidating goalkeeper in Premier League history, a man whose physicality and reflexes propped up one of the league's best defences. His ability to spread himself to close angles made him a monster in one-on-one situations.
Although United eventually found his long-term successor in Edwin van der Sar, the journey to that point was one of Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi and Fabien Barthez.
United are now going through the same trouble after David De Gea's exit, with images of Andre Onana's glitchy wrists and Altay Bayindir crumbling under any pressure scattered across the internet far too often.
Alisson is worthy of a mention here. He's an excellent example of a modern stopper who can use his feet well. Like the other goalkeepers on this list, though, he can't oust Schmeichel.
- Nick Akerman
Right Back: Gary Neville
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Gary Neville, the first entrant in the XI from the Class of '92, takes up the right-back spot.
After coming through United's youth setup, he made his Premier League debut in 1994 as a 19-year-old, and he established himself as a first-team regular during the 1994-95 season.
In the 1995-96 campaign, he was a key figure in the Red Devils' march to the domestic title, the first of many for the England international in a decorated career.
Seven Premier League winners' medals would follow, and he also added three FA Cup trophies and three League Cups to his collection.
Perhaps most notably, he was also part of the famous treble-winning squad of 1998-1999, when he earned the first of two Champions League titles.
In that dramatic 1999 final at the Camp Nou in Barcelona, it was Neville who earned the corner from which Teddy Sheringham scored the equalizer in injury time. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer added the winner two minutes later.
While perhaps not quite as forward-thinking as the defenders who would follow in his footsteps, Neville was still a valuable attacking outlet. He scored seven and provided 49 assists across 600 appearances in all competitions.
Despite serious injury problems in the latter stages of his career, he's still in the top 50 for all-time Premier League appearances, after taking to the field 400 times.
Neville is renowned for his unflinching loyalty to United, his never-say-die attitude, and his remarkable consistency.
- Leo Collis
Center Back: Rio Ferdinand
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Plonk a prime Rio Ferdinand into any footballing era, and he would feel like he's changing the game. We're so used to seeing centre-backs who are good on the ball nowadays, but he was dictating play from the back before it was popular.
His partnership with Nemanja Vidic worked so effectively, although I would argue it's often misrepresented.
Ferdinand is remembered as the classy one alongside Vidic's brute force.
While the England international played with effortless swagger, he was also a powerful physical force who would throw his weight around. But Vidic's warrior-like approach has somewhat scrubbed that ability from what fans remember about Ferdinand.
He was a serial winner, an excellent reader of the game, and key to United's evolution from the 1999 to 2008 Champions League titles. All that after moving from rivals Leeds United, too.
- Nick Akerman
Center Back: Virgil Van Dijk
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On December 27, 2017, Liverpool announced a late Christmas present for the fans: Virgil van Dijk had signed for the club.
The Dutchman had established himself as one of the finest defenders in the Premier League during his time at Southampton, and he was attracting the attention of some of the biggest clubs in world football.
However, the Reds won the race, which was a major coup at the time given the club hadn't won a trophy since 2012.
It was a defining signing, with the Netherlands captain helping the Reds to a Champions League title in 2019, followed by their first league title in 30 years 12 months later.
He has also played a crucial part in one FA Cup trophy and two Carabao Cups, and he's claimed the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, too. In 2024-25, he skippered the side to another Premier League title.
Other signings have been transformative to Liverpool and pivotal to their success, such as Alisson and Mohamed Salah, but VVD was a true signal of the club's intent, with the board shelling out a world-record fee for a defender (£75 million) to bring him on board.
He has repaid that faith in spades, making 329 appearances across all competitions, scoring 29 goals and adding 13 assists. He played all 38 games in Liverpool's 2019-20 title-winning campaign and missed just one (when the trophy had already been secured) in 2024-25.
His marshalling of the back line, diagonal balls into the final third, and colossal aerial presence, as well as his fearsome aura, have been crucial to the Reds' play over his near-eight years at the club.
- Leo Collis
Left Back: Patrice Evra
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Andy Robertson might have something to say about Patrice Evra getting the nod at left-back, but the Frenchman's trophy cabinet shouts louder than the Scotsman's words ever could.
In nine years in the north-west, Evra picked up a stunning haul of 14 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and the 2007-08 Champions League.
He could have upped his collection of the latter, but United suffered defeats in both the 2008-09 and 2010-11 finals.
Signing for just £5.5 million from Monaco in 2006, Evra can be considered one of the biggest bargains in English football history.
He went on to make 379 appearances for the Red Devils in all competitions, scoring 10 and providing 29 assists from defense. He was also a key part of the France national team setup, featuring 81 times.
In fact, coming back to Robertson, Evra was possibly the mold for all modern full-backs. His overlapping runs into the final third and penchant for an assist, married to his solid defensive capabilities and ceaseless energy, informed how the position would be played for the coming decades.
Even in a back line that saw a number of stars over his years at Old Trafford, Evra was still one of the brightest.
After leaving the club, his success continued at Juventus, where he earned two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia twice, and the Supercoppa Italiana.
- Leo Collis
Defensive Midfielder: Roy Keane
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Roy Keane created an archetype all of his own.
His terrifying demeanor was even the not-so-subtle inspiration for Ted Lasso's Roy Kent character, whose shouty loveableness goes a long way to summing up why Keane is such a fondly remembered part of United's alumni.
It's no secret Keane loved to tackle. It's no secret he often went too far (see: Alfe Inge Haaland).
It's also no secret he's United's best-ever captain. A man whose control and work rate pulled the Red Devils through difficult situations en route to winning the treble in 1999.
His character is parodied these days, but that should act as a sign of the lasting impact he made on English football. His rivalry with Arsenal's Patrick Vieira is actually a painful reminder that we don't get that kind of face-off anymore (Lisandro Martinez vs. Adama Traore does not count).
Keane was so integral to storylines people love to remember, and his style of play is a constant reminder that a balanced midfield directly correlates with winning trophies, something current United manager Ruben Amorim should note.
- Nick Akerman
Centre Midfielder: Steven Gerrard
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It's not hyperbole to say Steven Gerrard is one of the finest homegrown talents to grace the Premier League.
The Whiston-born midfielder joined Liverpool's academy setup as a nine-year-old, and he made his first-team debut at 18 years old under Gerard Houllier.
From there, he went on to make 710 appearances for his hometown club across all competitions, becoming a talismanic figure from central midfield and scoring 186 goals and adding 155 assists.
The eventual club captain would be responsible for some of the most memorable moments in Liverpool's modern history.
He scored a famous last-gasp equalizer in the 2006 FA Cup final (which the Reds went on to win); he smashed home an equally incredible half-volley against Olympiakos in the 2004-05 Champions League group stage to send the club to the knockout rounds; and he then guided Liverpool to a memorable final against AC Milan, in which he earned the Man of the Match award and scored the first goal of the team's incredible comeback, eventually clinching the trophy.
While he didn't pick up a Premier League title, he still walked away from his playing career with an admirable haul of silverware.
He won two FA Cups, three League Cups, the UEFA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup and the Champions League.
Gerrard also picked up a number of individual honors, including UEFA's Club Footballer of the Year in 2005 and the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 2005-06, and his name is enshrined in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
A bona fide Liverpool legend.
- Leo Collis
Centre Midfield: Paul Scholes
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Paul Scholes is the best dictator of play that English football has ever produced.
The accuracy of his long-range passing effectively allowed Sir Alex Ferguson's United teams to launch forward at speed.
Scholes would bring wingers into play by dropping the ball at their feet from the other side of the pitch, creating scenarios where United would have space and time to fill the opposition's box with numbers.
He famously couldn't tackle, but it didn't matter.
The England international would tiptoe forward slowly with the ball at his feet before progressing with a cutting pass. His tally of 107 goals and 55 assists in 499 Premier League appearances only tells part of the story, as he went through years of being indispensable to multiple United squads.
Bruno Fernandes is the closest United have got since, even if social media's obsession with bringing him down clouds the judgment of people who don't really understand how difficult it is to be consistently game-changing for as long as he has.
English players are often not recalled as fondly as their "sexier" Spanish or Italian counterparts, but Scholes is up there with Xavi, Andrea Pirlo or any other name that can be thrown at him.
- Nick Akerman
Right Forward: Mohamed Salah
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Mohamed Salah's arrival at Liverpool in June 2017 was exciting, but few would have predicted the heights he would scale at the club.
The Egypt international hit the ground running with the Reds, scoring on his Premier League debut and adding 31 more goals to earn the division Golden Boot by season's end.
In 411 games for the club, and counting, he has 248 goals and 116 assists, sitting third in the club's all-time top scorers list, and he has the fourth-most goals in Premier League history (188).
During Liverpool's 2024-25 league season, he was unbelievable. His 29 goals accounted for one-third of the club's haul, while the 18 assists he provided saw him tie the record for most goal contributions in a single English top-flight season.
Some of those goals dragged Liverpool to a crucial three points, with the 33-year-old slotting home nine match-winners.
Over his time on Merseyside, Salah has two Premier League titles, a Champions League winners' medal, and he has picked up the FA Cup once and the Carabao Cup three times. He was also a part of successful UEFA Supercup and FIFA Club World Cup sides.
An incredible player who still has the potential to add to his legacy with the club.
- Leo Collis
Centre Forward: Wayne Rooney
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Wayne Rooney burst onto the Premier League scene with Everton at the age of 16, but it was with Manchester United where he'd achieve his greatest success.
He made the switch to Old Trafford at the age of 18, and in 13 Premier League seasons with the Red Devils, he only failed to hit double figures in goals twice (his final two campaigns with the club).
That potency has him third on the division's all-time top scorers list (208). Over 559 games for United, the lad from Croxteth in Liverpool notched 253 goals and provided 142 assists. He's also the club's all-time top scorer.
Those goals helped the club to a Champions League title, five Premier League trophies, one FA Cup, four League Cups, four Community Shields, one Club World Cup, and one Europa League winners' medal.
Rooney is also responsible for some of the greatest goals the division has seen, including one notable strike against Liverpool in his first north-west derby appearance in 2004-05, in front of the Kop at Anfield.
In 2013-14, he scored from just in front of the halfway line against West Ham United (incredibly, he scored from even further away against the Hammers for Everton in 2017-18).
In 2004-05, he hit one of the purest volleys you'll ever see against Newcastle United.
However, it was his thunderous bicycle kick against local rivals Manchester City in 2010-11 that will live longest in the memory.
While he might not be happy with the central-striker role in this XI, Rooney deserves to be in the front line because of his effortless magic, staggering work rate and unyielding commitment to the cause.
- Leo Collis
Left Forward: Cristiano Ronaldo
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Does this guy even need writing about?
Cristiano Ronaldo is the footballer of the generation alongside Lionel Messi. He scored 42 goals in 2007/08 alongside Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez in one of the division's scariest trios.
CR7 was originally thought to be too lightweight. He was doing too many stepovers. Not enough substance. The fact that he's still playing in 2025 is a testament to his drive and critical sense to reinvent himself. He was a lightning-fast winger during his time in England, whereas younger viewers may only remember a central striker who can still jump ridiculously high.
Then you think about the way he used to strike the ball. Those free kicks against Portsmouth and Porto. His lack of set-piece goals has become a meme now, but his knuckleball was genuinely trailblazing stuff.
Beyond the siu and the calma, Ronaldo is the single most talented player the Premier League has seen. It speaks to his ability that he made such an impact despite leaving before reaching his full potential.
- Nick Akerman
Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson
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This was never in doubt when you really think about it.
Many Liverpool fans will put up an argument for Jurgen Klopp, but Sir Alex Ferguson's success defined Manchester United's ascension to global powerhouse status, and in many ways, the Premier League as a dominant international product.
The weight of his legacy weighs so heavily, in fact, that it continues to define the shrivelling club he retired from in 2013.
That season concluded with Ferguson claiming his 13th Premier League title and 38th trophy as United manager, including five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions Leagues. He developed the best group of academy players England has ever produced with the Class of '92, lifting the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville to legendary status.
Ferguson also consistently rebuilt squads to keep United atop the tree, etching an attacking style of play and never-say-die attitude into the club's DNA.
Fans far beyond Old Trafford casually say "Fergie time" to this day. Ironically, this season has seen so many of Liverpool's matches decided in the dying seconds.
- Nick Akerman
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