Liverpool defender Joel Matip has warned his team-mates that league standings will go out of the window tonight when the Reds host fierce rivals Manchester United at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's men sit in fourth spot in the Premier League table, while Manchester United are seventh – and Liverpool will start this evening's clash as favourites to establish a six-point lead over their rivals.




But Matip, who has experience of playing in the Ruhr derby between Schalke and Borussia Dortmund, feels that current league standings simply count for little when in the heat of a derby battle.

And the centre-back has urged his team-mates to fight hard for the entire 90 minutes to make sure they can pick up the three points on offer.
 


"In Germany I played for Schalke and it was the biggest fight against Borussia Dortmund and it was a special game", the defender told his club's site.

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"The [league] position you are in before the game doesn’t count, only these 90 minutes when you have to fight until the last second to win.

"It was always a great game and a lot of emotional games, losses and wins", Matip continued.

"I can remember most of the wins and it was a nice time."

Liverpool head into the game on a run of good form and have won their last five games in all competitions, scoring 16 goals in the process.