Man United's Chris Smalling: No better place to win than at Liverpool

Chris Smalling has said there is no better place for a Manchester United player to win than at Liverpool, and that the rivalry is stressed to new recruits when they arrive at Old Trafford.

Smalling, 26, is preparing to make the trip to face Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Monday night, with Jose Mourinho's men three points adrift of their rivals as things stand.

When asked by MUTV if there is anywhere better than Anfield to win as a United player, Smalling said: "No. There's definitely not. I've been lucky enough to win there a couple of times and it's a great feeling when you make all those fans happy, as we've done our jobs and can go back to Manchester with a smile on our faces."

Liverpool

Manchester United

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Home: 6/5  Draw: 5/2  Away: 5/2 

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Speaking about how new players are made aware of the rivalry, he said: "When I first joined up here, they all mentioned that obviously you know about [Manchester] City and United, but with Liverpool this is the one. With the way the rivalry has brewed over the years, because it's been so competitive, it was stressed to me, and especially the new lads now, how important this fixture is."

Although Liverpool knocked United out of the Europa League last season, Smalling has some fond memories of facing the Merseyside club. United have won the last four Premier League meetings between the two sides.

"They have always been tough games," Smalling said. "I think even in the last [Premier League] one [in January when United won 1-0 at Anfield], they probably played far better than us but we took our chance.

"We know they're a high-pressing team and we're not going to get much time on the ball, so we need to be prepared for that. If you don't move it on, you're going to get tackled. It's a very difficult job for us midfielders and defenders to make sure we dictate the play."

Smalling also emphasised how vital it is that United keep 11 men on the field. The most recent dismissal in the fixture was at Anfield in March 2015 when Steven Gerrard came off the bench and was promptly sent off, which was costly for Liverpool as they went on to lose 2-1.

Discussing the importance of keeping calm, Smalling said: "All week, we'll be working on tactics and quite often, in the first 15 minutes, the plans can go right out of the window until the game settles down. It's one of those where we must keep a cool head and implement our game plan to exert pressure on them.

"It is intense. It's 100 miles per hour. It's one of those where the manager has stressed again this week that we need to keep our emotions in check because even players who haven't been at United long know how important this fixture is. It's about controlling our emotions and keeping all our men on the pitch. It's a game where I think you need to play to your maximum.

"Quite often on the pitch, you're trying to call to the midfielders to say there is a man there but it's so loud and the atmosphere is so alive, it's just your blood flowing through your body that makes it hard to control those emotions."

Arindam is ESPN FC's Manchester United correspondent. Follow him @ARejSport