Liverpool beat Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford last March, but a repeat result looks highly unlikely in tomorrow’s clash considering the Merseysiders’ form in recent months

Reuters/London

As the bitter rivals prepare to resume hostilities at Old Trafford tomorrow, a reversal in fortunes has taken place that barely seemed possible at this time last season.

Just 12 months ago, United’s title defence was in tatters and manager David Moyes was having to explain how he had managed to turn Alex Ferguson’s ferocious tiger of a team into an over-cautious kitten.

Liverpool, meanwhile, could do no wrong. The goals were flowing freely as manager Brendan Rodgers adopted a system that allowed Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge to fill their boots and Anfield rejoiced as some long-lost swagger returned.

In early December last year, United lost 1-0 at home to Everton and Newcastle United as the same players who had been runaway league champions the season before looked utterly shorn of belief.

Their pain was heightened as their arch-rivals steamed ahead.

A 3-1 win over Cardiff City courtesy of two goals from Suarez on Dec. 21 helped Liverpool go top of the table playing a brand of entertaining football more commonly seen at Old Trafford in recent seasons.

Twelve months, however, is a long time in football and two transfer windows is sufficient to bring about a revolution in an era when the stock of managers can rise meteorically and plummet like a stone after back-to-back wins or consecutive defeats.

Now it is United who are starting to strut. With Moyes a distant memory and the imposing figure of Dutchman Louis van Gaal at the helm, United have returned to form.

Five straight Premier League wins have lifted them to third in the table, just as Liverpool suffered a stupefying 0-0 draw at home to Sunderland last weekend that left them ninth.

Another lifeless draw at home to Basel in the Champions League on Tuesday dumped them out of the competition and left pundits to pick over the bones of a team who look the palest of shadows of last season’s outfit.

Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson called them “rudderless” after their European failure, while another former stalwart Steve Nicol said the manager’s job was on the line.

Contrasting transfer-market strategies in which Liverpool looked to unearth hidden gems as United paid big for established talents are being touted as a simple explanation for their differing situations.

Liverpool sold Luis Suarez to Barcelona and replaced him with nine players of potential for 130 million pounds ($204 million), whereas United recruited high-profile names such as Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao from the top drawer.

As well as buying big, Van Gaal has restored a winning mentality at United that has not been sighted at Old Trafford since Alex Ferguson left the dug-out.

Rodgers, by contrast, seems uncertain of his best team, formation, or even tactical approach.

The gung-ho outlook that propelled them to within an inch of last season’s title proved largely unsuccessful at the start of the current campaign, while recently achieved defensive solidity has blunted attacking intent.

Part of the problem for Rodgers seems to be the attacking players he signed bare little resemblance in the way they play to the high-energy, high pressure game of the departed Suarez and the injured Daniel Sturridge.

Van Gaal, however, seems to have developed a system that mitigates for a lack of defensive steel and makes the most of the startling array of forwards United have at their disposal.

A series of injuries have also failed to mask the team’s obvious progress from last season, while the manager’s stature ensured the panic button was not pressed even when results were mixed at the start of the season.

Last March’s 3-0 victory for Liverpool at Old Trafford showcased all that was good about the Merseysiders and laid bare United’s shortcomings. A repeat result tomorrow looks highly unlikely.