Liverpool hero John Aldridge says they cannot afford not to beat Manchester United tomorrow.
Aldridge wrote for the Sunday World: "You can't win the Premier League title in the first month of the season – but Liverpool may be in danger of losing it if they don't beat Manchester United tomorrow night.
"It sounds crazy to suggest a title challenge is on the line heading into the third game of a season, yet these are not normal times.
"For most of the 30 years of the Premier League and going back to my days playing for Liverpool, the title winners would generally end up with around 80-85 points.
"Manchester United won the title with 75 points back in 1997, and Leicester needed only 81 points to clinch their famous crown six years ago.
"That was relatively normal, looking back over the history of the game – as you would expect teams to lose five or six matches, and maybe draw ten games over the course of a season.
"All that has changed over the last five years, and the Premier League is now operating under different rules."