MATA: ANY GAME AGAINST LIVERPOOL IS SPECIAL

Juan Mata is relishing the challenge of Liverpool on Saturday and acknowledges the history and the rivalry behind one of the biggest fixtures in English football.

The Spaniard has written his name into the folklore around the match with his superb brace at Anfield in March 2015 and will hope to have a major influence this time around, after coming off the bench to great effect at Crystal Palace.
"It is the biggest game for both teams and maybe in English football as well," he told MUTV, "The rivalry, the history of both clubs and the atmosphere as well.
"Any game against Liverpool is special and, if you are able to score a fantastic goal or have a great performance, it will be remembered forever."
One of Mata's stand-out moments as a United player was the scissor-kick goal scored at Anfield, as part of his brace, and he admits that he still gets asked about it by fans three years later.
"I think if you ask fans what my best moment at United is, it would probably be that game and, specifically, that goal. It was a fantastic day for me: playing at Anfield, scoring twice and scoring the winning goal," he added.
Mata admits that coming back from 2-0 down to win at Selhurst Park has boosted morale at the Aon Training Complex going into this weekend's match.
"It was a tough game," he said. "We were lucky to come back after being 2-0 down, especially playing away from home. The result was a great boost of confidence as well as beating Chelsea the week before.
"Liverpool are a good team. Everything is going quite well for them, especially with their attacking players. They're scoring a lot of goals especially from Mohamed Salah, who's having a fantastic season. We need to be ready for them.
"Every player prefers to play at home. We need to make that count. We are at Old Trafford, where we feel comfortable, and we need to give 100 per cent to create an atmosphere for the fans."