Paul Scholes admitted he never expected the fortunes of Manchester United and Liverpool to fluctuate so quickly to the stage where his old side are favourites for their clash at Anfield.
Erik ten Hag's team head to Merseyside today (Sunday, 4.30pm GMT kick off) with a 10-point advantage over Jurgen Klopp's side, who themselves have been in wildly inconsistent form this season.
United have been much improved under Ten Hag. They are still considered as possible challengers to Arsenal and Manchester City for the league title, while Liverpool are facing a battle just to finish in the top four.
It's a far cry from last season when United sacked Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and had a rough spell under interim boss Ralf Rangnick. They lost to Liverpool by a 9-0 aggregate scoreline over the two league games.
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"Not a chance," Scholes told Premier League Productions when asked if he expected United to be leading Liverpool by 10 points in the current league table.
The ex United midfielder referenced the 4-0 shellacking his former side suffered at Anfield towards the end of last season as a low point for the club. He didn't see a way back.
“Working at the game on the night. The teams were miles apart," Scholes added.
“I have been a little surprised by Liverpool’s season. I was actually on here thinking Liverpool have a great chance of winning the league this year. I was so wrong."
On United, who have broken their six-year trophy drought under Ten Hag and are still competing for an unlikely quadruple this season, Scholes was full of praise – not just for the Dutchman, but for 'leaders' like Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez.
He said: “The improvements this new manager has made have been off-the-scale. Even this season, you think after the first two games ‘God we are in trouble again’.
"But what he has done is bring personalities and characters into the team. You think of Casemiro and Martinez. They are real leaders and they have brought people together.”
Topics: Paul Scholes, Liverpool, Manchester United
Dominic Booth