Cody Gakpo admits he only became aware of the true scale of Liverpool's rivalry with Manchester United after last season's 7-0 win at Anfield.
And the Reds forward, who scored twice in that famous win back in March, says United aren't being underestimated inside the dressing room after an indifferent opening few months at Old Trafford.
Gakpo opened the scoring just before half time last season before adding a sumptuous second after the break as Jurgen Klopp's side ran riot to inflict the heaviest ever defeat on United.
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An embattled Erik ten Hag arrives on Merseyside having lost 11 games across all competitions this term, including seven in the Premier League, and the Red Devils followed last week's 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at home with another reverse at Old Trafford in midweek, against Bayern Munich, to confirm their exit from European football.
But despite their struggles, Gakpo and his team-mates aren't taking anything for granted as the most watched club fixture in football comes into focus.
“Of course, we know we are top of the table (before the weekend's fixtures), we know what we want and we just have to keep working hard, keep staying together, focusing on every game and win every game," Gakpo says.
“Obviously they have a lot of quality in their team so we cannot underestimate anything, it doesn't matter what phase they are in in how they perform. They have a lot of quality so we don't underestimate them but we have to play our game and not really look at them.
“No, we can't take them lightly. It is still a good football team with a lot of
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