Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has claimed that Manchester United's last four wins over them "mean nothing" as they prepare to go head to head in the Europa League on Thursday.

The long-standing football rivals will meet for the first time in a European competition when they face one another at Anfield in the first leg of the last-16 stage.

United can set a new record by sealing a fifth consecutive victory over Liverpool this week, but Klopp is not interested in past results.

"Manchester United have won the last four but it means nothing," Klopp told reporters in Wednesday's press conference. "It would mean more if they had much more quality than us.

"It's enough of a target to want to go through to the next round without thinking about the final.

"I don't have a problem with Louis van Gaal but the last thing I want in this game is that he wins. Games like this are the mother of all football games and that's what you want when you are young."

The second leg will take place at Old Trafford on March 17.