The 239th meeting between Liverpool and Manchester United takes place in front of the raucous Anfield crowd on Sunday afternoon, as the two English behemoths renew hostilities with differing end-of-season goals in mind.

The days of both sides jostling for position at the top of the Premier League table have been consigned to history for now, as Jurgen Klopp's men continue to play catch-up to their fellow Champions League chasers in sixth place.

Meanwhile, hopes of ending a decade-long Premier League title drought are not totally unfounded for Man United, who are sitting pretty in third place and are out to complete a first league double over the Reds since 2015-16.

While Liverpool's recent spate of clean sheets, Man United's penchant for goals and the unforgiving Anfield atmosphere will play their parts in the result, a host of intriguing individual contests could also decide the destiny of this weekend's priceless three points.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at three key battles to keep an eye on in Sunday's Anfield showdown.

Marcus Rashford vs. Trent Alexander-Arnold

Even before Andy Madley's first whistle blows on the Merseyside turf, some may already write off Trent Alexander-Arnold's chances of quelling the goalscoring gizmo that is Marcus Rashford, who has firmly rekindled the fire in his Man United belly.

Already sitting on 14 Premier League goals for the season - only Erling Braut Haaland and Harry Kane have more - Rashford should be up to his usual tricks on the left-hand side of the Red Devils' attack, leaving it up to the much-maligned Alexander-Arnold to suppress his supreme qualities.

Much has been made and will continue to be made of Alexander-Arnold's defensive capabilities - the right-back is often the first port of call for criticism when Liverpool concede - and he will no doubt need to perform out of his skin to keep Rashford at bay this weekend.

On average, Rashford has attempted 3.88 take-ons per game over the past 365 days, but he has only completed 1.24 - with that success rate of 31.9% putting him down in just the third percentile compared to his fellow wingers - so it is not all doom and gloom for Alexander-Arnold just yet.

Virgil van Dijk vs. Wout Weghorst

A powerful penalty-box battle that can be witnessed frequently during Netherlands training, the daunting Dutch duo of Virgil van Dijk and Wout Weghorst will be at the centre of corner and free-kick tussles in what promises to be a fascinating individual showdown.

Weghorst has the physical edge on Van Dijk by just four centimetres - standing at 1.97m compared to Van Dijk's 1.93m frame - but the Burnley loanee's Premier League struggles have been prolonged in a Man United jersey, and he is still waiting for his first top-flight goal for Erik ten Hag's men.

While recently dropping deeper and contributing well to the defensive effort, Weghorst's imposing figure will be required to challenge Van Dijk's aerial prowess to the maximum - the Liverpool man has won 71.6% of his aerial duels this term, ranking seventh in the Premier League in that regard.

Over the past 365 days, Van Dijk's aerial win rate shoots up to 78.8%, while Weghorst has actually lost more duels in the air than he has prevailed in - his success rate sits at just 39.8% - which does not bode well against a FIFPRO World XI centre-back who is all too familiar with his game.

Fabinho vs. Bruno Fernandes

The assist charts may not weigh heavily in his favour, but one must rein in the exemplary creative influence of Bruno Fernandes to thwart Man United, and a steadily-improving Fabinho should be relied upon to accept that tireless task.

A stalwart of Liverpool's successful period, replicating his form from a few years ago has been a consistent struggle for Fabinho this season, winning just over half of his tackles and being overshadowed by the emerging Stefan Bajcetic.

However, Liverpool would not have kept their last four successive clean sheets had it not been for the Brazilian, who is slowly but surely reverting to his former self - a welcome sight before pass master Fernandes takes to the Anfield turf.

While not enjoying the most fruitful season in terms of numbers - scoring five and setting up six more in the top flight - Fernandes is second only to Kevin De Bruyne in shot-creating actions in the Premier League this term, racking up 119 compared to the Belgian's 131.

Furthermore, Fernandes's tally in the SCA charts is the third-highest in the big five European leagues - Lionel Messi is sandwiched in between him and De Bruyne with 123 - and giving the Portuguese powerhouse free rein to harness his artistic abilities would no doubt prove fatal.