Manchester United enjoy a 7-4 advantage over Liverpool in our combined XI

Contrary to popular belief, we don't have a bias in favour of either Manchester United or Liverpool.

Trust us! Having said that, we're asking for trouble by picking a United-heavy combined XI ahead of one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of the Premier League season. The Red Devils host Liverpool on Sunday afternoon in the return fixture from the drab 0-0 draw that they played out in October. Let's hope for a bit more action when we get round two, at Old Trafford, in Sunday's late afternoon kick-off. And, for the day that's in it, here's the combined XI that we came up with based on the showings from both sides thus far this season. David De Gea - Manchester United Probably the easiest pick of the bunch because De Gea remains arguably the most reliable goalkeeper in the Premier League while Loris Karius' struggles in adapting to the English game saw him dropped in recent league ties before being reinstated for the pair of cup games in the past week. Antonio Valencia - Manchester United A trickier call and nothing against Nathaniel Clyne but Valencia hasn't put a foot wrong all season. He's one of the most athletic players in the top flight and is a sight to behold with the ball at his feet given his breakneck pace and dominance on the right flank for United. Eric Bailly - Manchester United Jose Mourinho's dealings in the summer transfer window look more inspired as each day passes and while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba were always going to steal the headlines, Eric Bailly's displays at the back have been nothing but commanding. Strong, committed, powerful in the air and composed with the ball at his feet, Bailly drew comparisons with United legend Nemanja Vidic early on which speaks volumes about his impact in Manchester. Joel Matip - Liverpool Liverpool's defending hasn't been their strongest point over the first half of the season as Jurgen Klopp's modus operandi has seemed to be "you can score but we will score more." But Joel Matip, a summer signing from Schalke, has been a shining light at the back for the Reds and, simply put, Liverpool concede less when Matip is in the back four. On the pitch, one just has faith in Matip winning every challenge and he partners Bailly in the centre of our hypothetical defence. James Milner - Liverpool The most underrated player in the Premier League? Almost certainly. Milner has not just performed admirably at left back since being deployed there by Klopp but he's actually looked like he's played at full back all his life. Adam Lallana - Liverpool You could probably point to Adam Lallana as the player who's most benefited from Klopp's training methods as he's looked reinvented under the German. He epitomises Liverpool's pressurising game off the ball and his touch has never looked as assured as it has this season. Ander Herrera - Manchester United It was a toss-up between Michael Carrick and Ander Herrera here because the success of one has been relatively dependent on that of the other throughout the season. We've plumped for the Spanish international just due to the fact that he's got more energy in his legs and is slightly more of a goal threat nowadays. Paul Pogba - Manchester United After a brief shaky start upon his return to Old Trafford, Pogba has rediscovered the magic touch that inspired United to splash out over €100 million on the enigmatic midfielder. The Frenchman is never going to be the type of player who finds the net 25+ times a season but that's not what he was bought for. He controls games. He gets attacks started from deep in United's half. He can ping diagonals à la Paul Scholes. He can beat a man à la Cristiano Ronaldo. And he can strike a ball as well as anybody when in position. Henrikh Mkhitaryan - Manchester United It took him a while to convince Jose Mourinho of his ability to impact games but he's finally won his manager around. Mkhitaryan always looks like he's going to get past his man and seems to make the right decision 99 per cent of the time. He's nothing but consistent and gets the shout on the right side of our attacking triumvirate. Philippe Coutinho - Liverpool Liverpool's star man, with very little in the way of competition for that honour, Coutinho was sorely missed during his seven-week absence due to injury. The things that the Brazilian is capable of with the ball at his feet sometimes beggar belief and one expects the net to bulge every time he strikes the ball from outside the box. He's special. Zlatan Ibrahimovic - Manchester United Speaking of special, there was never going to be anybody else to lead the line but the doubter-silencing Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 18 goals in all competitions is a statistic that speaks for itself and there was absolutely no doubt here.