Liverpool legend Phil Thompson believes a lack of pace on Manchester United's behalf will prove detrimental in Sunday's crucial Premier League clash.

"I thought [Naby] Keita was absolutely fantastic [against Bayern Munich], Thompson noted on Friday's OTB AM, "and his pace in that central-midfield could cause [Nemanja] Matic and [Ander] Herrera big problems."

Complimenting Manchester United's resurgence in form since the departure of Jose Mourinho shortly after United's defeat to Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season, Thompson noted United's improvement during this spell.

"They were so short of confidence," Thompson recalled, "defensively, in midfield and up-front."

"They were so disconnected, it was untrue."

Admitting that he didn't believe United could yet be considered "great defensively," the Liverpool legend does believe "they're a lot better."

There's a lot more freedom with this Manchester United side that Solskjaer has brought to the table

"I do believe we will have a lot of the possession," Thompson noted of Sunday's match.

"Manchester United, as good as they've been, they're still sort of searching for that cohesiveness."

Singling out Matic for praise despite his perceived lack of pace, Thompson was keen to point out the importance of caretaker manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

"It's been quite sensational what Ole has done," the former Liverpool captain noted.

"You can see how the dressing-room area under Jose [Mourinho] must have been so toxic.

"The turnaround in some of the players; [Marcus] Rashford we always knew was a player, but Jose didn't trust him. Pogba, he can be off the wall, but we've seen the real Paul Pogba step up.

"There's a lot more freedom with this Manchester United side that Solskjaer has brought to the table."

Crediting the Norwegian with enabling this upturn in form, Thompson is nevertheless adamant that Liverpool will not be beaten on Sunday, and will take any positive result from that game into the rest of the season.