Saturday 16 January 2016 20:59, UK
With Liverpool and Manchester United both currently in danger of finishing outside of the Premier League top four, we look back to the last time such a scenario happened, 35 years ago…
The two clubs meet at Anfield on Sunday afternoon (live on Sky Sports 1 HD at 2.05pm), with Jurgen Klopp's side way down in ninth in the table, five points off fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
The Red Devils are also not in the Champions League places at present, with Louis van Gaal and Co travelling to Merseyside this weekend in sixth position, two points behind Spurs after 21 games of the campaign.
Rewind to August 1980 and Liverpool entered that season having won the previous two top-flight titles, although Bob Paisley's team were to suffer a rude awakening after finishing fifth in the 1980/81 campaign.
The Reds managed to draw 17 of their 42 games, ending their hopes of claiming a hat-trick of championships as they finished nine points behind eventual champions Aston Villa.
However, Liverpool did make up for that disappointment by going on to win a third European Cup after beating Real Madrid 1-0 in Paris and a first-ever League Cup with victory over West Ham United at Wembley.
United, meanwhile, endured an even more underwhelming campaign than their rivals, ending down in eighth place after drawing 18 of their 42 matches to ultimately leave Dave Sexton's team 12 points adrift of Villa.
As a result, Sexton - who had spent more than £1m signing Garry Birtles from Nottingham Forest, only for the striker to fail to score a single league goal that season - lost his job after four trophyless years in charge of the club, with Ron Atkinson replacing him at Old Trafford.
Fast forward 35 years and Liverpool host United with English football's two most successful clubs once again languishing outside the Premier League top four and with the fight on to avoid a repeat of 1980/81...
