Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher pick their Liverpool and Man Utd opposition #One2Eleven teams

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher pick their Liverpool and Man Utd XIs

Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have chosen the best #One2Elevens they played against as Liverpool and Manchester United players.

One of the fiercest rivalries in football ignites for the 2016/17 season on Monday Night Football - or 'Red Monday' - as the two sides meet at Anfield.

Ahead of the clash, the two former rivals sat down to chose their XIs from the opposition they played against. Here's who they picked...

Neville's Liverpool #One2Eleven

Image: Gary Neville has picked his Liverpool #One2Eleven

GOALKEEPER - Pepe Reina

I don't think Liverpool ever had a goalkeeper I've liked that much to be honest with you, but I'll go for Reina.

DEFENCE - Markus Babbel, Stephane Henchoz, Sami Hyypia and Jamie Carragher

I don't think Liverpool have had may good full-backs and I always remember that around that time, it felt like they had this tall, narrow back four and it was a nightmare to play against. There were no gaps, every time you crossed it, they headed or playing down the side, they had someone covering it.

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To me, this was Liverpool's strongest back four, otherwise I can't think of a great right-back or left-back. I think putting Carragher at left-back, just to get him in first and foremost, then it gets Henchoz and Hyypia in as well.

Image: Carragher makes Neville's #One2Eleven

MIDFIELD - Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso and John Barnes

With Mascherano and Alonso in midfield, it's the only time in my career where I thought 'they're actually good here.' Gerrard was a number 10 and Torres was up front, with Carragher and Hypia in the centre of defence and with Reina in goal, I thought 'another signing or two here, and they're going to win the league or they're close'.

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Image: Steven Gerrard makes up the midfield four

I played against Barnes three or four times and played with him for England and although when I played against him around 1995/96, he was just coming to the end, I think just for his ability and skill, he was a brilliant player. With him just tucked in on the left, it's a good midfield four.

STRIKERS - Michael Owen and Fernando Torres

These two were lightning quick. Owen in his early years was electric and for those two or three years at Liverpool was devastating, especially on the left channel where I played and it was tough.

Torres for me was probably a world-class centre-forward. I didn't play against Luis Suarez or I would have had him in front of Torres, but for two or three years at Liverpool, Torres was outstanding and one of the best strikers in the world.

Image: Fernando Torres spent a successful three-and-a-half years at Liverpool

Owen and Torres were the same in that once they lost that pace, Liverpool lost their main threat whereas other players can adapt, they weren't technically wonderful players but to play against them in their peak, you wouldn't want to because their pace was the one that kills you as a defender.

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The team I've picked is one I wouldn't like to play against actually. The back four is solid, there's a midfield that can pass, can run, can cross and they could feed the front two.

Carragher's Man Utd #One2Eleven

Image: Here's Jamie Carragher's Man Utd #One2Eleven

GOALKEEPER - Peter Schmeichel

I think he's the best goalkeeper we've seen in the Premier League era, maybe one of the greatest ever and certainly during my time playing against United so he goes in.

DEFENCE - Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra

I think that back four around 2007/08 was as good as anything in Europe. Getting through to a few Champions League finals on the bounce and certainly the centre-back partnership at that time - along with John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho who were outstanding - I think those two partnerships were the best anywhere around.

Image: Neville makes it into Carragher's #One2Eleven

I think a lot of what United did going forward in that side with Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo was based on Edwin van Der Sar in goal and especially those two centre-backs and also the back four.

Evra was maybe a debatable one in terms of Dennis Irwin - Manchester United fans would maybe pop for him - but I think I played against Evra a lot more and he was outstanding, you can still see it in his career to this day.

MIDFIELD - Cristano Ronaldo, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs

It is probably one of the greatest midfields you would see in any era. I think the midfield four was with David Beckham really if you go back to when that team played but in Ronaldo, you can argue is one of the greatest players we've seen in the Premier League, certainly one or two with Thierry Henry.

Image: Paul Scholes (left) and Ryan Giggs feature in the midfield four

Keane, would United ever have a figure like that again? He's a fantastic central midfield player. Scholes you would pick as your No 1, or maybe the best player you played with so that says everything about him and Giggs is one of the most decorated player there will ever be in football so one of the great midfields of any era.

STRIKER - Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy

Van Nistelrooy didn't win a European Cup like some of United's great centre-forwards have, but his goal record must be one of the best in terms of goals per game ratios. I wouldn't say he caused you a massive problem in games, I can't remember playing against Van Nistelrooy and thinking that, but whenever you saw him play, you just knew he was going to score.

It was either Rooney or Beckham, but I've gone for Rooney because to go there at the age that he did, for the fee that he did, to do what he did on his debut, to be there for so long considering the great players United have had and by the time he walks away, he will be the top scorer in United's history.

Image: Wayne Rooney makes the front two for Carragher's #One2Eleven

You think of the players Untied have had, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Dennis Law and to be top scorer out of them sees him deserve his place.

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