Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has claimed that Jose Mourinho's team are underdogs for their meeting with Liverpool.

United will move level on points with their North-West rivals should they prevail at Anfield, but Scholes has criticised United boss Mourinho for failing to be "ruthless" in the summer and for not giving his new team an "identity".

The 41-year-old told BBC Sport: "If you were betting, you would be betting on Liverpool.

"Mourinho was not ruthless enough in the off-season. There is so much confusion about who should play. What I saw of Mourinho at Chelsea, he had 13 or 14 players who played every week. He never rested players even in the League Cup or whatever competition he was in."

"With United it is still a settling-in period - it is going to take a bit of time for them to knit together and see what they are about. Is there an identity to the team yet? I don't think there is."

United have registered just four points from their last four games in the top flight.