All in all then, this is set up perfectly for a Manchester United victory, a Jose Mourinho victory.
On the back foot with his team and his captain short of real form. Under pressure enough to make unjust comments about the referee and his opposite number Jurgen Klopp.
Hearing the whispers that he may no longer be everyone's idea of the perfect modern Premier League coach.
This is classic Mourinho territory. With his back against the wall and the hand grenades already tossed, all the United manager needs now is the kind of performance from his team that has so typified his genius over the years.
He did it at Anfield with a team of Chelsea reserves three seasons ago. Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2.
He did at the Nou Camp with Inter Milan's 10 men in the 2011 Champions League. Barcelona 2 Inter 3 on aggregate.
Mourinho prides himself on this. The sheer cussedness. The bloody mindedness.
Whether he successfully finds it again on Merseyside on Monday night will perhaps go a long way to telling us just what the 2016 version of Mourinho is really like.
He did it at Anfield with a team of Chelsea reserves three seasons ago. Liverpool 0 Chelsea 2.
He did at the Nou Camp with Inter Milan's 10 men in the 2011 Champions League. Barcelona 2 Inter 3 on aggregate.
Mourinho prides himself on this. The sheer cussedness. The bloody mindedness.
Whether he successfully finds it again on Merseyside on Monday night will perhaps go a long way to telling us just what the 2016 version of Mourinho is really like.