Jason McAteer: Massive gulf in class between Liverpool and Manchester United

The gulf in class between Liverpool and Manchester United is the biggest it has been in the Premier League era without a shadow of a doubt.

United have issues at board level and on the pitch. The only one of their players I think could make it into the Liverpool team is Paul Pogba.

The Reds are European champions, have won every league game this season and the mentality of the squad collectively is brilliant. The club is in a very good place.

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You might argue Marcus Rashford could get into the Liverpool team but you would have to shoehorn him into a side playing a different system - I wouldn't remove any of Liverpool's front three.

I like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer - I'm happy to see a young manager given the opportunity - but I don't think he was ready for the United job, it came too soon. The club simply haven't had the steady foundations there to help him take the club forwards.

Despite the gap, Liverpool still have to treat the weekend's game at Old Trafford with the utmost respect and I am sure they will. United have only nine points from eight games but it can be dangerous to go into this fixture in relaxed mood.

It is a tough place to go with the crowd and bragging rights on the line.

If Jurgen Klopp is looking at weaknesses in the United team they are at the back. I rate Rashford and they still have players who can hurt teams in attack.

But Liverpool are so strong up front and United are poor defensively. It will be all about creating chances early, dominating possession and starting well.

Sergio Romero is likely to be in goal if David De Gea is out injured so they will need to test him early, put the defence under pressure and just be clinical. Liverpool have done exactly that since the start of the campaign.

Can they go the Premier League season unbeaten? I wouldn't have a punt on it. There are too many games to go and it is still early in the campaign.

The big question is if Liverpool can get over the line and win the title. They have roughly 15 games through November and December and have to go to Qatar for the Club World Cup. Their squad is just starting to be stretched a little at the moment and we are at the point where Klopp needs to start rotating regularly and really utilise his substitutes.

There are key individuals in this Liverpool team. They have had some great number nines and Roberto Firmino makes this side tick.

Brendan Rodgers couldn't work out where to play him when he was first at the club, trying him out on the left. Then Klopp came along with his 4-3-3 system featuring a hard-working midfield and explosive front three.

They needed a magician in that attack who pulls everything together and it is similar to how Lionel Messi has played in a Barcelona team set up around him. Firmino is Liverpool's Messi.

When he's not in the team you can see how detrimental his absence is.

He didn't play the first half in the Uefa Super Cup but came on at the break and instantly made an impact as they created a lot of chances. The system suits Mo Salah and Sadio Mane but it is Firmino who makes it all work - without him, Liverpool are a different animal.

Goalkeeper Alisson is as important as Virgil van Dijk in some ways. The Dutch defender is the voice who organises the team but in terms of performances and supplying the team with confidence, Alisson is equally as crucial. He gives such confidence to the four players in front of him when he's in the side.

Georginio Wijnaldum has been scoring regularly for the Netherlands but when he plays for Liverpool he can sometimes drift out of the game when they have a lot of possession. He tends to hold back and hang on to the defensive side of the game a little too much rather than focus on his attacking duties. That is perhaps why he hasn't been scoring goals regularly at club level.

Kevin Phillips would have been great fit for Sunderland job

Sunderland are a brilliant club with a massive fan base. It has not gone well over the last few seasons with new owners coming in and unfortunately they have had plenty of managers who could not change their fortunes.

Sometimes you just have to go back to basics and find someone who has an affinity to the club, who the fans admire and relate to and will therefore be given more time in the manager's position.

Good luck to Phil Parkinson after he was appointed on Thursday, but I think Kevin Phillips would have been ideal after working behind the scenes at the likes of West Brom.

I've found young players look up at those with a strong CV and if he would have walked into that dressing room he would have get the respect out of those players.

Bolton Wanderers may need to take one step back to take two steps forward

It will be a tough one for Bolton to survive this season.

Having nearly gone out of business - which would have been soul-destroying - they have got in a consortium who have the club's interests at heart now, not their own.

The manager has had to make wholesale changes and get the team to gel very quickly to make up that point gap.

It's going to be too hard to survive I think. Maybe taking one step back to take two steps forward is the best way of looking at. I would love them to stay in the division but it looks too big an ask.

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