Jose Mourinho thinks his Manchester United side will thrive on the hostile atmosphere they will face at Anfield tomorrow.
The Red Devils take on Liverpool in the lunchtime kick-off on Merseyside (live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the News Now App from 12pm), a trip former United defender Mikael Silvestre likened to "going to hell". But the Portuguese does not see it that way at all.
"You know, this is quite funny for me because I think when people speak about big atmospheres, it looks like we don't like it, it looks like it's a problem for us to go to a certain place and to face a big atmosphere," the United boss said.
"This is what we want. I am surprised that you speak about (going to Anfield) in a negative way, I am even more surprised when I hear former, big players speak about atmospheres like something sinister, something that worries (us).
"It motivates us, it is something that we want, it is something that if we could have every match, we would have every match.
"I never see a player complain 'oh, this atmosphere was very strong"
"You know, when Barcelona played against Las Palmas with an empty stadium (at the start of October), do you think the players were happy with that? Do you think Las Palmas' players wouldn't prefer to play with the Nou Camp full of people and a great atmosphere?
"We are speaking about Old Trafford, in this case Anfield, like it's a big problem. It's a satisfaction, that's what we want.
"I never see a player complain 'oh, this atmosphere was very strong'. We complain when the atmosphere is flat. When we play at home and we don't see big enthusiasm in the people, we complain.
"So we go to where we want to go, we go to play against a big team with a big tradition in an amazing stadium with great tradition.
"We know that the fans have huge animosity against Manchester United historically, but this is what we want, so we are very happy to have one more opportunity in our careers to play in these beautiful conditions. It's beautiful to play at Anfield. Beautiful."
Mourinho's enthusiasm for the trip was in marked contrast to his view of it at the start of the press conference, when he described it as "just one more match".
It is a game the United boss will face without midfielders Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick and almost certainly Marouane Fellaini, as well as the influential duo of Marcos Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
The latter missed a glorious chance to snatch a win at Anfield last term, when Mourinho's defence-minded approach came under scrutiny in a dour 0-0 draw.
"Yeah, I will play with one defender and nine strikers, don't worry about it," he said of his approach this time.
"That's for sure. We play with one guy behind and then we go with a new system, even an evolution of the old WM (tactical system) and we play with nine strikers. Don't worry about it."
Laid-back Mourinho did speak of the performances and confidence being better than this time last year, while their position has also markedly improved - even if they have yet to face a top-10 side.
"The only thing I would say is that we dropped points last season in many matches that you consider you would win before you start to play, you win in the tunnel because you wear a certain shirt - and we lost a lot of these points," the United boss said.
"This season we lost two (points) against Stoke but we managed in the other matches to get the points."
Meanwhile, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has laughed off suggestions it was his dream to take charge of United.
Klopp's former boss at Mainz, Eckhard Krautzun, this week claimed when he played under him the German's ambition had been to move to Old Trafford.
However, Klopp dismissed the idea that had things turned out differently he would be in the opposition dug-out tomorrow.
"I heard about an interview with my former manager," he said. "I really like Eckhard Krautzun but when I think too far in the past I am not 100 per cent sure what is right or wrong but it is still funny. I am sure he thinks it was like this.
"How could I, as a very average player at Mainz, say to my manager, 'By the way, if I become a manager I would love to manage Manchester United'.
"Maybe people think I am a little bit crazy but I am not that crazy. I never thought about something like this.
"He (Eckhard) was a big admirer, and is still, of Sir Alex Ferguson. In our first meeting he was wearing a jumper of Manchester United when he came in as a new coach. Maybe he forgot.
"There are a few funny stories, unfortunately a few things are not exact but still funny. I had fun when I read it but not all of it is exactly like this."
Klopp suffered a major blow over the international break with the loss of forward Sadio Mane for up to six weeks with a hamstring injury sustained in the 89th minute of Senegal's 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Cape Verde.
He was pleased not to have any other problems reported to him ahead of the visit of United.
Brazil internationals Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino arrived home safely after the club followed their now regular policy of chartering a private jet with Manchester City and Chelsea.
"That is a little bit different. The club has done everything to bring the boys back," added Klopp.
"We worked really closely with other clubs in this region to bring all the South American players home together.
"Phil played two games, Roberto played about five minutes so it is different. They should be OK.
"They both had a long flight, even if it was pretty comfortable I am sure. I was not in the plane but I can imagine as I saw the price!"
The influence of Coutinho and Firmino, in addition to top scorer Mohamed Salah who was Egypt's two-goal hero as they booked their spot in Russia next summer, will be crucial in the absence of Mane.
Arguably Liverpool's best player since he arrived in the summer of 2016, the club have experienced differing fortunes when he has been absent for lengthy periods.
Since his debut in August 2016 Liverpool average 2.2 Premier League goals with Mane in the team, compared to 1.6 goals in his absence.
When he went to the African Nations Cup in January Liverpool won just once in seven matches in all competitions.
They coped better when a knee injury ended his season in early April, with five wins, two draws and a defeat.
"Obviously we can still play football without Sadio as we have had to do this in the past - much more than we would have wanted," said Klopp.
"He is the highest-quality player and was very unlucky with injury. A lot of players in this international break from different teams had injuries - it is a big problem with change of training, different rhythm.
"That is always a problem and you hope nothing will happen. On this occasion it was Sadio but no-one else.
"We can play without him even if we would love to have him in the line-up."
