Manchester United showdown is golden opportunity for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to get his Liverpool career up and running

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Even now, with the days when they played long behind them, the intensity continues to burn away inside.

Whether you talk to former Liverpool or Manchester United heroes, you only need a few minutes in their company to appreciate what it means to be directly involved in English football's Clasico.

'The noise would hit you from all four sides of the stadium when you came out of the tunnel,' Ronnie Whelan, an FA Cup-winning captain of Liverpool, recalls. 'I had to be on my own before these games to gather my thoughts. They were like nothing else.'

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain trains ahead of Liverpool's showdown with Manchester United

The midfielder still has to win over his critics after a £35million move from Arsenal

They remain that way. This latest instalment won't determine the final destination of the Premier League but it continues to have a power like no other; a goal and a stellar performance in it and, as Whelan explained, suddenly a player is on another level.

Whelan speaks with authority. His stunning goal settled the 1983 Milk Cup final at Wembley, the 25-yard effort he curled around Gary Bailey and his finger-clicking celebration still featuring in highlights reels.

More recently, what about Roberto Firmino?

His first season on Merseyside was drifting along but then, in March 2016, the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 brought United to Anfield. Firmino turned on the afterburners that night, scored a crucial goal in a 2-0 win and hasn't looked back.

Doing it in this collision transforms the way an individual its viewed. Luis Suarez lit the fuse on his Liverpool career in this fixture in March 2011, while readers of a certain era will recall the January night in 1994 when Nigel Clough inspired a stunning fightback.

Clough's Anfield career was disappointing but he took with him a performance against United that ensured he was remembered with a degree of fondness; the old Kop shook that evening when he scored twice and Liverpool drew after initially trailing 3-0.

There is always that potential when these two foes square up for someone to do something out of the norm - 16 years on, Anfield still wants to know how John Arne Riise scored that goal - and that cannot be lost on the current squad.

Roberto Firmino kick-started his Liverpool career with a goal against United last March 

Before that, Luis Suarez also announced his talent by mesmerising against United in 2011

Nigel Clough is fondly remembered at Anfield for his two goals against United in 1994 alone

One man, more than most, should be relishing this chance. It is six weeks since Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined Liverpool for £35million and, other than a few cameo appearances, there has been nothing to write home about.

Already plenty of people are looking at his situation and wondering why Liverpool went to such expense to get him out of Arsenal when, for that money, he should really be stamping his authority on games and making vital contributions.

Jurgen Klopp, however, is not in the least bit flustered by the quiet start and has made it clear this is a transfer that will benefit Liverpool over the course of six years, not just six weeks.

Those who work alongside him on a daily basis insist it is a case of 'when' rather than 'if' it all comes together for him in a Red shirt, with his quality and technical ability shining through in training. There are no doubts about him in the dressing room.

The feeling within those confines is that once he gets fully attuned to Klopp's very specific way of working, which Oxlade-Chamberlain has privately acknowledged is vastly differently to Arsene Wenger's methods, he will be up and running.

Sadio Mane's injury presents Oxlade-Chamberlain with a chance to show his worth

Doubts, nonetheless, remain amongst supporters, who have asked questions such as where is he going to play and does he even get in Klopp's strongest starting line-up? The doubts will linger until he steps up and produces.

With that in mind, then, could there be a better fixture for him this weekend? Sadio Mane's absence gives Klopp an unwanted void to fill but he has options and Oxlade-Chamberlain should give his manager no reason not to start him.

It is far too soon to make a snap judgement on whether Oxlade-Chamberlain will be a hit or miss but one thing that can be said with certainty is that a defining moment against Manchester United would help him immeasurably.

He only needs to look through history to see how. 

TIM FOR EVERTON HONOUR?

The timeline that runs around the outside of Goodison Park is a glorious pictorial of many of the club's biggest events.

Record-breaking transfers, managerial appointments, landmark victories: they are all chartered in chronological order, sweeping from the Bullens Road down Gwladys Street and on to Goodison Road.

There is an argument to say, though, that it could do with updating and if the powers that be see fit to give it a revamp, an entry should be made for July 2004 when Tim Cahill arrived for £1.75m.

Tim Cahill's goals and fighting spirit made him an Everton hero between 2004 and 2012

Cahill last played for Everton in 2012 but there was a reminder of his ability to be the man for the big occasion when he scored twice against Syria to send Australia to a World Cup play-off against Honduras.

Over the course of eight years, he had the knack of being in the right place at the right time but, above all, he got what Everton was about: he fought and scrapped and refused to believe they couldn't keep pace with the then established top four.

Bill Kenwright described Cahill as being 'mesmeric' when he first saw him on scouting trip with David Moyes in April 2002 and it is impossible to think of another signing the chairman has made that has provided such remarkable value for money.

Everton's official Twitter feed clicked into life when Cahill scored against Syria to show the esteem in which he continues to be held. He might be only 5ft 8in but, in every other sense, Cahill will always be an Everton giant. 

MOMENT OF THE WEEK

An easy one to select. The Estadi Comunal in Andorra is the size of your local sports centre but Everton midfielder Tom Davies will remember it with fondness after scoring his first England Under-21 goal there on Tuesday.

It settled the game but what impressed most was his reaction. England had not played well and, as the ball nestled in the net, he simply put his head down and walked back. His desire to keep improving with every minute of every game is abundantly clear. 

The impressive Tom Davies (centre) celebrated his first England U21 goal in muted fashion