When Liverpool and Manchester United go head-to-head at Anfield on Sunday, an epic sporting rivalry between English football’s two most successful clubs will be renewed.

But ahead of the clash – the Reds’ first home match since the shocking and damning findings of the Hillsborough Independent Panel were published – both clubs have pleaded with their fans to respect the occasion and each other by commemorating the 96 victims of the 1989 disaster together.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has written an open letter to the club’s fans urging them not to let themselves down on the day, and the general mood appears to be one of rare unity between two very different clubs whose illustrious histories are similarly scarred by the memory of terrible tragedies.