When Manchester United fans sat down to watch the game against Leicester City on Tuesday night, there must have been a real sense of trepidation. Here was their team facing a game in which a negative outcome would result in the title being gifted to their crosstown rivals, and their manager decided to pick the reserves.

Ten changes from the side that had beaten Aston Villa was hardly a statement of intent. True, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were so far ahead that any delay was only ever likely to be temporary. But surely if the possibility – however unlikely – still remained of catching them, that should be the priority. After all, isn’t fighting to the last stitched into the very fabric of the club?

Except, there was very little negative reaction from United fans on social media. These are not followers shy of delivering disparaging opinions. But there was a wider recognition that, given it is nigh on physically impossible for the same group of players to engage in three competitive fixtures within 120 hours, if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was going to rest his leading lights it was better to do so on Tuesday.

Yes, it might hand the title to City. But tonight it is Liverpool. Which meant he needed as many of his best players as possible. Because for United fans doing everything to stymie the Merseysiders is the number one priority at Old Trafford. And with Liverpool in the desperate last-minute scramble for points to secure Champions League qualification, doing anything to stop them is critical.

The response of some Liverpool fans to Solskjaer’s selection was less philosophical. One Irish supporter posted a tearful denunciation which suggested the decision to field a weakened side was an affront to the nature of proper competition far greater than the Super League proposals. United, he blubbed, should be docked points. By effectively conceding Tuesday’s match, United had conspired to prevent Liverpool from achieving Champions League qualification by gifting it to Leicester. How the United followers enjoyed retweeting that.

Never mind that the more dignified and restrained elements of Liverpool support realised that maybe losing six home games on the bounce had done more damage to their Champions League qualification chances, never mind that Jurgen Klopp had publicly stated that he would do the same as Solskjaer, here was the opportunity to crow. And when it comes to United against Liverpool, that is vital. The two clubs’ rivalry is littered with examples of grabbing pleasure at halting their rivals.

In 1992, Liverpool fans relished stopping United taking the title by winning their game at Anfield. The same happened when Blackburn Rovers played at Anfield in the final game of the 1995 season. Home fans got the best of both worlds: Liverpool won the match, but United’s draw meant Blackburn took the championship.

Had Solskjaer rested some for the Liverpool game, the reaction would have been very different. What matters is stopping ‘them’. And for most United followers, the most significant ‘them’ has long been Liverpool, not City.

Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp said it is “a crime” that United were forced to play three games in five days ahead of tonight’s match.

The Liverpool manager backed rival Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to make 10 changes for Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat by Leicester City, despite the result having potentially grave consequences for Liverpool’s fading top-four ambitions. The win moved Leicester up to third and Liverpool head to Old Trafford knowing anything less than victory will effectively end their chances of reaching the Champions League.

Despite saying his club will only have themselves to blame if they miss out, Klopp could not resist a dig at the scheduling of United’s fixtures, which forced Solskjaer to rest so many players against Leicester.

“It was the line-up I expected,” Klopp said. “I knew he had to make these changes. To play Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday is a crime. It is. But it is not the fault of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the players. My question to myself was: would I have done the same? Yes. You have to.”

Klopp claimed that the Premier League could have found an alternative to ensure no club was disadvantaged. There were discussions about rescheduling Liverpool’s trip to West Bromwich Albion this weekend, allowing United extra recovery time to play Klopp’s team on Sunday.

“The explanation from the Premier League was that no other team should suffer because of the things that happened in Manchester,” said Klopp, referencing the fans’ protests which led to the original game being postponed. “Let me say it like this – that didn’t work out pretty well.”

Liverpool have earned around £280 million from their last four years in the Champions League but Klopp said the general health of the club will not be adversely impacted if they have to spend a year outside Europe’s elite competition.

United captain Harry Maguire is sidelined as he 28-year-old sustained ankle ligament damage against Aston Villa on Sunday and watched from the stands against Leicester on Tuesday, when manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 10 changes.

Anthony Martial and Phil Jones remain out for United, while Daniel James has missed recent matches.

Liverpool will be without centre-back Ozan Kabak and midfielders James Milner and Naby Keita as none of the trio have recovered from the knocks which kept them out of Saturday’s win over Southampton.

Man Utd v Liverpool, Live, Sky Sports PL, 8.15