Jurgen Klopp has Liverpool on right track - but history isn't on their side against Man Utd

Liverpool have enjoyed what can most generously be described as mixed fortunes against Manchester United in knockout cup competition. They started well, winning the promotion-relegation Test Match of 1894 against Newton Heath, then a second-round FA Cup tie against the yet-to-be-rebranded Mancunians in 1898. Since then, however, their returns have diminished somewhat.

After winning in the first round of the FA Cup at Old Trafford in 1921, Liverpool had to wait 85 years for another victory against the old enemy in the oldest competition; they can thank Peter Crouch for breaking that particular hoodoo in 2006. That long barren run consisted of a grand total of zero victories at seven times of asking, including two beatings in the semis, and another in the 1977 and 1996 finals. The latter earned United a Double; the former denied Liverpool a Treble.

Liverpool, by way of balance, have the edge in League Cup rubbers - including victories at the 1983 and 2003 finals - and the recent FA Cup meetings since Crouch's epochal scrambler have been shared. But more often than not, when the winner takes it all, United have had the upper hand: 11 victories to seven in cups though the years is a generous margin.

Recent form in the rivalry is also very much on United's side. Louis van Gaal famously boasts a 100% record against Liverpool: four wins in a row, nine goals scored, just the two against. It's also only the second time in over 100 years that United have achieved back-to-back doubles over Liverpool. It's almost as though, contrary to the views of the pitchfork-wielding internet mob, Van Gaal knows what he's doing.

And yet despite it all, Liverpool can be forgiven if they feel a little tingle of confidence and expectation ahead of the rivalry's long-awaited transfer to the big European stage.

For a start, the result at Crystal Palace will have put a little wind beneath their wings. That it was the first time Liverpool Football Club had ever won a game in their 123-year history from a losing position with 10 men is astonishing enough. That there was genuine controversy over the late Christian Benteke winner, however, is beyond comprehension.

A predictably and depressingly rabid chorus chimed up online: Benteke had dived, there was no contact. On Twitter, the Talksport personality Mike Parry suggested that Benteke should be banned sine die, a glorious over-reaction even in the age of social media. (You'll find plenty of cynical Liverpool fans who would be perfectly happy to see Benteke chased away from football for good, but not for the reasons Parry was putting forward.)

Red mist had clearly obscured the view. Replays conclusively proved that there had indeed been contact between the striker and Damien Delaney's knee. Yes, it was the softest of brushes. Yes, the strapping Benteke didn't need asking twice to go down. And yes, it's legitimate to ask how contact sport has come to this. But this is the modern game, this is where we are and have been for some time now. The Messis and Ronaldos of the game never think twice either. To single out Benteke is absurd. (Especially in the context of Wilfried Zaha's explanation upon being booked for simulation earlier in the season - but let's not muddy the waters.)

You could feel Palace's pain, though: they had been by far the better side until inexplicably freezing after James Milner was sent off. Liverpool, after a glittering show at Anfield against Manchester City, had slipped back to their miserable, meandering, maddening worst. And yet their subsequent performance during the last half-hour will have greatly heartened their manager. Resilience has been a trait lacking at Liverpool for some time now, but a little appears to be oozing its way back. It had been on display, albeit to no avail, during their staunch refusal to accept heavy defeat against dominant City in the League Cup final. At Palace, a showing of similar spirit while playing equally poorly paid a more generous dividend. That payoff should give Liverpool precious confidence going into the Europa double header, a crucial mental safety-net for a side so prone to wild inconsistencies.

For fans of less abstract notions, there are also signs that the defence is slowly being drilled into more dependable shape, quietly and without fanfare. Liverpool have only conceded twice in their last six matches, despite ever-changing personnel, players slotting into clearly defined roles in a more well-defined structure. It's an approach that hasn't done Tottenham Hotspur too much harm this season, with Maurico Pochettino switching his full-backs almost on a match-by-match basis.

Liverpool have ridden their luck at times, it's true: witness Raheem Sterling's misses, Sergio Aguero and Emmanuel Adebayor rattling the woodwork. But it's better to ask yourself this: when was the last time they looked a nervous shambles at a set piece? It was only six weeks ago, after all, when their dead-ball travails were very much A Thing, and they were haplessly shipping four goals at Norwich City. It's still very much a work in progress, but gradual improvement is better than none at all, which had been very much the state of play at Anfield for several years in accordance with the Rodgers Law of Inertia.

So Liverpool have a little momentum going into the big Europa showdown: an upturn in Premier League results; displays of renewed tenacity, determination and spirit; a much-improved defensive record; and in Roberto Firmino a player who has been involved in more goals and assists than any other in England since the turn of the year. Still, they'll need to keep all those plates spinning at once if they're to make any sort of impact against a United side who have plenty of recent momentum of their own - and have all that precious history on their side too.