Manchester United have been granted dispensation from UEFA to stay 'at home' before their Europa League tie in Liverpool.

Had this been a game on the continent, United would have had to be in the country 24 hours before the match, as UEFA rules require a team to be within 27 miles of the stadium.

However, Louis van Gaal's side plan to train at their Carrington base on Wednesday morning — which is 34 miles from Liverpool — as if this was a domestic game, and stay in a hotel in Manchester before travelling to Merseyside on Thursday afternoon, when they will conclude their preparations in a hotel in Liverpool.

Liverpool will stay in Manchester on the eve of the second leg at Old Trafford, which takes place on Thursday week.

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Louis van Gaal watches his side train ahead of the first leg of their Europa League clash with Liverpool

United go into the game on the back of a narrow defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion

United will have about 3,000 supporters at Anfield and the club will courier white away shirts to them, with delivery expected the day before the game.

All tickets have been sent out by recorded delivery to fans, with United paying the cost, which again is different from how things would be if the game was being played abroad. Normally, travelling fans would collect tickets from a designated point in a European city but, on this occasion, there was nowhere suitable for United fans to collect.

One option considered was the Everton store in the city but they are still selling tickets for their FA Cup quarter-final with Chelsea on Saturday.

This is the first time Liverpool have hosted an evening kick-off against United since May 1999 but the police are not enforcing any special measures for this game. Their operation will be the same as it was for the Barclays Premier League game in January, which United won 1-0.

Match commander chief superintendent Jon Ward said: 'As with any match, the force has worked closely with both clubs, the local council and supporters to ensure this game can be enjoyed by all in a safe environment.

'We want to build on the support we had from both sets of fans in the recent Premier League game and as usual we would ask fans with tickets to arrive at the ground as early as possible. Fans without tickets should not attend — they will not be allowed entry into the stadium.'

Liverpool have lost all five matches they have played against United since Van Gaal became manager — four in the Premier League and a pre-season friendly in August 2014 — but they go into this contest on the back of confidence-boosting wins against Manchester City and Crystal Palace.

Van Gaal has an excellent record against Liverpool, including this 3-1 victory in September

But they face Jurgen Klopp's resurgent side, who are just three points behind them in the league

And they had a surprise visitor to wish them luck when their former striker Luis Suarez, who is on a short break from Barcelona, returned to their training ground, Melwood.

Suarez said: 'It was fantastic to see the lads. The people that work here are really nice and I miss them, so I wanted to come and see some friends. I have really good friends here.

'I had a really good moment here in three and a half years and when you have a really good moment in your life, it is something you remember.

'I always try to watch the [Liverpool] games and look out for the results. I am very interested in how Liverpool are doing because they are so important in my life.'

Liverpool favourite Suarez returned to his old club to watch them train ahead of the United game