Liverpool's owners will have told Jurgen Klopp he needs to win the Premier League during his time at the club, according to Brendan Rodgers.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss replaced a sacked Rodgers in October and led the Reds to the League Cup final, where they lost to Manchester City on penalties.
Liverpool are down in seventh in the Premier League, though, a massive 16 points behind shock leaders Leicester City.
"They have a very good manager in Jurgen Klopp in place," Rodgers told the Belfast Telegraph.
"It is going to take time to bed in his methods and how he wants to work. He has some very good players there.
"The expectancy of course is to win the league, we went very close in my time and obviously Jurgen will go in and feel that he can improve on that and that's why the owners made the change.
"They felt they wanted to improve and to improve on runners-up would be to win the league but it is going to take time. I'm sure the owners will give him that time."
"I was always pleased to be involved in those games as the manager of Liverpool," he said. "There is that rivalry between the two cities, in every aspect - economically and obviously football wise.
"It will be tight but Liverpool are coming off the back of good results so they will go into Thursday's first leg with confidence. United will feel, having done the double over Liverpool, that they also have a good chance. It will be tight."
