But like so many dodgy jumpers and novelty socks, they were destined to be completely unused.

Yet as manager Roberto Mancini buried his head in his hands as succumbed to an agonisingly late winner from Dong-won Ji against Sunderland, it must have occurred to the Italian that he could only blame himself.

After all, it’s not like he wasn’t warned.

United’s defeat was a stunning result, brought about in no small part by the absence of Wayne Rooney from the squad. Although manager Alex Ferguson mumbled some vagaries about knocks and strains, it later emerged that Rooney’s absence was punishment for a St Stephen’s Day night out.

City had the ideal chance to really twist the knife into United by going three points clear at the top. Instead, United players will wake up this morning feeling as if they got out of jail as they find themselves second in the table on goal difference alone, and all because Mancini made the same mistake as Ferguson in underestimating his opposition by fielding a weakened side.

After an all-conquering start to the season which saw many crown City presumptive champions, the Blues are once again looking like the team of divided, individualistic mercenaries many had dismissed them as last season.

Perhaps next Christmas they could lay off the turkey a bit, because City looked surprisingly lethargic of late and have lacked that killer instinct that saw them ruthlessly dispatch so many teams in the recent past.

Samir Nasri in particular has suffered an alarming drop in form, which saw him hauled off at half-time against Sunderland. David Silva and Sergio Aguero have also struggled to match their early-season form, but always seem likely to recover that spark, such is their undoubted quality.

Liverpool, by contrast, are a team on the up, courtesy of the obvious psychological boost provided by the recent return of talisman Steven Gerrard.

After starring roles from the bench during the last two ties, the Liverpool captain is eager to start against City.

“Bring it on,” he told Liverpool’s website. “They are a fantastic team who have started the season really well but we’ve got nothing to fear.

“We showed against them here a couple of weeks ago that we more than matched them.”

The Merseysides have had a stop-start season so far, with fine performances interspersed with some disappointing results, most recently in the form of draws against Blackburn and Wigan.

Yet despite these frustrations, an encouraging win against Newcastle, coupled with Chelsea’s defeat, have seen Liverpool somehow find themselves level on points with the Londoners, and a mere two points off a coveted Champions League place.

Of course, the spectre of Luis Saurez’s impending suspension looms large over Anfield, and nothing in the performances of Andy Carroll has suggested that the Geordie will be capable of filling his teammate’s boots effectively. But for Tuesday’s tie, both Saurez and Gerrard should start, and the visiting Kop faithful will be brimming with optimism.

Another encouraging sign for the Reds is the fact that they have not conceded two or more goals since September 18. It may not make comfortable reading for the Kop faithful, but Jamie Carragher has only started four league matches since that date, and Dalglish’s bravery in dropping the veteran defender has certainly paid dividends.

Given the inconsistency in the performance of both teams recently, the outcome of Tuesday’s encounter is a tough one to predict.

The fixture list has not been kind to City, facing such an intense clash a mere two days after their Sunderland game.

Tuesday is set to be a pivotal point in City’s season and will provide an even greater test of their mental, rather than physical attributes.

If they can pick themselves up and get a result against Liverpool, they can once again be considered outstanding favourites for the title.

If not, then we could witness the crumbling of City’s self-belief and team cohesion, opening the door to yet another league win for their bitter local rivals.

Score prediction: Manchester City 1 Liverpool 1.