Manchester United spray GARLIC on their pitch to improve surface

When two Premier League heavyweights like Manchester United and Liverpool go head-to-head, the last thing you want is a cut-up pitch ruining the free-flowing spectacle.

Luckily, the Old Trafford groundsmen have a slightly unusual trick up their sleeve to ensure a pristine playing surface – cloves of garlic.

For the past five years, the pitch at United’s home ground has been sprayed with the root vegetable as it helps keep parasites from destroying the roots.

The Old Trafford pitch is sprayed with garlic to ensure a pristine playing surface for Sunday

United’s ground staff have been using the garlic cloves each week for about five years

The rows of garlic cloves can be seen criss-crossing the Old Trafford pitch on Friday

And it’s proved a successful tactic in transforming what was a pretty poor Old Trafford surface into one worthy of the venue. 

United aren’t the only Premier League club to use the technique and it’s judged worthwhile despite inevitably kicking up a bit of a stink.

Apparently the strong whiff of dozens of stinky garlic cloves can be smelled half-a-mile away from Old Trafford if the wind is in the right direction.

However, by the time matchday comes around, spectators are thankfully not subjected to the odour.

Sky Sports captured on camera the technique of dropping garlic cloves onto the Old Trafford pitch during their build-up to Sunday’s showdown between the two bitter rivals.

The garlic helps kill harmful parasites in order to ensure the pitch is as smooth as possible

The formerly bumpy Old Trafford surface has become one of the best in the Premier League

The Old Trafford ground staff with their lawnmowers after a Manchester United match

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has transformed United’s fortunes since taking over as interim manager

United will be hoping to dent Liverpool’s title ambitions when they meet on Sunday afternoon

Liverpool are chasing their first league title in 29 years and, as they currently trail leaders Manchester City on goal difference, cannot afford a slip-up at Old Trafford.

United, meanwhile, sit in fourth place but have been revitalised under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, winning seven of eight league matches since the Norwegian took over in December.

They have also beaten Reading, Arsenal and Chelsea to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, with the one blot on Solskjaer’s copybook so far a 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.