Senior figures at Liverpool and Manchester City have held a meeting aimed at improving fan relations ahead of next week's Carabao Cup meeting.
The Reds return to action after the World Cup when they continue their defence of the League Cup at the Etihad on December 22, but despite the prospect of a first match since mid-November, the fixture has the potential to be marred by off-the-field events.
It will be the first clash between the pair since October's 1-0 win for Liverpool at Anfield when the football itself was eclipsed by a handful of ugly incidents that included offensive graffiti about Hillsborough and Heysel being scrawled on to the concourses in the away end of Anfield Road.
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City's supporters were also accused of singing songs about the Hillsborough disaster which claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans, while the visitors later alleged their team bus was subjected to missiles being thrown at it as it left the stadium after Mohamed Salah's goal had won it for Jurgen Klopp's side.
That day marked the third time in six months that City's followers had stood accused of mocking the deaths of Liverpool fans in the Leppings Lane of Hillsborough in 1989, following on from games at the Etihad and Wembley, which were both in April of this year.
As a result of the rapidly deteriorating relationship between the respective fanbases, a meeting between the clubs was held last month ahead of the cup tie to ensure any further marring of the football is kept to a minimum.
It's understood senior members of management and security leads from Anfield met with their counterparts alongside representatives of Liverpool's recently-established Supporters' Board and City’s elected fan network, City Matters.
In a joint statement from City Matters and the LFC Supporters' Board, the groups say the recent spate of incidents have overshadowed the football on the pitch and cannot be ignored.
The statement reads: “Over the past five or six seasons, our matches have been some of the most entertaining in the world. However, we can’t ignore the recent poor behaviour from a small number of fans on both sides, which has often overshadowed the results and the quality of football on show.
"That’s why we were pleased to sit down with both clubs to improve relations and make commitments to working together to improve fan behaviour at future matches."
Liverpool supporters were accused of throwing coins at Pep Guardiola during the game two months ago with the club releasing a strong statement at full-time confirming the opening of an investigation into those claims. That inquiry was closed at the start of this month over a lack of evidence.
City, meanwhile, did not publicly comment on any of the allegations or incidents during the ill-tempered afternoon of October 16, opting to stay silent as the fall-out from the match continued well into the following week.
Some Liverpool supporters, however, were privately assured that City officials would be looking into the objections about their fans at the game on the day. The club's supporter compliance manager also confirmed in emails responding to complaints that "such vile behaviour" would be "dealt with appropriately" after claiming those who were found to have mocked the deaths at Hillsborough were handed "significant bans" for their acts back in April.
The details of both of those investigations have never been publicly released by Manchester City, however. After last month's meeting, both fan groups have reiterated their commitment to improving relations and eradicating an atmosphere that has been described as "toxic" during games between Liverpool and Manchester City.
A joint letter, signed by the CEOs of both clubs, Billy Hogan and Ferran Soriano, has been sent to every Liverpool and Man City season ticket holder and match-going member in an effort to calm the tensions ahead of Thursday's game.
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