United travel to Anfield this weekend with both teams in poor form.
"You really feel it," Shaw told United Review. "Of course, not just when you're in the stadium, but leading into the stadium.
"You go along a one-way road kind of thing and the bus is there, and there are a lot of fans outside. It really is hostile.
"I think as players, you kind of enjoy that moment, you know, it really feels like a big game then.
"It can be very hostile. But I think it's part and parcel of football, the rivalry."
Shaw, however, also insists: "I think once you are in the zone, you kind of forget about everything else.
"It is, like you said, business as usual.
"But of course, before the game, I think always for me, when you get into the changing room, I think you zone out of most things and you completely focus on the game ahead and what needs to be done, that's just how I am.
"I just focus completely on the game when I'm in the changing room and don't think about too many distractions outside of that."