Gameday: United vs. Liverpool

The 411:
Manchester United and Liverpool meet each other tonight at Old Trafford for what Sir Alex describes as the number one rivalry in the nation. It's a big game for everyone involved - the players, the coaches, and the fans. For me, any big four + Manchester City game brings about a sense of excitement and tension that you don't get at other matches. Here's to a thrilling game tonight.

Chasing the Title:
United are currently lying third in the table and have a chance to leapfrog Arsenal and land in second place if they can win by a margin of five goals. It's unlikely, but possible... I mean I think it's about time we were handed our turn to thrash another team 6-0 this season.

Where We Stand:

1|Chelsea|4P|16GD|12PTS

2|Arsenal|5P|10GD|11PTS
3|United|4P|6GD|8PTS
4|Tottenham|5P|2GD|8PTS

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5|Newcastle|5P|2GD|7PTS

Enemy Form:
Much like us, Liverpool have not started the season as well as they would have hoped and are currently lying SIXTEENTH in the table. Don't let the placing fool you though, they are only three points behind us as it stands. Good news for us, and Nemanja Vidic in particular, Fernando Torres is still in search of the form that made him a beast the last two years. Let's hope Rooney finds his goalscoring touch a bit earlier than Torres.

Players to Look Out For:
Despite what I just said about Torres, we're still gonna have to look out for him as he will always be a threat. Him and Gerrard will be looking to spark their off-color form and the incentive of beating United might just see them pull it off. The bigger threat, I reckon, is Joe Cole. This man has always been able to come up big against United and there's no question that he can pull it off again. Hopefully he plays on the right as we'll have Patrice Evra there to take him out. Bad as it sounds, I don't have much confidence in our right-backs right now.

As for us, I'd say that we are looking to Dimitar Berbatov to lead our attack and use his silky smooth skills to find a way to crack the usually stubborn Liverpool defense. Big Berba's really come into his own this season and if he can magic us to a United victory, then my heart will belong to him.

On the Home Front:
As we all know, Antonio Valencia will be out for quite a while and so will not be featuring tonight. Other definite absentees include Michael Carrick who's out with an achilles problem, and Owen Hargreaves, who will be back with us soon according to his doctor... *furiously taps on wood*

TSR's Thoughts:
1. Will we find a way to break past a defense this time? We found it hard to crack Rangers on Tuesday and I sure hope we can find a way today.
2. Will one of our strikers shoulder the responsibility and lead the way for us?
3. What training do you need to become a stadium announcer?

Take me home, United road...