The bitter rivalry - Manchester United vs Liverpool preview

Arguably one of the biggest games in European football, if not world football, is scheduled to kick off our Super Sunday this weekend, but will it be Sir Alex Ferguson smiling as he stretches Manchester United's lead at the top, or will Brendan Rodgers secure a rare Liverpool victory at Old Trafford.

We all know of United's substantial  firepower in their attack, and as they sit perched at the top of the league with a 7 point lead over noisy neighbours Manchester City in second, there are not many people who are backing an away victory in this one.

The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last 9 league games, winning 8 of them, and have maintained their reputation of coming from a losing position to snatch the points, 24 so far this season, and also have the Premier League's top scorer at their disposal in Robin van Persie. The Dutchman has 16 goals going into the game, just 1 ahead of Liverpool striker Luis Suarez.

The wee Uruguayan forward has been on flames for the Reds and will no doubt be fired up for this fixture. His history with United left-back Patrice Evra and the abuse he will undoubtedly have to endure throughout the 90 minutes is likely to bring the best out of Suarez and ensure that the hosts' defence will have their work cut out.

Liverpool are slowly climbing towards where they want to be in the Premier League, with 5 wins from their last 7 games, and although they now only a handful away from moving into 5th spot ahead of their Merseyside counterparts, Brendan Rodgers has yet to lead his team to a victory over any of the top-half clubs this campaign.

So many factors surround this bitter derby and it would be naive to say that the only thing that matters for either side are the 3 points, but in questionably the biggest game of Brendan Rodgers Liverpool career, surely he will be making sure the players do not get carried away with themselves.

Can United place one hand on the Premier League trophy with a win?

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