 |
|
England: Liverpool out to make United pay for absentees [Fri Sep 16th, 2005]
London (Reuters) - Bragging rights in the northwest of England will be at stake this weekend when Liverpool and Manchester United meet after their midweek trips to Spain.
Champions Chelsea cross London for a derby at Charlton Athletic, determined to end their hosts' dream start to the season, while Arsenal play Everton at Highbury.
The main event, though, will be Sunday's early game at Anfield where decades of rivalry will come to the surface, stirred further by Liverpool's European Cup triumph in Istanbul.
Liverpool were the more convincing of the two sides in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, winning 2-1 in Seville against Real Betis, while 10-man United hung on for a 0-0 draw at Villarreal.
Wayne Rooney's red card after sarcastically applauding the referee means he will be suspended in Europe and therefore unlikely to be rested in domestic action.
A game like Sunday's in the tinderbox atmosphere on Merseyside is just the kind of test that would enable the volatile 19-year-old striker to prove he had learned his lesson.
Though the test could also backfire spectacularly, manager Alex Ferguson will be sorely tempted to return Rooney to the fray at Anfield, particularly as he is unable to field anything like a full-strength line-up.
Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze, who suffered a knee injury in Spain, is only the latest to join a casualty list that includes Gary Neville (groin), Roy Keane (hamstring), Quinton Fortune (knee), Wes Brown (Achilles) and Louis Saha (knee).
COMMANDING GERRARD
Liverpool will look to dominate the midfield with captain Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso, while strikers Djibril Cisse and Florent Sinama-Pongolle seek to land their team's first home win over United since 2001.
Chelsea have yet to find anything like their best form but the league leaders' five wins from five games underlines the ease with which Jose Mourinho's men can grind out a result.
Ten goals scored and none conceded is an ominous record for a team finding still its feet, though Charlton can point to an enviable record of their own.
Addicks fans are pinching themselves at their team's second place in the table after four wins from as many games and they will clearly be expecting a vast improvement on last season's 4-0 defeat in this fixture at The Valley.
Arsenal would certainly take a repeat of their 7-0 win over Everton last May, particularly after needing a stoppage-time winner from Dennis Bergkamp to see off Swiss outsiders Thun in midweek.
Two defeats in their four Premier League outings, plus the close-season sale of Patrick Vieira and a six-week spell on the sidelines for striker Thierry Henry have given Arsenal's confidence a nasty jolt.
A midweek red card for Robin van Persie will not help matters, but at least central defender Sol Campbell made a promising return from a lengthy injury absence.
Keeper Jens Lehmann, suspended in Europe, should return between the posts, particularly as stand-in Manuel Almunia was to blame for the Swiss goal on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Stuart Pearce's Manchester City host Bolton Wanderers, Tottenham Hotspur are at struggling Aston Villa and Newcastle United visit Blackburn Rovers in a game between manager Graeme Souness's current and former clubs.
News headlines from around the world.