Red alert: 'Biggest' Manchester United-Liverpool match today

A week after his petulant sending-off while on international duty, Wayne Rooney’s temperament will be back under the spotlight on Saturday, when Manchester United take on rivals Liverpool in arguably the biggest match in English football.

Rooney was dismissed when he kicked out wildly at Montenegro defender Miodrag Dzudovic in England’s 2-2 draw in Podgorica last Friday, ensuring he’ll miss the group stage of next summer’s European Championship and underlining his reputation as his country’s most talented but reckless player. His character will be tested again on Saturday when United, the Premier League leaders, head to Anfield for what is notoriously a fiery northwest derby between England’s two most successful clubs.

With second-place Manchester City only behind United on goal difference ahead of their home match against Aston Villa on Saturday, United manager Alex Ferguson will be relying on Rooney to fire the goals against Liverpool to keep the reigning champions on top. “He’s got a fiery temper and, to my mind, (the red card) is not the worse thing in the world,” Ferguson said. “Obviously, he’ll be disappointed... but he’s shown tremendous improvement in terms of temperament and his reaction to tackles over the last few years.”

It is sure to be a typically hostile atmosphere at Anfield in a match between two teams who have won the English league 37 times between them. United last season usurped Liverpool’s haul of 18 titles. Rooney, United’s top scorer in the league this season with nine goals, has never hidden his dislike of Liverpool, which stems from spending the formative years of his career with Merseyside rivals Everton before a move to Old Trafford in 2004.

In 2009, United were forced to remove Rooney’s quotes from the club’s website after his comments about ‘hating’ Liverpool were deemed inappropriate ahead of a match between the rivals at Old Trafford.

Liverpool have been inconsistent in its first seven matches, although a 2-0 win at Everton before the international break lifted the team to fifth — six points behind United. Manager Kenny Dalglish could hand fit-again captain Steven Gerrard his first start in seven months.

Stern test
United, on the other hand, travel to Anfield after an unconvincing run of results before the international break, with shaky draws against Stoke and FC Basel in the Champions League followed by an unconvincing win over Norwich. Hence, Saturday’s game may well turn out to be their sternest test of their unbeaten campaign.

United’s record against the Reds has been rather ordinary. They have lost three consecutive matches at Anfield, with Ferguson recently admitting that his team have been outfought on their recent trips to Merseyside. Nemanja Vidic, who could return from a calf problem he sustained on the opening weekend of the season, was sent off in two of those three matches.

Rooney feels the trip to Anfield is the hardest game of the season. “For me, Liverpool is always the toughest place to go to and win,” Rooney said. “They’ll be pushing to get into the top four and with the signings they’ve got they’re capable of doing that so we’ll have to be aware of them and try to beat them this time. They’ve made some good signings and obviously with them not qualifying for the Champions League last season they’ll be desperate to get back into that.”

At least Ferguson’s injury concerns have eased in recent weeks, with Vidic coming through Serbia’s 1-0 defeat to Slovenia in midweek. Tom Cleverley and Rafael Da Silva are now United’s only long-term absentees as they enter a congested phase of the season.

Touchline dueL
Dalglish’s return to the Liverpool manager’s job in January has added further spice to this fixture. Ferguson made toppling fellow Scot Dalglish’s Liverpool his main priority when he moved to Old Trafford almost 25 years ago.

And the rivalry continued when United went head to head for the Premier League title with Dalglish’s Blackburn. Dalglish is keen to play down the importance of the two managers ahead of Saturday’s fixture and he is adamant that closing United’s seven-point advantage is his only motivation.

“We’ve got an opportunity to reduce the gap and it’s up to us to take it,” he said. “I don’t have any individual contest with Fergie. It’s the football clubs who play. We don’t play anymore. We can’t really influence it other than in the build-up and preparation for the games. The most important thing for us is how we compete as a team on the pitch. I’m not egotistical. I’m not in this to get one over anyone else.

“The result on Saturday is more important because it’s about how millions of other people feel, rather than how I feel. It’s not a boxing match, it’s a game of football. They are in a position that everyone wants to be in, and that’s top position in the league. You cannot argue with that because you want to be there yourself.”
Glen Johnson, Martin Kelly, Daniel Agger and Fabio Aurelio have all overcome recent problems to be in contention for one of the most eagerly-awaited matches of the Premier League season.