Why Liverpool v United is simply the best

This was my favourite fixture to play in. I can feel the excitement rising, even writing about it now. Liverpool are playing well and winning games.

It's no

coincidence they are playing

their best team, with Fernando

Torres and Steven Gerrard

working up an understanding and

Javier Mascherano showing good

form.

Ryan Babel is also looking

the part and they've worked out

a formation that allows them to

use their pace up front.

Watch what happens when

Mascherano wins the ball. His

first pass is to Gerrard, who will

then spring an attack with a killer

ball for Torres to use his

movement to run free and finish.

Torres is the most in-form centre

forward in Europe and any team

would love to have him.

Gerrard, too, is benefiting from

the presence of Torres. He

wouldn't have such success with

his long passing if he was looking

to pick out the runs of Peter

Crouch and Dirk Kuyt.

They just wouldn't get there. However, can

Torres continue his hot form

against United?

In the Anfield game, Nemanja Vidic

and Rio Ferdinand bullied him out

of the game. They unsettled him

and he didn't respond well.

For all Cristiano Ronaldo's goals,

Wayne Rooney will be the key and

it's also very important for United

that Ferdinand is fit.

Sometimes

they can overload going forward

and they may need his pace to

recover at the back against Torres.

Whoever plays in goal for United

could have an impact, too, as

Liverpool will play on the

counter-attack.

They arrive at Old

Trafford feeling confident and

I can see them scoring once — but

will United score twice?

For me it's too close to call.

CHELSEA v ARSENAL

This is the second of Sky's Barclays

Premier League games and the type

of match we see could well depend

on what happens at Old Trafford.

If United beat Liverpool, then

Chelsea and Arsenal will have to go

for it. Then we should see goals.

But how much will Wednesday's 4-4

draw at Tottenham have taken out

of Chelsea? That could be crucial.

They should have won the game

when Michael Essien went through

and hit a post — but almost ended up

losing it.

If they beat Arsenal, then the draw

at Spurs will not seem like such a

disappointing result.

As for Arsenal, can they recover

their best form? Goals have dried up

for their two key players, Cesc

Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor,

who hasn't scored in the past four

League games, and Arsenal haven't

won any of them.

Those four

successive draws have taken the wind out of their sails, but they have

shown themselves to a be a good

team and watch for Alexander Hleb,

who has been an influential player

for them all season.

Losing Eduardo at Birmingham has

damaged their firepower and,

another point from that game, the

petulance of their captain William

Gallas, sent out all the wrong

messages.

So both teams will feel they have to

win this game, particularly if United

pick up three points earlier in the

afternoon.

Arsenal will have noted

that Chelsea conceded three goals

from set-plays at Spurs, but I'm

going 2-1 to the home side.