Liverpool vs Manchester United: A Look Ahead to This Weekend's Big Game

This Saturday afternoon the two biggest rivals in English football will lock horns once again, in a match that both sides have a huge amount riding on.

Any fan who has travelled to Old Trafford or Anfield will have tasted the real hatred and hostility that lingers in the air around these two historic arenas. The rivalry runs deep through social, as well as sporting, history and there is never much reason necessary for a good old mix-up between the two cities.

The two clubs have ruled over the English game for most of the last half-century, with Ferguson's men taking over the mantle of most succesful club in the land from Liverpool with their 19th title last season.

This will irritate few people more than current Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish. As the stalwart of their dominant team through the late-1970's & 1980's, Liverpool is in the Scotsman's blood. 

Already, Dalglish has brought about change by bringing in solid, young English talent to form the core of the side. Splashing huge sums for Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson, along with the likes of Charlie Adam and Craig Bellamy, I believe Dalglish is making what will prove to be the right moves.

An over-dependency on a rotating squad of predominantly foreigners was proving a hindrance at Anfield, King Kenny can now focus on raising a team with the same old-fashioned ideals that Shankly, Paisley and Fagan did all those years ago.

This weekend will be Liverpool's biggest test under the new regime thus far. If they are to be taken seriously once more after the debacle of the Gillette/Hicks era, there is no greater stage on which to make strides than against the old enemy.

To emerge victorious would be a glorious statement to all on-lookers that the Liverpool of years gone by is without doubt on its way back. However, standing in the way of that glory is a side that, despite being at the summit of our game, is still improving and playing with a point of its own to prove.

As I've touched upon in previous articles, Sir Alex at this moment is building a team that he believes can take on the might of Barcelona on the European stage.

Not satisfied with domestic domination, the peerless manager wants to achieve that third Champions League success and to his credit, the side is playing some really wonderful football this season.

Packed with talented youth accompanied by experienced heads, the Red Devils seem to have struck a balance which is bearing fruit. However, a new problem is heading over the horizon in the form of Manchester City.

Most pundits agree that the Premier League is, for this season, at best a three-horse race. In my mind, it is less than that. The two Manchester sides have started at a terrific pace and both have squads of such depth that it would take an almighty loss of fortune to hinder their progression.

It is this emerging threat of the "noisy-neighbours" in blue that makes this weekend even more important. A big, statement-making victory over Liverpool would send a message to City that one would have to take notice of.

So, we see that both sides have a lot at stake in this weekend's big match-up. For Liverpool, it is a chance to announce their intentions on rising back to the top of English football; for Ferguson, it is an opportunity to say, once again, that it is his side that are firmly there on their own.