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After a below
average showing against Birmingham last weekend, World Cup winner,
Fernando Torres is seeking to put things right with the trip to
arch-rivals, Manchester United. He is well informed of what it means –
the rivalry between the Reds and the Red Devils.

“It means
everything to the fans. We are the two most successful teams in England
but it has not been nice for the Liverpool fans to watch Manchester
United have so much success over the recent years.

“We have a great
squad and a great manager, and we really hope to give the fans a trophy
this season, as well as beating Manchester United for them.

“The Liverpool fans
are great, when you play well they are behind you and when you are not
playing the best they are still behind you.

“I walk my dogs
round the city, and before matches like Manchester United the fans will
tell you good luck and things like that. It’s clear how much the
Manchester United games mean to them.”

Liverpool won at
Old Trafford in 2009 when they claimed a 4-1 success and Torres
tormented the centre backs – Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand. Both
players are likely to be the centre backs today as Ferdinand continues
his return from injury.

“Nobody ever really
wins at Old Trafford and beating Manchester United 4-1 on their own
ground is practically unheard of, to this day I think that has to be
one of my favourite days wearing the Liverpool shirt,” Torres said.

A worrying
statistic is that Liverpool have won once in their last 11 away matches
and scored just eight goals in their last 14. Against a United that has
also not been firing on all cylinders, Liverpool need all their big
players like Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres to get their game going
at the Theatre of Dreams. Coach Roy Hodgson is sure the Spaniard will
come good soon.

“I’m not at all concerned about Fernando Torres. He will get better and better,” he said.

Duel of the day: Fernando Torres vs. Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand will be
sprouting butterflies at the sight of the Spaniard as Torres can boast
that he is one of the strikers most feared by United’s defenders.

Blues host energetic Blackpool

You will have to go
back to 1971 for the last time these two teams met but Carlo Ancelotti
and his boys will have no fears of Blackpool after scoring 21 goals in
five matches. The Blues have another chance to score a lot of goals
when they host maverick coach, Ian Holloway and his boys. Despite
putting up a credible performance in their away match against Arsenal,
Blackpool lost 4-0. The odds may not have reduced on their being
relegated at the end of the season, but Blackpool have surprisingly won
two away matches; 4-0 against Wigan and 2-0 against Newcastle. They
will be hoping for a miracle as they meet Chelsea.

Frank Lampard,
Didier Drogba and Ashley Cole should return for the reigning champions
who scored 103 goals last season. Four-goal hero, Florent Malouda said
their ability to score throughout the team is one reason for their
success.

“I think that’s our
strength, we play a system where everybody knows what he has to do and
players come in and out and the result is still the same. Everybody can
score and it is difficult for the opponents. We’re playing good
football but every game is different and at the end we made scoring
look easy but we just try to start each game playing well first and
look for an opportunity. That’s what we did.”

Holloway will hope that Chelsea do not start well

Mancini needs a victory

The distraction of
the Europa Cup is out of the way for Roberto Mancini and now it is back
to the Premiership for the blue half of Manchester. Mancini will be
happy that David Silva has scored his first goal for the club but he
must be very wary of the yo-yo side of the English game. Roberto
Martinez seems to be able to inspire his side one day and depress them
the other.

Carlos Tevez and Jo
will hope it is the bad side of Wigan as the Argentine has scored five
goals in his last six matches the Lactics. No one knows exactly the
Wigan side that will show up at the JJB Stadium but Martinez will be
hoping that it is the side that beat Tottenham that will show.

Also Wigan have a good home record against City in the Barclays Premier League but Mancini’s backers will be expecting a win.

Barca in showdown with Atletico

The Vicente Calderon Stadium will be a seething cauldron this weekend as Barcelona visit Atletico Madrid.

The only game Barca
lost last season was against Los Colchoneros but this game has a
different set of dimensions. Atletico are hoping that this is the
season where they finally come good in the La Liga but Barcelona will
not be easy meat for the Europa Cup champions. There could not have a
more different warm-up than Barcelona’s thumping of Panathinaikos 5-1
and the 0-1 defeat that Forlan and company suffered against Aris
Salonika in Greece.

No other Barcelona
player espouses the Catalan philosophy and knows as much about the
opposition than Andres Iniesta. “Last season it was the only game we
lost. They are an opponent who is historically uncomfortable for us and
we will have to try to do things well to have a chance of breaking this
bad run.

“It’s important not
to give them any chances. They have great players and are in good form.
Currently they are one of the best teams in Europe.” Atletico may have
to do without habitual Barcelona tormentor, Sergio Aguero, who is
doubtful with a leg injury.

Quique Sánchez Flores has gotten the Madrid team together and are
top of the league with a maximum six points while Barca are in eighth
position but it is still early to know the outcome of the season.