What a difference a week makes. Rafa Benitez and Liverpool were on the ropes and gasping for air after defeats at Wigan and Lille last week but home wins against the French side and Portsmouth in the Premiership have turned things around and the Kop are even singing Benitez' name again.

So can Liverpool now put a spanner in the works of United's title ambitions? The answer is almost certainly yes if they can recapture the kind of form that saw the Reds stun their arch rivals with a phenominal performance in this fixture 12 months ago, but it's been downhill for Benitez' side since then and Liverpool are even up against it to make it into a Champions League spot this time around.

They will be buoyed by the return to form of talisman Steven Gerrard who looked good against Lille on Thursday, while Fernando Torres, who gave Nemanja Vidic a torrid time in this game last term, is back in the sort of goalscoring form Liverpool need him to be in if they are to succeed.

Sir Alex Ferguson will be desperate to make amends for last year's defeat. The United boss has made no secret of his ambition to surpass Liverpool's total of 18 league titles, and victory this season will put United one in front of their arch rivals.

United have won five on the bounce since the 3-1 defeat at Everton in February and they haven't conceded a goal in the three matches they have played this calender month, but Wolves, Fulham and an ageing AC Milan side aren't the stiffest opposition around and United face a much sterner examination if Torres is firing this Sunday.

It's easy to see why United are such a short price especially given the form of Wayne Rooney, but Liverpool have beaten United the last three times the sides have met and Rafa Benitez will know that victory at Old Trafford on Sunday would silence his critics beyond doubt. Liverpool are well worth chancing at an appealing 9-2 with Stan James.

Recommended Bet:

Liverpool BP 9-2