Ferguson BenitezSince “knocking Liverpool off their fucking perch”, Sir Alex Ferguson has made his feelings on Liverpool very clear. He hates the dippers as much as the average United fan and has been vocal about this several times over the years in charge at the club.

Back in December, some ridiculous journalist from The People had the bottle/stupidity to ask Ferguson would he like to see Liverpool win the league. Fergie’s simple, yet effective, response, told us all we needed to know about his attitude towards the dippers. “You must be joking,” he said. “Do I look as if I’m a masochist ready to cut myself? How does relegation sound instead?”

So yet another North West derby between the hateful rivals United and Liverpool will take place tomorrow. This will be the eight league meeting against Rafa Benitez’s team, with United winning six of the seven previous meetings, and drawing the other. Benitez has done nothing but lose in his trips to Old Trafford, but this might not have total relevance where this fixture is concerned. United vs Liverpool goes beyond points and statistics, it’s about pride and hatred, with both sets of fans desperately urging their team on to victory.

Today, Sir Alex Ferguson has confessed he loves the games against Liverpool, which is no wonder with his record against them. Winning 21 of the 43 league meetings, drawing 12, and losing 10.

“I love the Liverpool games, I must admit,” said Sir Alex Ferguson. “There’s nothing better for me and my players, particularly the older ones who’ve experienced it many times like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand. I think the Liverpool game brings out a certain anticipation in our players and they’ll be anticipating a difficult game.”

Fergie went on to talk about the current threat Liverpool pose. With Anderson and Ferdinand keeping Gerrard and Torres off the ball at Anfield this season, United fans would be forgiven for not feeling too nervous about Liverpool’s biggest threats. However, the injury to Rio Ferdinand, who has scored two goals against Liverpool in the past three seasons, is somewhat of a concern.

“Liverpool are very strong defensively and people are talking about the Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres partnership,” he continued. “We know about Gerrard of course, he’s been on the scene for a long time and has also played in many of these derby games. Torres has scored twenty-four goals so far in his first season in the Premier League and I’m sure Rafa’s delighted with that return. We have to do our preparation tactically but if we play to our form, we’ll have a good chance.”

What result are you expecting from tomorrow’s game?