It may still only be October but should Liverpool lose to Manchester United on Sunday their title challenge will effectively be over.  They’ve already lost four times in the league this season and boss Rafael Benitez’s woes continued in midweek when French outfit Lyon pulled off a surprise 2-1 victory at Anfield.  That result has left Benitez needing victory in their next Champions League game to stand any chance of reaching the knock-out rounds, while he also has the tricky task of United’s visit on Sunday.

To make matters worse for the home side it looks very likely they’ll be without captain and talisman Steven Gerrard.  The talented midfielder is suffering with an injury and looks highly-doubtful to take part, although Spanish striker Fernando Torres should be available for selection after missing the defeat to Lyon in midweek.  Make no mistake, if Liverpool lose this fixture or only secure a point it will be catastrophic for the Merseysiders and their title hunt may well be over.

Liverpool’s problems this season have been mainly in their defence and they won’t bee looking forward to taking on an in form Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney, who has just returned from injury.  Veteran playmaker Ryan Giggs should be available and he has been in fine form this season, no doubt he would love to pile more misery on United’s old rivals.

A major factor in this game could be former Liverpool striker and current United employee Michael Owen.  The 29-year-old was a hero on Merseyside but the boos and jeers will surely ring out if he sees any action in a United shirt on Sunday.  He has a habit of scoring important goals and it wouldn’t surprise me if he managed to get among the goals at Anfield this weekend.  I doubt he’ll start the game but I’m sure he’ll see some action, especially if United are in need of a late goal.

Whenever United and Liverpool meet there is always plenty of interest but considering the importance of this tie this game should be an absolute cracker.  Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is under immense pressure to turn their fortunes around while his United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson would surely love to see off Liverpool and end their title hunt at this early stage of the season.  The game kicks off at 14.00 (GMT) On Sunday and should be one well worth checking out.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing betting tips for Betfair.