The Reds will be looking to build on their two recent impressive victories when they take on North-West rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday, kick-off at 13:30 hours (GMT). Fernando Torres arrives for the Premier League classic in a rich vein of form. Liverpool’s top scorer, with 17 goals in all competitions (15 in the league), has struck four times in his last two outings. The Spaniard grabbed a double against Portsmouth in the league followed by another double on Thursday, this time against French side Lille in Europe.

Alex Ferguson’s side top the league with 66 points, two ahead of Chelsea who have a game in hand, and Arsenal who have played the same number of games as Man U. Liverpool lie back in fifth place on 51 points, just one behind the coveted fourth place currently in the hands of Spurs who have 52 points having played a game less than the Merseysiders.

Lining-up against the Anfield club will be the league's current top scorer, Wayne Rooney. The England international has struck 25 times this season in the Premiership, with an average of a goal every 99.2 minutes. Torres is almost on a par with the Man U striker when it comes to goals per minute ratio. The Spaniard has found the back of the net every 100.9 minutes for Liverpool this campaign in what has been a difficult season for the Reds.

Liverpool defeated Man U 2-0 in the corresponding fixture at Anfield. Fernando Torres broke the deadlock in the 65th minute with an excellent striker’s goal. The forward held off Rio Ferdinand before firing past the Man United keeper from a tight angle. Second-half substitute David Ngog sealed the win in stoppage time after the Frenchmen was played through in on goal by Lucas Leiva.

The Reds also ended up with the spoils the last time the two sides met at Old Trafford just over a year ago. Cristiano Ronaldo scored from the spot to give the hosts an early lead but Fernando Torres forced Vidic into a mistake before racing clear and shooting past Edwin van der Sar. Steve Gerrard scored a penalty just before half-time, Fabio Aurelio scored a free-kick to make it 3-1 to the Reds and Dossena completed scoring with a fourth deep into stoppage time.

The Anfield club and the Red Devils are both tied on 18 league titles making Sunday's match even more important for both sides. A win for the Reds would keep Liverpool in the hunt for a top four finish and also put a spanner in the works of Man U's title charge.