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London. Michael Carrick believes Manchester United can open the door to an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title by slaying its recent Liverpool jinx this weekend.

Liverpool has won the last three meetings with its biggest rival, and despite struggling this season, will travel to Old Trafford on Sunday buoyed by memories of how it took United apart in a 4-1 win at the Theater of Dreams last season. The Reds are buoyed as well from trouncing Lille 3-0 on Thursday to qualify for the Europe League quarters.

Rafael Benitez’s side desperately needs to take something from the match as it battles Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa for the final Champions League qualifying spot.

United also has virtually no margin for error in a three-way title race with Chelsea and Arsenal, but Carrick insists that Sunday’s showdown will be approached with relish rather than nerves.

“The confidence is there,” the England midfielder said. “We are playing some good stuff and have been on quite a good run lately. I am sure it is going to go right down to the wire, so there is no way we will be taking our foot off the gas just yet.”

United expects to have veteran midfielder Ryan Giggs available after his recovery from a broken arm, but South Korean star Park Ji-sung will expect to retain his starting role after some sparkling recent performances, including a key central-midfield cameo in the Champions League destruction of AC Milan last week.

“We are looking forward to it,” Park said. “You can feel the atmosphere is different for a game against Liverpool than for other games. You know the history and the rivalry.”

Chelsea will seek to bounce back from its Champions League exit at the hands of Inter Milan when it travels to Blackburn on Sunday.

Tuesday’s home defeat by an Inter side managed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho will take some digesting, but Didier Drogba insists it will only fuel Chelsea’s determination to reclaim a trophy it last claimed in 2006, Mourinho’s last full season at the helm.

“We are disappointed but we have to come back stronger, because the league is going to be a big battle,” the striker said.

Arsenal will be counting on skipper Cesc Fabregas to spearhead its push for its first title since the 2004 “Invincibles” campaign, but the Gunners will once again be without centerback William Gallas for West Ham’s visit to the Emirates on Saturday.

“It is an endless calf strain that William has, so we need Sol Campbell and Mikael Silvestre to be highly ready to help us out,” Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa could further strengthen its hand in the battle for Champions League football by beating local rival Wolves in a Saturday lunchtime derby clash. But Tottenham will retain the coveted fourth place if it can beat Stoke later in the day.

Manchester City, arguably the best placed of the four clubs involved in this particular battle, is at Fulham on Sunday.



Agence France-Presse