LONDON - English football's two most successful clubs meet again in the Premier League this weekend when Manchester United face north-west rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday. And for United great Paul Scholes, no other fixture quite comes close even though it's now 23 years since Liverpool were last crowned champions of England.
In that time United have surpassed what was Liverpool's national record of 18 championship titles, although the Merseysiders still have the edge when it comes to the Champions League, having lifted the European Cup five times compared to the Old Trafford club's three final victories.
However, there is no denying the current domestic gap between the two clubs with Premier League leaders United a huge 21 points in front of eighth-placed Liverpool heading into Sunday's match. United's closest pursuers are cross-town rivals Manchester City, the reigning English champions. City too are in action Sunday but could be 10 points behind by the time they kick-off against Arsenal if United beat Liverpool.
Now, as was the case in the late 1960s, the Manchester derby has become a pivotal fixture in the destiny of the title, with Chelsea key players as well, but for 38-year-old midfielder Scholes, who came out of retirement last season, the rivalry created by the Liverpool match still matters.
"Liverpool historically are our biggest rivals, they're always the biggest games and the best atmospheres," Scholes told Inside United magazine. Sunday's match will be the first time United have met Liverpool at Old Trafford since Luis Suarez refused to shake Patrice Evra's hand in last season's corresponding fixture. However, the pair did manage to get through the return clash at Anfield in September without incident. "Last year it was unfortunate with the Suarez behaviour," said United manager Alex Ferguson. "I think hopefully it is behind both clubs now and we can just look forward to the game."
Liverpoool great Steven Gerrard would love nothing more than to bolster a seasonal tally of four goals in 21 Premier League appearances thus far by scoring at Old Trafford and the midfielder believes he's nearing top form. "I think my performances are getting closer to where I want them to be so if I can add goals to those performances then maybe people will start saying the old Steven Gerrard is back," he said.
Only a week ago temperamental Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli had to be pulled away from manager Roberto Mancini during a training ground row. But the 22-year-old forward was quickly welcomed back into the fold and this latest spat could recede into the background should Balotelli help City win away to Arsenal in the league for the first time since 1975.
"We have to go to the Emirates, play as well as we know we are capable of and see if we can put an end to our poor run of league results on their ground," said City midfielder Gareth Barry. Saturday sees third-placed Tottenham travel across London to take on a bottom of the table QPR managed by former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp.
"It's a big advantage," said Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas when asked about Redknapp's understanding of Spurs' players. Swansea, fresh from their shock 2-0 League Cup semi-final first leg win at Chelsea, travel to Everton while the beaten European champions will look to pick themselves up at Stoke.

 Fixtures

Aston Villa    v    Southampton
Everton    v    Swansea
Fulham    v    Wigan
Norwich    v    Newcastle
QPR    v    Tottenham
Reading    v    West Brom
Stoke    v    Chelsea
Sunderland    v    West Ham

Manchester United    v    Liverpool
Arsenal    v    Manchester City

Points table

Team    M    W    D    L    GF    GA    Points
Man Utd    21    17    1    3    54    28    52
Man City    21    13    6    2    41    19    45
Tottenham    21    12    3    6    39    27    39
Chelsea    20    11    5    4    39    19    38
Everton    21    9    9    3    35    26    36
Arsenal    20    9    7    4    40    22    34
West Brom    21    10    3    8    29    27    33
Liverpool    21     8    7    6    34    26    31
Swansea    21    7    8    6    31    26    29
Stoke    21    6    11    4    21    20    29
West Ham    20    7    5    8    24    24    26
Norwich    21    6    7    8    24    34    25
Fulham    21    6    6    9    32    37    24
Sunderland    21    5    7    9    21    29    22
Newcastle    21    5    5    11    27    39    20
Aston Villa    21    4    7    10    17    41    19
Southampton    20    4    6    10    27    38    18
Wigan    21    5    3    13    22    39    18
Reading    21    2    7    12    23    40    13
QPR    21    2    7    12    17    36    13