Sunday’s north-west derby with arch rivals Manchester United cannot come fast enough for Liverpool, according to manager Brendan Rodgers, whose side start as favourites.
Four consecutive victories have propelled Liverpool into second place in the Premier League, seven points behind Chelsea with a game in hand. If they make it five at Old Trafford, talk of a first English title since 1990 will look realistic.
Liverpool have not played since a 3-0 win at Southampton on March 1, but Rodgers is not worried by the disruption.
“It was interesting really as we had an adaptation day after they had been off for a few days,” Rodgers told radio station TalkSport on Thursday.
“It was supposed to be a low-intensity session, but the quality and the intensity they worked at was incredible. I actually had to take them off it a little bit.”
It is a long time since Liverpool made the trip to Manchester as favourites but Rodgers refuses to get carried away by talk of a title push.
“People will know it’s unprecedented to go from seventh to winning the title, especially when you look at the squads of Man City and Chelsea,” he said.
Rodgers said he agreed with Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho that Manchester City have the power in their squad to take the title.
“If they win their three games in hand, they will go to the top and you would expect them to win those,” he said. “I have never made a big push publicly about us winning the title. For me it’s not about playing down expectations or mind games it’s about taking a humble approach to the season.”
Liverpool last won at Old Trafford in 2009, when they went on to finish runners-up.
"Part of playing for this club is being able to handle pressure," said Daniel Agger, who is one of the few players from that match still at Liverpool. "The players have proved over the course of this season that they are more than capable of doing that."
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