Louis Saha is hoping his side can
inflict more psychological pain on Chelsea in the race for the
title with victory over Liverpool on Saturday.
The Red Devils are currently nine points clear at the top of the
table and would widen the gap to 12 should they be victorious at
Anfield this weekend.
However, with Chelsea due to play the first of what would then be
two matches in hand over Sir Alex Ferguson's team at Portsmouth on
Saturday, Saha knows three points against Liverpool would put
serious pressure on their rivals.
"It is going to be a massive, massive game at Liverpool," said the
United frontman.
"If we get a win at Anfield it will open up a big gap and give us a
great psychological advantage for us over Chelsea.
"It would be great to have that gap before Chelsea play but we have
to make sure that we concentrate on ourselves and play with
confidence."
United have not lost at Liverpool in the Premiership since 2001,
though they failed to score on two of their trips to Anfield last
term.
Liverpool however have been in excellent form of late and have not
conceded a league goal on home turf since October.
And although many believe a win at Anfield would surely clinch the
title for Ferguson's side, Saha remains sceptical.
"There will still be nine games left, which represents a huge
amount of points," he said.
"We have to keep our concentration because we saw at Reading on
Tuesday how quickly gaps can close. The team are playing well and
we have to maintain that."
Saha netted his first goal since December in the win against
Reading earlier in the week, taking his tally to 13 this
season.
The French forward will be fighting it out with Henrik Larsson for
a starting place on Saturday, with Wayne Rooney looking almost
certain to start.
Saha is hoping his impressive performance in the tie against
Reading, which saw three goals inside the opening six minutes, will
secure him a place alongside Rooney.
"It was an amazing opening but sometimes, when everyone is in good
form at the same time, things like that do happen," he
reflected.
"You work hard in training every day to improve yourself, so it was
really nice to see those goals go in."