Super Sunday: Biggest clash in 20 years

Race for title, top-four finish hotting up with massive fixtures today. If anything has defined Manchester United's shocking decline, it's been Liverpool's resurgence under Brendan Rodgers.

It was one of many hand-grenades tossed out by Sir Alex Ferguson when his second autobiography was published last October.

Liverpool, insisted the former Manchester United manager, were "eight players short of becoming genuine title contenders" and a team incapable of reclaiming their position at the top of the perch they had been toppled from over 20 years ago.

At the time, the claim was treated with disdain on Merseyside, as was Ferguson's suggestion that Steven Gerrard, Liverpool's inspirational captain, was not a "top, top player".

But while Ferguson's comments were derided and mocked, few back in October would have been prepared to say that the Scot would be forced to eat his words just six months later with the prospect of an Anfield title party becoming, in United's eyes, a clear and present danger this season.

If anything has defined United's shocking decline this season, it has been Liverpool's resurgence under Brendan Rodgers.

And there is a sense that two decades of Mancunian superiority, swagger and self-confidence could finally come to an end at Old Trafford today.

When United entertain Liverpool, it will be the biggest, most significant meeting between the two clubs in over 20 years.

Finally, after a torturous barren spell, Liverpool are in a position to win the title for the first time since 1990.

United, meanwhile, are teetering on the brink with an old team in need of renewal, one which must be rebuilt by a manager in David Moyes still searching for credibility at Old Trafford after a disastrous first campaign in charge of the club.

A month ago, this game appeared destined to be billed as a play-off for the fourth and final Champions League qualification position.

But Liverpool have since accelerated towards greater things, lying second in the table behind leaders Chelsea with a seven-point deficit potentially less daunting due to a game in hand and Jose Mourinho's team yet to visit Anfield.

They stand 11 points clear of United, whose grip on sixth position will be loosened if Everton avoid defeat in their game in hand on the champions.

So rather than battle it out for fourth today, United and Liverpool have much more at stake.

United can inflict potentially fatal damage on Liverpool's title bid with a win, but a defeat would infuse Rodgers's team with the belief they can get their hands on the Premier League trophy for the first time.

Liverpool also know they can send United hurtling towards the black hole of a season without European football, but today means much more than points or positions.

It has become a seminal moment in the history of the two clubs, English football's undisputed super-powers, the only institutions who can claim to have over a century of trophy-winning history behind them.

Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City may challenge United and Liverpool in 2014, but none were relevant or competitive 100 years ago. The Red Devils and Reds were and remain the biggest and most successful clubs.

The ultimate irony is that, by deriding Liverpool as a team "eight players short of becoming genuine title contenders", Ferguson may just have delivered the motivation for United's century-old foes to dismantle his empire.

And that is why today matters so much. - ©The Daily Telegraph, London

Tottenham Hotspur V Arsenal: Wenger wary of threat posed by wounded rivals

Arsene Wenger is wary of a wounded Tottenham Hotspur as his Premier League title-chasing Arsenal side head to White Hart Lane for a crucial north London derby today.

While Arsenal are hardly in the best of league form, having lost their last two away from home, Tottenham's season is in danger of imploding after a 4-0 drubbing at Chelsea last weekend and 3-1 midweek home defeat by Benfica in the Europa League.

It would appear to be the perfect time for Arsenal to face their bitter rivals, although with Wenger only having three league wins at White Hart Lane since arriving in 1996, he knows that form is often irrelevant in highly charged games.

"We have played two draws and three losses there (in the last five league meetings at Spurs)," Wenger told reporters at the start of the weekend.

"It is a difficult ground to go to for everybody.

"It has always been difficult at White Hart Lane, but we are in a position where of course we want to win the game."

Arsenal's defeat at Stoke City put a dent in their title hopes. They are in third place, seven points behind leaders Chelsea with some difficult matches to come.

Tottenham are fifth, six points behind Arsenal and four behind Manchester City, who have three games in hand.

"After Stoke it was very important that we had a good result against Everton (in the FA Cup). We had a good result even at Bayern (in the Champions League), but it's important that we continue and have no weak moment any more until the end of the season," Wenger said.

Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood, who will be taking charge in his first north London derby since replacing sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December, has endured a difficult few days after an encouraging start to his managerial career.

Sherwood publicly questioned his players' attitude after a second-half collapse at Chelsea, but he has received some sympathy from Wenger, who has seen nine Spurs managers come and go during his tenure at Arsenal.

"I think he said that the performance was not right, and I say that as well sometimes," Wenger said.

"For the rest, I think he is dealing with it well.

"Tottenham have bought so many players that it might take them some time to get the right balance or find the right level.

"I think they are a good side.

"I still think it always takes time when you bring in many new players, but you cannot say Spurs have had a bad season. They've had a good season and they are there."

Should Tottenham lose, their hopes of finishing in the top four would be as good as finished, according to Sherwood.

"If we still have any hope of getting in the top four we have to win on Sunday," said Sherwood.

"In some ways it's the perfect match for us after the week we've had." - Reuters