Manchester United vs Liverpool key battles: Wayne Rooney, Martin Skrtel and more

Manchester United against Liverpool is one of the highlights of the Premier League calendar, and Saturday's showdown at Old Trafford is a mouth-watering prospect.

LThe old rivals are level on seven points after the first four games of the Premier League campaign, but who will claim bragging rights when they go head to head, live on sports6news ?

From Wayne Rooney's duel with Martin Skrtel to Memphis Depay's battle with Nathaniel Clyne, we look at where the match could be won and lost.

 United will be hoping Wayne Rooney's record-breaking goals for England can bring him out of his Premier League malaise. The 29-year-old has gone 10 Premier League games without a goal for only the second time in his entire career. How he would love to end that run against United's bitter rivals.

He will have enjoyed Liverpool's shambolic defending in their 3-0 defeat to West Ham. Brendan Rodgers could be tempted to swap Dejan Lovren for Mamadou Sakho after the Croat's calamitous performance against the Hammers, but Martin Skrtel is a certain starter.

The Slovak is Liverpool's most experienced defender and it will be his responsibility to lead their backline at Old Trafford. Rooney's international scoring feats should have restored some of his confidence, and his constant running and clever movement could make life difficult for Skrtel.

The Liverpool man has made more clearances and more interceptions than any of his team-mates this season, and he will need to stay close to Rooney and limit his influence in dangerous areas. Forcing the England captain further away from goal would be the best way to blunt his threat.

Rooney has only scored five goals in 22 appearances against Liverpool. His average of 0.23 goals per game against the Reds is his lowest against any Premier League side, although he did find the net in United's 3-0 win in the same fixture last season.

Blind v Benteke

Daley Blind recently insisted he is "clever enough and smart enough" to play at centre-back despite his diminutive stature. He impressed as United kept four clean sheets in their first five games of the season, but the Dutchman's shortcomings were exposed against the physicality of Bafetimbi Gomis and Andre Ayew in their 2-1 defeat at Swansea.