Source: Telegraph
Liverpool's Rafa Benitez says 'scared' Sir Alex Ferguson will support them against Chelsea
The Stamford Bridge outfit visit Anfield for a European appointment for the fifth year in a row tomorrow night, before next Tuesday's return leg, and Benitez believes whichever side drops out of the tournament will be able to pour all their energies into toppling United's domestic dominance.
But the Liverpool manager feels his Old Trafford counterpart knows all too well that it is his side which poses the greatest threat, lying just one point behind the champions, albeit having played one game more.
He said: 'He will be supporting us, but either way he will have a problem, because one of us will be completely focused on the league.
"One thing is having the momentum but another is the amount of time you have to prepare for each and every Premier League game.
'He knows we will be a threat. If we win, he will say we will be tired, but then Chelsea will be a threat. I would like to think about both competitions.
"We prefer just to concentrate on our team but he likes to talk about other teams. It is not mind games, but I think maybe he is a little bit scared.'
Benitez will be relieved to have seen Steven Gerrard emerge unscathed from a full training session this morning after doubts over whether he would be fit for his side's third clash with Chelsea this season and their 23rd in five years.
But the Spaniard insists that, far from familiarity breeding contempt, he is pleased to be renewing his acquaintance with his old foes from west London.
'I'm pleased to be playing them again at this stage of the competition,' he said, 'and I hope it will be the same for the next five years, because it means we will be at the same stage and they will be there too.
"We know each other really well. It will be difficult, but being here means we are progressing."
