Sheffield United, the oldest club in membership of the Football Association, emerged as clear runners-up behind Reading in the Football League Championship last season and have more than earned this belated return to the top flight.


However, there will be no time for acclimatisation as they are thrown straight in at the deep end when they entertain a Liverpool side fresh from a Community Shield victory over Chelsea at Bramall Lane on Saturday afternoon.


Liverpool look in a different class to the Yorkshire outfit. Rafa Benitez has created a real togetherness within the Reds' ranks, and they look set to rank highly on all front this season - Premiership and Champions League included - so one would expect them to brush aside the newbies on Saturday.


Indeed, while Sheffield United prepared for this match with a 2-0 win over Matlock, Liverpool come into this game on the back of a 2-1 beating of Chelsea at the Millennium Stadium and while many might dismiss that as meaningless given what as at stake, I for one reckon it will prove to be a good deal more significant than many expect.


Victory over Chelsea, runaway winners of the last two Premierships and boasting a squad strong enougth to field two classy teams at the highest level, will have given Rafa's charges a huge psycholigical boost ahead of the start of the 2006/07 campaign.


The new arrivals at Anfield - particularly Craig Bellamy - have already made an impact, and it looks as though the Merseyside club now have the balance that they lacked on occasions last season. With confidence sky high, it's not hard to envisage Liverpool taking this game by the scruff of the neck.


In addition to Bellamy, Peter Crouch is obviously a constant threat. The two combined to good effect against Chelsea and the lanky England International met Bellamy's exquisite cross with pinpoint accuracy to deliver the sucker punch in the Community Shield last weekend. It's scary to think how much havoc they night create amongst United's defensive line on Saturday lunchtime.


Unfortunately, for the Blades, record signing Claude Davis is likely to be out of action until mid-September due to a knee cartilage injury. But they do have a good deal of firepower and, if they are able to break Liverpool down, they have strikers more than capable of converting chances, including Danny Webber and Niel Shipperley. However, breaking down Liverpool, who boast one of the best defensive record from the Premiership last season, will be easier said than done.




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