London: The focus will be on Patrice Evra of Manchester United and Luis Suarez of Liverpool when the arch-rivals clash in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday.
It will be the pair’s first meeting since Suarez racially abused Evra at Anfield in October, earning an eight-match suspension from which he returned to the Liverpool side as a substitute in Monday’s 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs, meanwhile, will go into their clash against fellow high-flyers Newcastle United at White Hart Lane on Saturday buoyed by the news that manager Harry Redknapp has been found not guilty of tax evasion charges.
He will delighted to be totally focused on the football as third-placed Spurs continue their unlikely challenge for the title and a more realistic one for a Champions League spot against their in-form opponents who are fifth.
Tensions at White Hart Lane will be nothing like those at Old Trafford where a delicate situation was exacerbated when Liverpool’s pugnacious manager Kenny Dalglish said after the Spurs game that Suarez should never have been banned, despite Uruguayan admitting using the word “negro” in an on-field exchange with Evra during the 1-1 draw.
Saturday’s match, featuring one of the fiercest rivalries in English football, is being shown live in more than 200 countries with an estimated global audience of about 900 million and while most of the attention will be on the match, the cameras will also closely follow the pre-match handshake.
United manager Alex Ferguson, however, was not giving the matter any thought. “We’ve just got on with our job, we’ve kept our dignity throughout, we’re just concentrating on the game,” he said. “I’ve not even thought about it to be honest with you, I’m not bothered with it. We’re concentrating on the game itself in terms of the training.”
The FA has said the handshake will go ahead at Old Trafford and Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the Professional Football Association, said: “It is an opportunity for football to show it can deal with these issues, and everyone can learn and move on.”
Evra has not said if he will shake Suarez’s hand, but whoever dominates on the pitch could hold the key to a victory that will either lift United above leaders Manchester City at the top of the table — at least until Sunday — or take Liverpool closer to the top four.
United midfielder Tom Cleverley will return to action for the first time since October, Ferguson said on Friday.
The 22-year-old, who made an explosive start to the season with his energy and ball distribution, has been sidelined with a foot injury since the 1-0 win at Everton on October 29.
Liverpool beat United in the FA Cup fourth round when Suarez was banned, but will find United in a defiant mood after they came back from a 3-0 deficit at Chelsea on Sunday to draw 3-3. That lifted United on to 55 points, two behind City who travel to Aston Villa on Sunday.
City manager Roberto Mancini, who has been without Yaya and Kolo Toure on African Nations Cup duty, said it was important his side remained in first place until they returned.
