The former monarchs of English football entertain the current sovereigns in the first game of 2005 on a high after stringing together three straight league wins for the first time in Benitez's reign at Anfield.

Such consistent form is exactly what Liverpool require if they are to have a chance of a top four finish in Benitez's first season in charge and a return to the Champions League next season.

"It is important to win when you know the other teams around you are fighting so hard and winning also," Benitez said.

The Spaniard, who is confident of adding Real Madrid striker Fernando Morientes to his squad early next week, admitted his side were below par in Tuesday's 1-0 defeat of Southampton.

But he was cheered by the way they dug in for a victory that allowed them to close the gap on Merseyside rivals Everton and Middlesbrough.

"This experience will help our confidence going into the Chelsea game," he said. "We have won three on the run, two good performances and one not so good but you have to learn from such situations for the future.

"If you want the supporters to stay behind you then you have to fight all the time, they are fantastic and as long as we play to our best and fight for everything they will be right behind us against Chelsea."

As well as potentially having a major impact on the evolution of a title race Chelsea currently lead by five points, Saturday's lunchtime clash at Anfield will provide an intriguing opportunity for direct comparison of the respective influence on their two teams of midfielders Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

The England duo, key figures for both club and country, would have been playing on the same team if Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho had succeeded in his summer bid to bring Gerrard to Stamford Bridge.

The Liverpool captain had appeared bound for London before a last-minute change of heart kept him at his hometown club, where his influence this season has been greater than ever.

Mourinho may have claimed this week that he regarded Lampard as marginally the better player of the two.

But he is well aware of Gerrard's ability to produce his best performances when the pressure is really on -- most recently in the recent win over Olympiakos that put Liverpool into the knockout stage of the Champions League.

Liverpool's desire for a positive result against Chelsea will be shared by both Arsenal and Manchester United, who desperately need Mourinho's side to start dropping points.

Both the leading chasers have tough away matches on Saturday with Arsenal making the short trip to southeast London to face Charlton and United travelling to Middlesbrough.

Sir Alex Ferguson's United squad have hit form over the last two months, taking 22 points from a possible 24 in their last eight league matches. But the run has scarcely dented Chelsea's lead.

For once, the fine wine-loving Ferguson will be hoping to share a bottle of cheap plonk with former

assistant Steve McClaren, who now manages Boro, after Saturday's match at the Riverside.

"If we win I'll be getting a nice bottle out; if we lose it will be something cheap," McClaren explained.

United will be without the injured John O'Shea for the trip as well as Wayne Rooney who is starting a three-match ban for violent conduct for shoving Bolton's Tal Ben Haim in the face during the December 26 win at Old Trafford.

Fixtures
Saturday's fixtures (1500 GMT unless stated):
Aston Villa v Blackburn, Bolton v West Brom, Charlton v Arsenal, Fulham v Crystal Palace (1400 GMT), Liverpool v Chelsea (1245 GMT), Man City v Southampton, Middlesbrough v Man Utd (1730 GMT), Newcastle v Birmingham, Portsmouth v Norwich, Tottenham v Everton