It is a biggie this weekend with Saints hosting fellow top four contenders Liverpool, but the fact is we have nothing to fear.

Unlike some I have never written Liverpool off this season as top four contenders, despite the fact they have had a patchy season I felt they were hanging on in there and when they got Daniel Sturridge back might just be a force to be reckoned with, that has proved to be the case over the past couple of months after a disastrous result at Manchester United back in December.

Since then they have steadily climbed the Premier league table and now stand within spitting distance of the top four if they win at St Mary's, but although I feel they will be genuine contenders for that Champions League spot that is no reason for Saints to fear them on Sunday.

Firstly the fact is that we are a better team than them all round, Liverpool are very good going forward and have a plethora of attacking players, but the start reality is very few of their team would get into our starting line up, if everyone was fit then you would not put any of Liverpool's defence or goalkeepers in a side ahead of our preferred line up.

Then there is the midfield, Steven Gerrard is still a great player but is he a better holding player than Wanyama or Schneiderlin ? he can perhaps pass better but that is is.

You have to say that Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Coutinho would be decent additions to our squad, but would they be automatic choices ? perhaps not given all have had seasons that at times have been patchy, a little unfair on Sturridge as he has been injured for most of the season but the fact stuill remains.

So that is the first reason why we should not fear Liverpool, we have better players.

The second reason is our team spirit, we are truly a team, but all of the summer buys that Brendon Rodgers made have not improved the team but in fact the opposite effect, it has destroyed the spirit that carried them through to almost winning the title, last year they were a team, this year they are not, its no surprise when so many millions have been wasted on players that cant get in the first eleven that those already there have some resentment and that doesn't bode well for team unity indeed even this morning the story is about Steven Gerrard berating Mario Balotelli for showing disrespect to Captain Jordan Henderson for refusing to obey team instructions and let the nominated taker do his job when Liverpool got a penalty last night, yes Balotelli scored but the damge done to team morale might well outweigh that.

So our team spirit means that we do not fear Liverpool.

Thirdly is the respective managers, in Ronald Koeman we have a manager who is tactically astute whereas Brendon Rodgers seems to adapt a scatter gun approach, he went about the summer transfer window like a kid in a sweet shop and ended up with plenty of expensive players, but few that actually fitted the system he had employed the previous year, the three he signed from us were strange in that Lambert was too slow for the Liverpool style of play, he already had a similar player to Lallana in Coutinho and likewise at the back with Lovren, if he had paired Lovren with a ball playing central defender rather than the similar Skrtel then things might have been different.

Rodgers tactics rely on using the pace of Sterling, that is working better now because the return of Sturridge offers options as does the emergence of Ibes, but apart from that Liverpool have little stability around them, its all about getting the ball up to the speed merchants fast and hopefully outscoring the opposition.

So tactically we should not fear Liverpool.

All in all our players go into this game with confidence, we know what we are good at and we know we do it well, whereas Liverpool's players know it is built on sand and relies on getting the ball up front fast, if they cant do that then they will struggle.

Both teams will be missing key players and i would feel a lot happier if Ryan Bertrand and Toby Alderweireld were available, but we will have more than enough options to counter that.

In many respects perhaps Liverpool will suit us better than Swansea or West Ham, Liverpool are not good enouat the back to park the bus, they have to attack us and that will leave them open at the back and in Elia and Mane we have two players that can exploit them.

Confidence is the key for Saints, we have been consistent this season and when we have failed we have learnt from it, it is time to put our foot on the accelerator as the saying goes, we have nothing to fear but fear itself.

Photo: Action Images

Fordy added 11:43 - Feb 20 I think to be fair Sterling, Sturridge and Coutinho would all walk straight into the Saints side. And that's the problem with Saints, we just don't have that little bit of quality up front. That's why front players go for all the money. It'a all very well having a good defence and a solid midfield but it's the front players that win matches and unfortunately that's why Liverpool will finish above us this season and probably beat us on Sunday.

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SonicBoom added 12:14 - Feb 20 Hmm great upbeat article Nick but I can't agree with it! 1. Not sure we are a better team all round. We have a level of quality throughout the team. They have some better players and some worse. Probably evens itself out. Is Gerrard better than Wanyama and Schneiderlin? Dunno but probably! He can pass better, has loads of top class experience and can actually score goals. I rather have our two as they are younger but for a one off game yo cannot write off Gerrard (although he might not be fit anyway). Team spirit? Well say what you want but they are breathing down our necks having been miles behind so there can't be too much wrong with their team spirit. Managers are only as good as the players they have available. We still have key people out and Rodgers seems to have found their best shape. Yes he uses the pace of Sturridge and Sterling but then why not? It works. Ibe also looks every bit as good. So whilst you are being positive let's not get carried away. However the positives for me are that we are hard to beat at home and have an excellent defence. If you don't concede you don't lose and if we can find a cutting edge then we can win. We have some players back and are getting stronger and we do have better players than them in some areas let's hope we can maximise that. You say that we have continually learned from out mistakes. I'm not sure about that. Our lack of goals is a re-occurring problem and it's one area that RK has not seemed to solve. Whatever you say, we need Pelle to be a goal threat again and at the moment he looks lost in the system. I'm expecting a tight game that we are capable of winning if we keep mistakes to a minimum. However we should treat Liverpool with respect or we could get a bloody nose.

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bstokesaint added 13:29 - Feb 20 I was with you Fordy right up to the last sentence. I think the result is hanging on a coin flip, with us having a very slight advantage if anyone has with being at home. I agree that we are lightweight upfront. I'd put Sterling, Sturridge and Coutinho straight into our team to complete what would be a very good team. Ibe also looks a great prospect. We do have flickers of brilliance from Tadic, Pelle, Long, Elijah and Mane, but we something more consistent from all of them. I wouldn't pick any Liverpool midfielder or defender over our own and I think Gerrard now poses his biggest threat from set pieces. I loved watching the penalty squabble yesterday. A proper 'team' wouldn't act like that. Shame Balotelli didn't miss. There'd have been anarchy!!

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BarnetSaint added 13:46 - Feb 20 One of the problems we must overcome, is our horrendous form at home on Sky Sundays. I can barely recall any wins and loads of miserable defeats. Really need the crowd fired up for this, feck the return of the 3, need to get behind the team. So everyone, get yourselves in pubs beforehand and boozed up. COYS
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richardmdcooper added 15:14 - Feb 20 Nice positive article Nick which I agree with on the whole. Fordy - what a downer. I fancy us to pick up three points on Sunday
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FrankSaint added 09:21 - Feb 21 Who are favourites? It has to be Saints. The table doesn't lie, even Lawro predicts we will win. Our only concern is the number of fans with an inferiority complex who are waiting for a fall so they can say 'told you so'. Let's just play and support with belief. Ronko's press conference was all about that.
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SirJawa added 17:52 - Mar 11 Well the passing of time has shown this article to be as ridiculous as it seemed when first read.
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