Berbatov on the bench for United, Alonso out

Alex Ferguson left Dimitar Berbatov on the bench as Manchester United squared up to old rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford this afternoon.

Carlos Tevez, a scorer at Anfield in the last two seasons, replaced the Bulgarian as United tried to stop Liverpool making inroads into their seven-point lead at the Premier League summit.

Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes were also among the substitutes for the Red Devils, while Xabi Alonso was not even on the Liverpool bench after suffering a knock against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O’Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Anderson, Park, Rooney, Tevez.

Subs: Foster, Berbatov, Giggs, Nani, Scholes, Evans, Fletcher.

Liverpool: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Gerrard, Riera, Torres.

Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Babel, Insua, Ngog, El Zhar.

Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)