Former Liverpool defender and constant Liverpool defender Alan Hansen has been scratching around in the Anfield record room for reasons why Liverpool will beat Manchester United on Sunday.

The 54-year-old Match of the Day pundit, who spent a lobotomising fourteen years at Anfield, was speaking in his column for footballpools.com, and concluded that with the Kop's backing, Rafael Benitez's side would get a much needed win.

Well, I suppose in the same way that he prefaces every season with the words 'This is Liverpool's best chance of winning the title in x (+1) years', if he predicts a Liverpool win before every game, he is bound to be proven right eventually. Isn't he?

Besides there are a whole host of reasons why the Reds will get one over their fiercest rivals on Sunday. Firstly, it is Benitez's 200th league game in charge, and United wouldn't want to spoil the party.

Then there's the fact that it's "unthinkable that to anyone at Anfield that the team will suffer a fifth consecutive defeat," and don't forget that "if Liverpool were to lose then this would be the first time under Rafa that the Reds had lost three league games on the bounce."

And as if that wasn't proof enough, consider that "My [Hansen's] old club have also failed to score in their last two league matches, if they were to do so again, it would be for the first time since March 2005." Well that told us.

But there are more straws to clutch at, we all know about Liverpool's bad luck with injuries (even my mum does for goodness sake!), but don't forget that United have their own concerns, "Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Darren Fletcher [are] all struggling."

And before anyone starts writing Liverpool off were they to be without Gerrard and Torres on Sunday, "it’s worth remembering that neither started last season’s 2-1 home league win." How could we forget?

Hansen surmised: "I don’t expect my old club to lose." Do you ever Alan, do you ever..?