The confidence that was soaring among Liverpool players just weeks ago has been replaced with a growing sense of anxiety as the Premier League trophy begins to slip from view. The team's inability to see off lesser opponents is proving costly for a club that has enjoyed a long spell atop the standings this season. Liverpool's ninth draw of the season at Wigan on Wednesday coupled with Chelsea's win allowed the London club to dislodge the Reds from second place before their meeting at Anfield on Sunday. Manchester United is in top spot,two points ahead of both Chelsea and Liverpool. "This season,from the beginning we were so good,we were scoring goals and winning games and everyone could see that it was an opportunity for us," Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said Friday. "People were saying,'Maybe it'll be this year,' so we have created a lot of the expectation ourselves. But we are still in this position so everybody knows that we have to do our best. Clearly we have to improve in attack. We have plenty of control and plenty of possession,but we have to create chances and take them. This is one area we can clearly improve on and we are trying to improve." After slumping to seven draws in their last 10 matches,the Reds have allowed Manchester United to claim top spot. With the defending champions hosting Everton on Saturday,they could move five points ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool before their game the following day. Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has been reflecting on the frustration engulfing the Anfield dressing room as the team relinquished its position at the top of the league. "I know I have not played like my old self this season. I can do much better," the Argentina midfielder said. "'Why is that?' I ask myself this all the time. I think maybe because it has been a long season already for me and that maybe my confidence is not as full as it was last season. "The Olympics have definitely had an effect on my form and my ability this season. I should be playing better for Liverpool than I am at the moment." Liverpool hasn't completed a league double over Chelsea since the last title-winning season of 1990 and three points would help Benitez's cause as he tries to persuade the owners to award him a new contract on his terms,having already rejected the terms of an initial offer. Feuding club owners George Gillett Jr and Tom Hicks are both set to appear at Anfield for the first time in more than a year,and considerable attention will be on them as they search for new financial backers. A league trophy would make Liverpool an even more attractive investment opportunity - and Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari believes that Sunday's clash could decide if either of them can stop United. "This is a game that maybe will decide the direction of winning or not winning the championship," Scolari said Friday. "It's just three points,but it's a different game because we are alongside Liverpool and the game could put us in front and nearer Manchester United or behind." But United's 5-0 demolition of bottom-placed West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday - a sixth straight league win - has been taken as the start of the team's charge toward an 11th title after a sluggish start to the season. "We have got to the top of the league - we need to consolidate on that now and try to keep the momentum going to get more points on the board," defender Rio Ferdinand said. "If we continue to do that,in the manner of the last few games,we have got a great chance of picking up some silverware." While Benitez and Scolari will be hoping for an Everton upset at Old Trafford,a growing threat is emerging from Aston Villa,which can leapfrog their teams into second on Saturday afternoon by beating Wigan. "The players have got confidence in their game," Villa manager Martin O'Neill said. "They have been doing brilliantly. We have dug out a couple of results recently when perhaps not at our best. There are spells when some people in our team have come forward with big moments in matches. More of that will be needed for the next couple of months." Villa's position among the top four Champions League places will appear even more secure if West Ham,with four wins in its last five,emerges victorious at Arsenal. Also Saturday it is: Bolton-Tottenham,Fulham-Portsmouth,Hull-West Bromwich Albion,Middlesbrough-Blackburn,and Stoke-Manchester City. Sunday's other match sees injury-ravaged Newcastle hosting Sunderland in the northeast derby. Joe Kinnear's struggle to keep the Magpies in the Premier League wasn't helped by Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Manchester City when two more causalities joined the injury list. Striker Michael Owen is out for six to eight weeks with a cracked bone in his ankle and midfielder Joey Barton cracked a bone in his foot that will rule him out for 10 weeks.
