Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley has revealed he is relishing the prospect of taking on Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.
Bardsley, 24, is a fan of and former player of the Reds' rivals Manchester United, whom he left for Sunderland for £2m in January 2008.
He told BBC Newcastle: "You want to play against good players and Liverpool have good players.
"Hopefully we can mix it with them and get the right result."
Salford-born Bardsley graduated via the Red Devils' academy to make 18 appearances for the Old Trafford side.
Bardsley's three managers at the Stadium of Light, Roy Keane, Ricky Sbragia and Steve Bruce, have all been on the Manchester United playing or coaching staff.
And the right-back, who is eligible to play for England, Republic of Ireland or Scotland, has hailed Bruce's impact as manager at the Stadium of Light.
"First and foremost it's drilled in a winning mentality to us and his man-management skills in general are brilliant, he knows when to give the lads stick and when to have camaraderie with us, a bit of banter," he said.
"I think that's a fine line between decent managers and top managers and I think he's got that in abundance."
Sunderland currently list Fraizer Campbell, Kieran Richardson, David Healy and Bruce among the former Manchester United players at the club.
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