After six years without any silverware, Royle feels Liverpool are about to become a force again and he claims they are closing the gap on United and Arsenal.

‘‘They look as if they are ready to challenge again,’’ said the Blues manager.

‘‘They look like they are closing the gap on United and Arsenal, who I think are still the two most consistent sides in the country.

‘‘They look like they are a coming force now.

‘‘There’s no doubt that they will have their day, although we hope they have an off-day when we face them and that we have one of our best days.’’

Royle is particularly impressed by the vast squad Houllier has assembled over the last couple of years.

The Reds can almost rival United, such is their strength in depth, and against Leeds on Saturday they had Nick Barmby, Christian Ziege, Emile Heskey and Jari Litmanen on the bench.

Royle added: ‘‘It doesn’t matter what side they play, and they regularly change, they have an awesome array of forwards.

‘‘Whether it’s Heskey, Fowler, Litmanen or whoever, we know they will be dangerous.

‘‘They do chop and change accordingly and I think they have the most expensive bench in the country at the moment.’’

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier echoed those thoughts, and insists the Reds’ upcoming fixture pile-up is a happy problem to have.

The Frenchman told the Daily Mail: ‘‘Last February we only had one game all month and ended up going to Malta for a few days.

‘‘This time we have seven games in 25 days, including the Worthington Cup final.

‘‘We cannot claim to be at United’s level yet but we are getting there. The foundations are in place and we are getting close to where we want to be.

‘‘Alex Ferguson goes on about a winning mentality among his players and we are developing the same thing. I can detect an aggression and desire to be successful.’’

The new mean machine defence that has turned Liverpool into glory hunters on four fronts, has been hailed by comeback star Robbie Fowler.

Fowler may well be rested on the bench tonight, but the striker with the lethal track record admits to being hugely impressed by the frugal form of those behind him.

Liverpool have gone four games without conceding a goal and produced 11 clean sheets in their last 15 matches, conceding just five goals in that time.

And Fowler who is likely to stand down in favour of fit again Emile Heskey believes that a defence which came in for so much early season criticism, is now the rock on which Liverpool’s current success has been built.

He said: ‘‘I think the team has dug out two great results against Crystal Palace in the Worthington Cup and Leeds in the FA Cup last weekend.

‘‘We were under the cosh a bit in the first half at Elland Road, but I think it’s the sign of a good side when you can be under so much pressure against a team of Leeds quality and still come away with a 2-0 win.

‘‘Once again our defence was strong, and that was largely due to the form of Stephane Henchoz.

‘‘For me, Stephane is a bit like Ronnie Whelan used to be in the Liverpool sides of old.

‘‘He doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Both he and Sami Hyypia have been outstanding at the back.

‘‘Sami has been getting the plaudits, but Stephane also deserves a lot of praise.

‘‘He’s very quiet and he just gets on with his job without any fuss.

‘‘People forget that Stephane wasn’t playing early in the season, but he’s come back into the team and I think he is loving every minute of it.’’

Houllier will be without England hopefuls Danny Murphy and Jamie Carragher both out with knee problems and accepts that relegation haunted City could be a bigger problem than the current league positions indicate.

He said: ‘‘I’d rather play the big guns because if you look at our results we always seem to be more comfortable playing the big teams in the Premiership.

‘‘It’s never easy to play a team who are fighting for their lives so we must be up for it, because they certainly will.’’

City, who have also drawn Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round, ran the Merseysiders close when the sides met at Anfield in September.

City fought back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 before Dietmar Hamann scored a late decider in a result that still rankles with Royle.

‘‘We did well at Anfield earlier in the season and we were unfortunate not to get a point at least,’’ he said.

‘‘That maybe pointed the way for our season to date and we have not got what we needed when we needed it.

‘‘There’s no doubt it’s a massive game and when you look at these big games, I keep thinking this was what we wanted two years ago when we were bringing, shall we say, less famous teams to Maine Road. It will be a great occasion.’’

Royle will be hoping City play as well again and the Blues are desperate for a win after recording just one victory in their last 14 league games.

Andrei Kanchelskis, who has joined on a three-month loan spell from Rangers, is expected to make his debut at some stage but Royle has yet to decide if he is fit enough to start.

Steve Howey and Danny Tiatto return from suspension, but Laurent Charvet is out with Achilles trouble, while Richard Edghill is sidelined with a knee injury.

Transfer-listed striker Paulo Wanchope has been dropped, although Royle claims he may play him while he waits to sell the Costa Rica international.