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Mascherano a loss but being without Gerrard or Torres would have been a lot worse, says Dean Saunders

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Betfair talks exclusively to former Liverpool and Wales striker Dean Saunders about Mascherano, the goals of Fernando Torres and Benitez's squad rotation ahead of Sunday's Merseyside Derby

It's all eyes on Anfield on Sunday for the Merseyside derby, with the usual amounts of pride at stake. This year there's also the small matter of the fourth Champions League place to play for. Betfair asked former Liverpool striker Dean Saunders, now assistant manager of Wales, about the big clash.

First up Dean, your own best memories of Merseyside matches?

It would have to be the first derby I played in at Anfield, not long into the season after I'd moved from Derby County. We managed to win 3-1 and I got one of the goals, so it was champagne all round that day. That was my first experience of it and the atmosphere was brilliant

What's so different about it, then?

I just think it's because the supporters are so mixed. I think it's been said before, but the same families can have a couple of Everton supporters and a couple of Liverpool supporters, and throughout the stadium there's red and blue all scattered around. There is a big rivalry, but the atmosphere is not so bitter and twisted as in some local games. For instance I spent a year in Turkey and the Istanbul derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbehce was full of venom. This one is all about pride, and being able to go home after the game and laugh at your mates who support the opposite team rather than have a ruck with them.

What effect will the Manchester United defeat have on Liverpool?

I think United have the best players at the moment in England, and they can do that to anybody. It didn't help with Mascherano getting sent off, but they have that much ammunition. You try to keep Ronaldo quiet, and you have Tevez, Rooney, Scholes, Giggs, Saha when he plays, Carrick is pinging balls everywhere. Trying to put all of them out of the game is very difficult. In comparison other teams only really have two or three match-winners. It will have been disappointing for Liverpool because they were on a good run, but the sending off didn't help them at all. That's happening too often in games, in my view, people getting sent off and spoiling the game for everybody.

Whose fault is that? The players, or the referees?

I think it was a bit of both last week. Everybody watching on the TV could see that Mascherano was boiling. The camera was on him, you could see he was agitated, and you were thinking: 'Don't go over the top, don't go over the edge one more time'. But then maybe the referee could have pulled him over and said: 'You've been booked, you've had a few pops at me now, one more and you are off.' That's what the refs used to do with us when I was playing. Then you knew that conversation was the last you were going to have. So maybe Mascherano was wrong, but the ref could also have done a bit better.

How badly will Liverpool miss Mascherano?

He's been doing well, he does that job of doing all the donkey work, and filling in for people, that allows the likes of Steven Gerrard to get forward and create chances. They'll miss him, but it would be far worse if they'd lost Gerrard or Fernando Torres.

As a former Liverpool number nine what do you make of Torres?

He's playing really well, getting goals, and what I notice is every time the ball goes in the box if he's not on the end of it, he's nearly on the end of it. He seems to know where to go in the box, and that benefits Gerrard coming from deeper. I personally think they would both score more goals if Crouch was playing as well, because they could both play off him. But then I guess that's why Rafa Benitez is the manager and not me!

On the subject of Benitez, his rotation policy causes controversy. Where do you stand on it?

In fairness to him, as a manager you know your own players better than anybody. People looking from the outside don't always see what you do every day in training. But I know from my own experience (including internationals I played 60 games the first season I went to Liverpool) that when you are winning, you don't get tired. Also when you play in all those games you don't train as much. I think the problem is squads are a lot bigger and it is a big job to keep everybody happy, and if he can use a couple of matches to give people a game he will try to squeeze a couple in here and there. As a player I would have found it very difficult.

So you'd like how David Moyes operates because he picks a very settled side?

Most teams who win anything are like that, to be honest with you. You even look at another of my old clubs Aston Villa, who were on a great run until a week or so ago, they had a settled team. You could name their team from one to 11. Everton are workmanlike, but I think David Moyes has done a great job. He's managing to keep the team working, and they are also playing some good football. That's the hard bit, to keep the same players you have had over a number of years. You can only say the same thing to them a number of times before it starts going in one ear and out the other. But he's managed to keep the same people motivated that the minimum he requires is 100 per cent. They've also now got Yakubu banging goals in, and he's a handful for anybody, Leon Osman is playing well, Mikel Arteta is playing well, and Yakubu has made a difference to all of them.

So how will it go on Sunday?

It will be tight as these games normally are, but I think Liverpool will just shade it, possibly by the only goal.

We've got a free £50 bet for your favourite charity if you want to back your judgement

Great, I'll put it all on a 1-0 win for Liverpool at [7.4], and the winnings can go to SPARKS, the charity that funds research into conditions and disabilities affecting babies and children. I've been to a lot of their events over the years and they do a fantastic job.