Manchester United star Michael Carrick is one of the most experienced player in the squad.

However, he is aware of the intense competition for places – especially in the midfield – in wake of the recent signings made by the club. United have brought in names like Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger during the summer. This coupled with the existing names like Ander Herrera means that Carrick may find it difficult to be a first-team regular at Old Trafford. The England international is not in danger of losing his first-team spot all together since manager Louis van Gaal sees him as an important member even now.

Defender Martin Skrtel has rejected the offer of a new contract from Liverpool by claiming that it was not what he expected.

The Slovakian has become one of the Premier League’s top defenders over the last few years. It is an unimaginable improvement from the player, who made a shaky start in his first few matches for the club. Skrtel maybe a top name in his business, but it is thought that Liverpool will listen to offers for the player. He has been constantly linked with clubs like Napoli – and even Manchester United – in the last few months.

A number of Liverpool players appear to be on the verge of exit the club alongside Steven Gerrard. One of the names on this list is defender Martin Skrtel, who has been a regular first-team player for the club for more than five years.

The Slovakian has not only helped the club in the defensive area, but he also contributes heavily by scoring goals at the other end. However, he appears to have fallen out with manager Brendan Rodgers over his indifferent performances this season. There have been times when Skrtel has looked extremely shaky and this has cost him a place in the starting line-up.

Martin Skrtel suffered yet another head injury while playing for Liverpool.

This time, the injury was offered during the FA Cup sixth round match against Blackburn Rovers. The match finished as a 0-0 draw, which takes the tie to a replay at Ewood Park. Liverpool failed to capitalise on the great run of form shown in recent weeks. The physical approach from Blackburn proved even more difficult for the Merseyside club after they lost Skrtel due to an injury early on. Manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that the defender did have some bruises that he was fine.

Former Arsenal defender Kolo Toure is one of the few players to have gone to an entire Premier League season without defeat.

The famous 2003-04 team of Arsenal is popularly known as the Invincibles as result of staying unbeaten throughout the 38 game season. This is not only occurrence in recent history when an English team has achieved this feat. There have been several teams that have started the league campaign without a defeat. Manchester City are one of the most recent teams to have gone past the 10 match mark without defeat.

Liverpool come up against Chelsea this weekend hoping to get revenge for the 2-0 defeat suffered last season.

This defeat had more than just three points lost for Liverpool, as it ultimately saw the club lose the Premier League title as well. Liverpool do not appear to have recovered from this disappointment, as their form has plummeted since then. They come into the weekend after suffering two consecutive defeats. The shock 1-0 defeat against Newcastle was followed by a loss with the same score line against Real Madrid. Ahead of the match with Chelsea, defender Martin Skrtel has spoken about the threat posed by Chelsea striker Diego Costa.

Martin Skrtel has called for Liverpool to defend as a team as they hope to improve on their second place finish last season. The Slovakian international was part of the defence that conceded 50 goals last season. This was one of the worst defensive records in the entire English top division, but Liverpool were saved because of their strikers. The likes of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge scored loads of goals to see Liverpool finish only behind City after a marathon season. Pundits argue that this season will be even tougher for Liverpool since they will have to contend with Champions League football.

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel has claimed that the club must start performing from the pre-season in order to lay the foundations for a good campaign. After finishing second last season, Liverpool will be hoping to win the Premier League this time around. However, it will be extremely tough given that they will also have to contend with European matches of the midweek. Last season, they only had to concentrate on the league. Skrtel says that Liverpool need to hit the ground running from the pre-season if they are to overcome this challenge.

Liverpool returned to the Champions League, which is a major source of delight for the club and the city after having been without this premier European competition since 2009. Martin Skrtel was a major reason towards Liverpool finishing second in the Premier League. The Slovakian defender was close to an exit last summer, but he decided to stay at the last moment. He has been impressive last season and that is likely to cement his place in the first team for the upcoming campaign. Even though there has been some disappointment that they failed to win the title, Skrtel regards it as a successful season for the club.

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has sensationally claimed that Liverpool centre back partnership of Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho are weak in a mental sense. The club managed to slip out of the title race in the most extraordinary fashion after conceding three goals in the space of 10 minutes against Crystal Palace. Coming into the match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, Liverpool had the opportunity to go one step closer to the title.