The Premier League leaders visit Anfield on Saturday but the Reds defender is confident that his side have the ability to exact revenge for their 2-0 defeat earlier in the season

Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel is confident that his side can make life difficult for Arsenal when the two meet at Anfield on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger’s men arrive on Merseyside as Premier League leaders, without defeat in their previous eight top-flight matches, while the Reds themselves are unbeaten in five in the league and seven in all competitions.

It promises to be a tight affair, with Liverpool having dropped just five points at Anfield all season, while Arsenal have the joint best away record in the division, along with London rivals Tottenham.

Brendan Rodgers’s men lost 2-0 in the reverse fixture back in November and Skrtel is hoping to disrupt Arsenal’s title ambitions as the Merseysiders look to tighten their group on a Champions League qualification spot.

“I am confident we can beat Arsenal because we definitely have the strength to do so,” the defender wrote on his official website.

“They are the leaders at the moment but we can give them a hard time.

“It won’t be an easy game but I am sure we can do something in front of our own fans.”

The Blackpool forward’s father, Paul, says his son is not yet ready for a return to Anfield and spoke to Swansea City and Stoke City about a move before opting for Selhurst Park

Tom Ince turned down the chance to return to Liverpool on loan in January in favour of a move to Crystal Palace, according to his father, Paul.

The Blackpool forward was granted a loan move to a Premier League club until the end of the season by the Championship side and was the subject of interest from a number of teams, including Swansea City and Stoke City.

The Anfield club were also keen on temporarily re-signing their former youth product, but the 22-year-old’s father believes a move to a lower-placed Premier League side will be better for his son’s development.

“Liverpool were in but I don’t think Thomas is ready to go to Liverpool yet,” Ince senior told talkSPORT.

“Brendan [Rodgers] has done very well there and he does play the kids but for his progression as a footballer it needed to be a Stoke, a Swansea, a Palace or a Hull City at this point.

“Maybe in two or three years’ time that might be a move for him.”

Crystal Palace sit 17th in the Premier League table, a point above West Ham, with Ince in line to make his debut against West Brom at Selhurst Park on February 8.

The trio are among eight teams who will clash in the star-studded pre-season tournament, which was won by los Blancos last summer after they overcame Chelsea in the final

Real Madrid, Manchester United and AC Milan will compete in this year’s International Champions Cup.

The pre-season tournament, which will take place across the US in the form of two groups of four teams, begins on July 26 and ends with the final at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium on August 4.

Los Blancos won last year’s competition, beating Chelsea in the final, while Milan finished in third place.

Both the Spanish and Italian giants will return to America this year, and will be joined by Premier League clubs Man United, Liverpool and Manchester City, as well as Inter, Roma and Olympiacos.

Liverpool’s chief commercial officer Billy Hogan said the club were thrilled to be heading back to the country after enjoying a successful pre-season trip there in 2012.

“We were last in the USA in 2012 and thoroughly enjoyed our visit,” he told the club’s official website.

“So we are delighted to be invited to take part in the International Champions Cup and revisit again this year.

“This will be the club’s seventh visit to North America, where we know we have a huge fan base, and being part of this tournament will allow us to bring the club closer to those supporters and engage with them once again.”