Saints defender Claus Lundekvam is relishing the awesome task of trying to stop Michael Owen after declaring himself fit for tomorrow night's Worthington League Cup third round clash at home to Liverpool.

Owen was back to his blistering best after coming off the bench for England in Sunday's friendly against Belgium.

But Lundekvam (pictured) is looking forward to tangling with the lethal striker after recovering from the knee injury which ruled him out of last week's 3-3 draw against Derby.

He is set to return against the side he supported as a youngster but knows he is in for an intriguing battle of wits.

He said: "The knee is fine now. I trained yesterday and provided there is no reaction I will be fit for tomorrow. I have played against Michael Owen a few times now and I am looking forward to this clash.

"He is a very good player. He is bright and sharp and very quick. He can score goals with either foot and you cannot take your eye off him for a second"

But Saints have their own pint-sized poacher in Marian Pahars and Lundekvam reckons the little Latvian is every bit as dangerous as the Merseyside marksman.

He added: "Marian has impressed me more and more since he came here. He has adapted to the game very quickly and looks a very good player.

"He is really sharp and really hard to mark - a bit of a Michael Owen type himself. There are many similarities in their game and I believe Marian is as good as Owen at this moment. We saw that when he did Jaap Stam at Old Trafford and he did it again for Latvia against Norway this weekend. I would love to have played in that game and to have faced Marian.

"He is in great form right now so it should be a good game tomorrow. It will be hard but I fancy us and I think we can win it."

Tickets for tomorrow's game with Liverpool will remain on general sale until 5pm tomorrow. There are still plenty of children's tickets freely available at £5 each with adult prices cut to £20.

David Hirst must wait three weeks for the results of an operation on his damaged knee. Manager Dave Jones said: "He has had it cleaned out and the cartilage shaved but we won't know whether it has done the trick until he goes back to the specialist."

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