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Carlo Ancelotti claimed yesterday that Liverpool can no longer win the Barclays Premier League title, although such a dismissive attitude will not stop him seeking to follow their example when Chelsea face Manchester United tomorrow.

Chelsea can open a five-point gap at the top of table by beating United at Stamford Bridge and victory would put them 12 points clear of sixth-placed Liverpool, who host Birmingham City on Monday night.

Ancelotti insists that the battle for the title is not yet a two-horse race between Chelsea and United, claiming that Arsenal could win the trophy for the first time in six years, but he does not believe that Liverpool will stay the pace. Liverpool have won only one of their past eight matches in all competitions, a 2-0 victory over United a fortnight ago.

“It’s not just between us and United, I think Arsenal have good possibilities to arrive in first place,” the Chelsea manager said. “We can’t think about Liverpool because they are behind, but Arsenal have a very good team and a very good chance to win.”

For all his doubts about Liverpool’s pedigree, Ancelotti believes their victory over United two weeks ago has shown them the way to beat the champions. The Italian is convinced that United have a weakness in central midfield, which Liverpool exploited at Anfield, and will attempt to do the same by fielding a powerful trio of Michael Essien, Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard tomorrow, with Deco in a more advanced role at the top of the diamond. José Bosingwa is Chelsea’s only injury concern, with Branislav Ivanovic likely to fill in at right back.

“Liverpool had a fantastic match, a strong match, and put a lot of pressure on the pitch,” Ancelotti said. “That’s why they won. They didn’t give United any possibility to play like they want to play. It was a good lesson for us because Manchester can suffer when there’s pressure on their midfielders. Every team has a weakness. But I don’t want to play against other teams’ weaknesses; we want to put our own qualities on the pitch.”

Ancelotti claimed that he had yet to decide whether to enter the transfer market in January after the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirmed yesterday that Fifa’s transfer ban for allegedly inducing Gaël Kakuta to sign from Lens, the French club, will be frozen pending their appeal.

The Times revealed in September that Chelsea would seek to delay their hearing to enable them to strengthen their squad in January and it is inconceivable that they will not recruit more players despite Ancelotti’s apparent ambivalence to the idea.

“I’m very happy with this squad,” he said. “I have enough experience not to have problems with old players. I’ve trained some players until they’re in their forties, so these players have a lot of time yet.”