• Premier League

Sturridge: Liverpool bigger than Man United or Chelsea

Daniel Sturridge scored on his Liverpool debut against Mansfield © Getty Images

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Daniel Sturridge has declared that there is no bigger club in the Premier League than Liverpool.

The striker, who arrived from Chelsea for £12 million last Wednesday, is in line to make his league debut for Brendan Rodgers' side against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Sturridge marked his first appearance for his new club with a seventh-minute opener in the 2-1 FA Cup third-round victory at non-league Mansfield last weekend.

And the forward, who broke into the first team at Manchester City before joining Chelsea in 2009, is adamant that none of his previous clubs are as big as Liverpool.

"It is the biggest club I have ever played for," Sturridge told Liverpool's website. "In the Premier League, there is no bigger club than Liverpool."

Liverpool are currently eighth in the Premier League, 21 points behind leaders United.

Rodgers is trying to improve the fortunes of a side who have not been champions of England since 1990, although they have won the European Cup or Champions League five times to United's three.

Sturridge certainly feels that Liverpool are set up for success, and has vowed to make the most of his chance.

"I thank the boss for giving me an opportunity to play for a club like this and I thank God for making it possible," the 23-year-old added. "It's amazing for the manager to put such faith in me. The only way I can repay him is by doing a job on the football field.

"For him to pay money for me and to have faith in me and show everybody around the world that he is prepared to take a chance on me, I don't think I'll ever be able to repay him for that. As a young player, when you play for big clubs you can sometimes get caught up in it and you never get another opportunity to play for another big club. So I'm grateful the manager has given me this chance and that he believes in me. I'm just glad to be here."

Sturridge is hoping he will get a chance to start against United on Sunday, even though Luis Suarez - who was a substitute against Mansfield - is set to be restored to the line-up.

"I'd love to start against United but it's down to the manager which team he picks," Sturridge said. "I'm just here to train hard and whichever team he picks will be the one that is right tactically. If he chooses me then great. If not, I'll be looking to come on and make an impact."

Sturridge was replaced by Suarez after 55 minutes of Sunday's cup tie, but cannot wait to play alongside him. He added: "It's going to be a pleasure for me to play with Luis. He shows what a good player he is every time he gets the ball with the way he really gets at defenders. I'm looking forward to us forming a formidable partnership against the teams we've got coming up soon."

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