Tevez does the talking for United, but Torres may have the final say for Liverpool

The pair have hardly exchanged a word since being thrown together by Sir Alex Ferguson in the summer, as Rooney's Spanish is all but nonexistent while Tevez's English is limited.

Yet it has not stopped them developing an almost telepathic understanding on the pitch, with a number of defences already sliced open with literally a nod and a wink.

At lunchtime today, Rooney and Tevez face their biggest test as a partnership, when 500 million people across the world tune in to see the clash of England's biggest two heavyweights — Liverpool and Manchester United.

While another foreigner, Fernando Torres, is getting the best out of Liverpool's local heroes,Tevez seems to be perfect for England's biggest talent.

The finest moment of their new partnership came against Middlesbrough at the end of October, when Tevez volleyed a pass for Rooney and then ran into space to collect a back-heel return from his team-mate and score one of the goals of the season.

The understanding is all the more remarkable because there does not seem to be an attempt to try to communicate in the traditional verbal sense. With their razor-sharp footballing brains, a quick flicker of the eye is enough for each of them to understand what the other one is up to.

What a shame for Capello then that there does not seem to be an Englishman who can operate on the same plane as Tevez for Rooney to work with at international level.

"The partnership is as much instinct as what we do on the training ground," said Rooney. "We don't speak the same language but we seem to know what the other is thinking on the pitch and where he is going to make runs.

"It's all about eye contact really, rather than saying anything. We don't tend to talk to each other at all during games — we can't. But we can indicate things with our eyes or give each other a quick nod as if to say that's where you want a ball played in. We play the game as we see it and it's coming off."

There were a few eyebrows raised when Ferguson signed Tevez on a twoyear loan in the summer. The common perception was that he was an identikit Rooney and that the pair would not complement each other. Once again, Ferguson's judgment has been proved rather better than his critics' and you know the last thing on Tevez's mind is that he is going to crumble in front of 45,000 Kopites who hate Manchester United more than anyone else.

"Nothing scares me," says the feisty South American, who grew up in a tough slum area of Buenos Aires nicknamed Fort Apache.

"As a kid, I played on pitches where there was broken glass on the ground and all my opponents were bigger than me," he said. "I'm not going to get scared in the Premier League with the best pitches and referees. People thought I was too similar to Rooney to play with him but we've shown we can hurt any team. The better we get to understand each other, the more damage we'll do."

In previous years, Liverpool might have felt an inferiority complex having to face Rooney and Tevez, let alone Cristiano Ronaldo. That has all changed since the arrival of Torres.

He has changed several games this season with eye-catching brilliance and arguably the best of his 12 goals came at Marseille on Tuesday when he dribbled past four defenders to put Liverpool into the Champions League knockout stages.

Jamie Carragher, so desperate to win his first league title it hurts, feels this is his best chance thanks to Torres. "It's been a long time since we've been able to look at a striker and say he's as good as anyone in the Premier League," said Carragher. "Torres is as good as anyone in Europe at the moment.

"Defenders look at our teamsheet and don't fancy playing against him. It is something we've lacked since Michael Owen left. It's not just his goals either. His work-rate reminds me of Ian Rush. He closes down defenders and works the channels. And having to mark him in training has improved us as defenders."

Carragher, reluctant to be caught in the crossfire between manager Rafa Benitez and owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, can even afford a little joke when Torres is mentioned. "He cost £21million, so we have to thank the American owners for that," he said with a laugh. It is possible that if Liverpool beat United today and win their game in hand, the four main title contenders would be separated by just a single point.

Normally, one or two teams break away at Christmas but Carragher feels this could be a four-way fight all the way.

"We hope that's the case because it's been us who have fallen away in recent years," he said. "All four teams could be in it, even in March or April. It seems more competitive all round this season with every team dropping points."

As with Tevez, this will be the first Liverpool-United match for Torres. But, having starred for Atletico in the Madrid derby, he is unlikely to be overawed.

Torres scored a superb individual goal in his first big Anfield game, against Chelsea, but plays down comparisons with Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish.

"They won many titles so it is too early to talk about me like that," he said. "The good thing for me is that there are players here who are used to handling pressure."