London - Liverpool will be hoping to regain top spot from Chelsea, for 24 hours at least, this weekend when they take on West Bromwich Albion in the latest round of fixtures in the English Premier League.

Rafael Benitez's side suffered their first defeat of the season last weekend when they went down 2-1 at Tottenham Hotspur and laboured to a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League in midweek.

But with Chelsea, who lead the table from Liverpool on goal difference, not in action until Sunday, the Anfield side know that three points will restore their place at the top and continue their impressive start to the season.

Benitez should be boosted by the return of Fernando Torres, their Spain striker who has missed five matches because of a hamstring injury.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said the team were looking forward to the return of their leading scorer from last season.

"Hopefully Fernando will be ready come the weekend, we have missed him. He has been training all week and things look hopeful," Gerrard said.

"We need to take three points against West Brom, but (the defeat at Tottenham) has been our only defeat this season and we are more than happy with the way the season has gone so far."

Chelsea, beaten in Rome in midweek Champions League action, will look to bounce back when they travel to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

Their usually stout defence creaked in Rome but captain John Terry said he expected his team-mates to regain their form immediately.

"The last time we conceded three and lost was at Middlesbrough in 2006 and we went on a great run to win the league," Terry said. "There needs to be the same response as then.

"We have to bounce back. That's what all the big teams do. Hopefully, we can do that but it will take two or three days to wipe it clean and be right for Blackburn."

The biggest match of the weekend will be at the Emirates Stadium, where a faltering Arsenal side will hope to stop a resurgent Manchester United side, making up for lost time after a slow start to the season.

Arsenal are now winless in three matches, and stand fourth in the table, one point behind United, who have a game in hand, and six behind Chelsea and Liverpool.

Victory over champions United though, would set a few things right, and midfielder Cesc Fabregas said he and his team-mates could still produce a big performance.

"We have to keep going," Fabregas said. "The next match, against Manchester United, is massive. This is welcomed because it's a big game and big players want to play in big games.

"We don't want excuses because we are playing for Arsenal and a lot of players would like to be in our position. We have to make sure we give everything on the pitch always."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is sweating on the fitness of Theo Walcott, though, and is already without Emmanuel Adebayor after the striker suffered an ankle injury last weekend.

United go into the match on the back of their hard-fought 1-1 draw at Celtic in the Champions League, a performance that manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes puts them in good stead for their trip to London.

"The result does no harm, of course," Ferguson said. "We didn't lose and the performance in the second half was the most encouraging thing. We are ready for a big game on Saturday now."

At the other end of the table, bottom side Tottenham Hotspur will be out to continue their recent revival by winning away to big-spending Manchester City.

Wins over Bolton and then in particular over Liverpool last weekend boosted confidence in the Spurs camp, but they remain two points adrift at the bottom and manager Harry Redknapp knows his side are still in for a real battle.

"We've got a lot on our plate," Redknapp said. "Every game is big for us now, the league games especially coming up. It's so tight, there are 14 teams in a position where they will be looking over their shoulder worried at what is coming.

"I've never seen a tighter league and it may take more points than normal to stay up." (dpa)