For both Liverpool's England under-21 goalkeeper Chris Kirkland and Everton wonderboy Wayne Rooney, a Liverpool-Everton match is a chance to show the big stage will inspire rather than frighten them. Red or blue...this is TheFA.com match-up of the weekend...

CHRIS KIRKLAND (Goalkeeper, Liverpool) v WAYNE ROONEY (Striker, Everton)

KNOWN FOR...
Kirkland: Eclipsing Dudek for Liverpool No1 shirt, England's most expensive goalkeeper, Back problems
Rooney: Wonder-goal against Arsenal, chewing gum live on the BBC, living up to Roonaldo nickname

HIGH
Kirkland: Gerard Houllier announces after Liverpool's defeat against Manchester United that Kirkland is his new first-choice goalkeeper
Rooney: Makes national headlines, front and back pages, after becoming the first 16-year-old to score in Premiership history, against Arsenal

LOW
Kirkland: Defeat at Aston Villa means he is relegated with first club Coventry City
Rooney: Faced criticism when he collects his BBC Sports Personality of the Year award chewing gum and his tie only loosely done

CURRENT FORM
Kirkland: One of the few to escape criticism in Liverpool's recent dodgy run. Kept a clean sheet in the UEFA Cup win against Vitesse Arnhem and has impressed in his two Premiership games even though Liverpool lost at Charlton and Sunderland. Made a splendid penalty save from Gavin McCann at The Stadium of Light to show as an athlete and shot-stopper, there are few better in the Premiership 

Rooney: The new superstar of English football, his match-winning performance against Blackburn last Saturday was a mixture of Dalglish, Maradona and Owen. And he's still only 17! The exciting aspect about Rooney is the range of his abilities; he is quick like Owen, strong like Shearer and has good vision on the ball. Has already scored five goals this season even though Everton manager David Moyes is easing him gently into first-team football



WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THEMSELVES
Kirkland: "I knew the score when I joined Liverpool that I wouldn't be first choice. I also knew that if I ever got the chance, I would have to take it"
Rooney: "Thank you" - The only words the world has ever heard him utter (said after being handed the ITV Premiership Goal of the Month award for his strike against Arsenal)

HISTORY
Kirkland: He started attracting attention from the big clubs nearly as soon as he was given his chance at Coventry City at the age of 18. Liverpool won the race to sign him, paying £6million in 2001 on the same day they also signed Polish international Jerzy Dudek. For the first year at Anfield, Kirkland was the club's reserve team goalkeeper although he did play in last season's Merseyside derby at Anfield, making a last-minute save from Tomasz Radzinski in a 1-1 draw. He was busier at international level, helping England under-21s reach the summer's European Championship although he eventually missed the tournament because of injury. This season, Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has promised the youngsters a "run of games" following Dudek's loss of form. So far Kirkland hasn't let anyone down in what has been a difficult spell for the team.

Rooney: The vibe about Rocket Rooney has been building in the north-west and on TheFA.com for almost a year since his displays for Everton's youth team, now the world knows about him. An Everton fan since infancy, he scored a record number of goals in the FA Youth Cup for the club last season as they reaced the final (beaten by Aston Villa). New manager David Moyes handed him a Premiership debut against Spurs on the opening day of this season and his winner against Arsenal a few days before his 17th birthday took away Michael Owen's record as being the youngest Premiership goalscorer. Has since notched up winning goals against Leeds and Blackburn and Roonaldo 18 shirts are selling like hot cakes at the Everton club shop. At England level, Rooney has already starred for the under-18s but Sven Goran Eriksson has already spoken about the possibility that this youngster might bypass the under-19s, 20s and 21s and be fast-tracked into the senior England squad in 2003.

COMPARISON
"He is the future of English goalkeeping, I am sure about that. Like all young goalkeepers he just needs to become a little more aggressive in commanding his area" Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier on Chris Kirkland
"He is an all-round player, when he's on the pitch, he's not messing around. He knows if he loses the ball, he better go and get it back for the team" Everton manager David Moyes on Wayne Rooney

Compiled by Joe Bernstein

Liverpool play Manchester United in the Premiership at Anfield on Sunday Dec. 1