Former Liverpool goalkeeper and now Aston Villa’s number one shotstopper Brad Friedel has had his red card picked up at Anfield on Sunday rescinded by the Football Association.

Friedel was sent off when he brought down Fernando Torres in the penalty area shortly after the hour mark.

The F.A.’s decision means Friedel can continue his run of consecutive league games, which now stands at 182.

More importantly, for Liverpool, it means he will be available to play against Manchester Utd in Aston Villa’s next Premier League match on April 5th.

United could also face a striker crisis for that game with Wayne Rooney suspended, Dimitar Berbatov injured and Carlos Tevez set to play for Argentina at a stadium 12,000 ft above sea level in Bolivia just 2 days before the game.

Liverpool can go top of the Premier League 24 hours earlier than Utd’s kick-off with victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage on April 4th.