James Goddard will do whatever it takes to beat Michael Phelps at the British Gas Duel in the Pool - even if that means donning one of the soon-to-be-banned high-tech suits.

Goddard is part of the E-Stars team comprising swimmers from Great Britain, Italy and Germany who will take on the USA, including Phelps, tomorrow and Saturday in Manchester.

Each race will feature a maximum of three swimmers from each side, with points awarded for the first three places and the team with the highest number of points at the end of the meet declared the winner.

Goddard, 26, finished sixth behind Phelps in the 200metres individual medley in Beijing last year and is hoping he will come up against the 14-time Olympic champion in the short-course (25m) event at the Manchester Aquatics Centre.

Such is his desire to beat the man he describes as "the greatest sportsperson of all time", Goddard could don one of the polyurethane performance-enhancing suits which will be outlawed from the end of the year.

Phelps, though, will be wearing the 2010 cut jammers which extend from the waist to above the knee.

The Stockport swimmer said: "It's a team event so when each of us steps up it has to be individual, you have to stand up for yourself and give it your best shot to win the race.

"If you've got a better shot of getting more points when you've got a newer suit on, should we take it or not?

"If you want to do what's best for the team maybe you should put a faster suit on to get more points.

"The suits are going to change next year anyway so we'll all see what happens in the future.

"The most important thing is to race fast and hard and try to beat the Americans and try to get points for our team.

"If for some of us that means wearing a faster suit then why not?"

To Goddard it is a simple question of winning and there would be no sense of a hollow victory.

He added: "If I've touched the wall before him then I've beaten him.

"He is the greatest swimmer of all time. It's not just a suit that is going to beat Michael Phelps, it's going to have be an extraordinary swim. the suit can't do it alone.

"If I was to beat Michael Phelps I wouldn't have to mention the suit to my grandchild, I'd just say I'd beaten him."

World 50m backstroke champion Liam Tancock intends to wear the 2010 suit but pointed out issues may arise around what members of relay teams would wear, given it is a team event.

Tancock said: "We are about racing as a team here and someimes you need to step up for the team and you need to decide on the suits for that, so I think there could be issues around that, but I think it is going to be decided by the powers-that-be."

Phelps wore the jammers at this autumn's World Cup in Stockholm and Berlin although it put him at a serious disadvantage as he left Europe without a single victory and in the unusual position of failing to make a number of finals.

He said: "The funniest event to swim in the World Cup was the 100m freestyle. I stood up and I was in a little jammer and everybody else was in a full body suit.

"I was looking round and thought this probably looks kind of funny.

"At this point it doesn't matter, a race is a race. I get up and swim and I know for the time being I'm as prepared as I can be and whatever happens here happens.

"It's not really what happens now that really matters, it's what happens at the end of my career that matters."

Crowds of 2,000 will witness the sell-out event which marks Phelps' first competition in the UK.

Only British swimmers were present at the E-Stars press conference, with double Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington admitting she is not a fan of short-course events.

"I actually really don't like racing short-course even though I train in it and everyone thinks that is quite bizarre," the 20-year-old said.

"My turns are not very good, my stronger point is in the long course so for me it's a bit different."