Should be a win hopefully but i just dont know what team to expect from rafa. Yeah we have quailafied but maybe if we won the group we will get a slightly easier draw next round or at least 2nd leg at anfield. Hope rafa sees this to and puts out his strongest 11 but he might make alot of changes to. Cant see us loosing it but i think we should go all out for the win.
the dagger should be back in and with psv and marseille still fighting for a uefa place i reckon athletico will have the tougher game . hopefully robbie will be back in to try get himself a couple of goals .
With Sami not in CL plans Dagger is a cert to start Phil.Would love to see Babel play in the hole behind Keane,Desperate Dan on the left,Dirk on the right,Xabi and Tommy in the holding positions(SG stay at home making babies with Hull in mind)Doss left full and the rest as u expect.Poss call up for Cavelieri in goal maybe on the cards?who knows.Pepe doesnt need a rest but wouldnt be surprised to see him sit it out and give Diego the limelight.This could surprise a few and be a really open game,im gonna lob on over 3 1/2 goals anyway for the craic.
Reckon 2 of xabi steve and the chief will sit this out, Lucas will definetley start with possibly Spearing, Arbeloa will be rested Robbie and Babel up front, and Darby will play alongside Agger Jamie and Dosser, Rafa could surprise us and play Martin Kelly, I really dont think Rafa gives a shit if we win the group and has the right attitude in thinking either way your gona play a decent team, rest the lads for saturdays game.
Cavalieri, Darby, Agger, Carra, Dossena, Yossi, Xabi, Lucas, Riera, Babel, Keane. A wild guess but with Rafa you just never know. (edited that as Lucas will defo start) Think TP is right that Rafa's not arsed with 1st or 2nd. The only reason I'd be bothered myself is not cause of who we might play, but that we would be home 2nd leg if we top the group.
Kuyt didn't travel. The Liverpool squad have arrived safely in Eindhoven ahead of Tuesday night's Champions League clash with PSV. Flight ZT4741 left John Lennon Airport at approximately 11am GMT and, after a moderately pleasant flight, the plane touched down at Eindhoven International Airport at 1.30pm local time. Rafa Benitez's men seemed in good spirits en-route to southern Holland as they look to finish their Group D campaign with a victory at the Philips Stadium. There were a few absences from the travelling squad, however. Dirk Kuyt stayed at home to recover from a slight hamstring strain he picked up towards the end of Saturday's 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers, while Fernando Torres, Martin Skrtel, Fabio Aurelio and Philipp Degen are all out with hamstring, knee, calf and foot injuries respectively. Reserve team starlets Martin Kelly, Stephen Darby and Jay Spearing were also included in the trip to Eindhoven, where the current temperature is a chilly three degrees Celsius. The Liverpool squad in full: Reina, Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa, Darby, Kelly, Spearing, Gerrard, Alonso, Lucas, Mascherano, Benayoun, Riera, Keane, Babel, Ngog.
The Liverpool squad in full: Reina, Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa, Darby, Kelly, Spearing, Gerrard, Alonso, Lucas, Mascherano, Benayoun, Riera, Keane, Babel, Ngog. I had not realised when I first read the names of the players who Rafa has brought to Eindhoven, that the number of players is exactly 18 which means every player will be in the squad tomorrow night. I am sure this will be a big thrill for the likes of Darby, Spearing & Kelly. I can't imagine that the 18 players brought was done by accident. I am sure that Rafa & Sammy new exactly what they were doing.
i don,t think it matters much if we were 1st or 2nd in group,i don,t fear anyone with our record in europe since rafa came,its a right chance to have a look at players tomorrow night!
if we finish top or second on the group thers some tough tough oppostion on each side of the coin so it doesent worry me if we don,t finish top . the main thing for me is the premier and i think chelsea have to put out a strong team to qauify i might be wrong if i was rafa id keep a few key players out until the game saturday were its more important thats my opionin any way lads
Reina Darby carra agger dossena Spearing Lucas Masch Gerrard Keane Babel PSV are muck, would like to see at least one of the young guys get a start. Xabi Arbeloa take the night off. Could be the perfect game for Keane, absolutley no pressure on the outcome.
To be honest I think Rafa has made it pretty clear in the media in the last day or two that finishing top is a priority, and rightly so. The above posters are correct in their view that in terms of the quality of the opposition, finishing first or second will probably not make a huge difference (although finishing first means there is a possibility we could play against a poor 2nd place team like Famagusta, whereas I think every team in line to finish top of their group is fairly decent). The main thing, however, is to get that crucial 2nd leg at home, an element which has served Liverpool so well in recent campaigns and one of which Rafa is all too aware. I would say Darby is the only reserve play who'll start, alongside the other defenders mentioned above. Lucas and Mascherano in the centre for sure I think, and after that I'm not sure, aside from Keane up front and Babel in there somewhere.
Brilliant journalism in the Independent today. Our probable team contain Plessis What kind of muppets put these kind of lineups together without doing any research?
Tonight's Game on TV Just thought I would put up a reminder if there is anybody out there that does not have ITV4 tuned into there digibox. The frequency is 10.758, V, 22.0, 5/6 and the channel can be saved using the add channel facilty in the setup menu. Coverage begins on ITV4 at 18:30 Coverage begins on Setanta Ireland at 19:00 A word of warning though the ITV4 pundits are Robbie Earl and Andy Townsend ;-(
Good shout this 1, although have a feeling Riera will play instead of Gerrard/Masch pending on how adventureous Rafa is.
A word of warning though the ITV4 pundits are Robbie Earl and Andy Townsend ;-([/QUOTE] I wonder will i do the ironing
Cavalieri, Dossena, Agger, Carragher, Arbeloa, Riera, Mascherano, Lucas, Babel, Keane, Ngog. Subs: Reina, Gerrard, Alonso, Benayoun, Darby, Spearing, Kelly. At first glance bit pissed with the team but hopefully the 3 attacking players get some confidence going
bit disappointed tbh not to se 1 out of spearing and darby to start.think 90 mis of champo league alongside the big boys would have been great for them but in fairness rafa has put out a decent blend of youth and experience-strong enough to win the game and give key players a rest at the same time.gerrard as backup if things go tits uphopefully we'll see the young uns once the game is wrapped up!
mighty stuff, its a great mix of youth and experience, if lucas is struggling, lets bring on stevie g. masch poor, alonso on. benny could come on for any number of people. good to see a few of the younger lads are getting recognised by rafa even if its only a bench place.
I wonder will i do the ironing[/QUOTE] oh god, cant stand robbie earl, he cant speak properly which i would have thought would have been a requirement for TV!