Liverpool at Blackburn: What will Rafa do?

Some may be surprised about Blackburn's form, but I'm not. I predicted it in the preseason. They have the necessary talent to challenge for a Champions League spot, but they're going to need a little bit of luck and most of their key players to stay healthy, that usually goes hand-in-hand though.

With that said, it's going to take a solid performance from our best available XI to go to Ewood and pull off the upset. That's right, I said 'upset'. If we had Torres, Xabi, and Agger, and a well-rested Gerrard and Carragher, I would think otherwise, but you're out of your mind if you think we're in better shape than the Rovers.

Since our keeper is a given, I guess I'll go ahead and start with the back-line. On the left I expect Riise to start, though he didn't play in the Cardiff match, I hope the wageslip controversy he's experiencing doesn't distract him. If it does, I'm sure Aurelio will be on the bench to take his place. In the middle, I have little doubt that Carra and Hyypia will get the call. I would say Arbeloa for Hyypia, but the Spaniard played the full match on Wednesday and Sami had the night off. Finally, a rested Finnan will start on the right.

In midfield, I fully expect Kewell to start on the left, but wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. If not expect Babel over there. The only question in regards to the central midfield is who will be paired with Mascherano. I suspect it'll be Gerrard, but it could be a recovered Sissoko or even Lucas. I would love to see the Brazilian here, but he did look spent at the end of the Cardiff match. Finally, on the right, I'm gonna guess Benayoun.

Up front we'll probably see Kuyt and Voronin, neither of which played in the Cardiff match. For the most part they've appeared to be futile when paired together, but let's just hope this time is different.

My final guess:
Reina
Riise
Carragher
Hyypia
Finnan
Kewell
Mascherano
Gerrard
Benayoun
Voronin
Kuyt

Bench:
Itandje
Aurelio
Arbeloa
Crouch
Babel

That seems to be a pretty formidable attack, if we can stay out of each other's way. I'll be surprised if we get all three points tomorrow and pleased if we get the draw. With all our injuries lately, we need to just weather the storm.