Liverpool vs Porto: What will Rafa do?

Here we go again with one of those matches where everything is on the line. The bad news is we still won't have Agger and Alonso, the good news is Yossi could return, Masche should return, and Finnan will be available despite suffering a knock against Newcastle. Some of the players who Rafa starts tomorrow will be of no surprise. I can't see Benitez not going with Crouch, Gerrard, Mascherano, Carra, Hyypiä, Aurelio, Arbeloa, and of course, Reina. That really only leaves two midfield spots and whom will be paired with Crouch.

On the left there are three options: Harry Kewell, Ryan Babel, and Yossi Benayoun. I think Kewell would be the best to go with here, mainly because he's probably more fit than Yossi and Babel's pace and skill is much more deadly as a late-game sub, especially if a spark is required. That leaves us with the other midfield spot. I'm thinking Gerrard will start on the right, so the question obviously is, who will pair with Mascherano? I think I'd take Lucas over Sissoko only because the Brazilian brings so much more energy and enthusiasm to the pitch as of late.

The other option Rafa has is starting Benayoun on the right with Gerrard paired in the middle with Masche, but I think if he goes with Aurelio and Crouch, and they do their normal Fabio cross to Crouch to head on to a streaking Gerrard or Babel or whomever, the middle of the pitch usually becomes cluttered. It's best to start Gerrard on the right to open up the defense, which brings me to the other forward. The problem with starting Torres is that he's a player who rarely ventures from the penalty box corridor, so even with Kewell/Babel on the left, there would still be a large portion of uncovered pitch on that side. That leaves either Kuyt or Voronin, and since Kuyt played Saturday and Voronin seems to be better on the left as it is, I'm gonna have to go with the Ukrainian.

If we fail to establish a lead by the 60th minute, the obvious move would for Babel to come in for Kewell and Torres for Crouch. This provides us with blistering pace against a hopefully fatigued Porto side. I think it's imperative we keep the ball on the ground as much as possible and slowly breakdown the Porto defense, a swift counter on a long ball mishap is all the recipe for an easy opposition score.

Here's my final guess:
Reina
Aurelio
Carragher
Hyppiä
Arbeloa
Riise
Mascherano
Lucas
Gerrard
Voronin
Crouch

Bench:
Itandje
Leto
Babel
Torres
Finnan
Benayoun
Kewell

I totally forgot about Riise, probably because he's been playing so poorly lately. All the more reason to see him start here. I know that doesn't leave much defensive cover on the bench, but if something were to occur, Arbeloa would just move over to the spot of need and Finnan would be brought on. I have a good feeling about this match, which isn't always a good thing. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Cheers.