Liverpool nearly upset? What a joke.

And I'm not talking about our performance. I'm referring to the onslaught of garbage the press is force feeding the general public, most who didn't even see the match and won't look at the facts. The truth is this was a no contest. The truth is Havant scored on a set-piece, which any club can do against any other club no matter the differential in talent. The truth is the other goal was a deflection off Skrtel, ruled an own goal. The truth is Liverpool won quite easily, by three goals, but I guess the press has to conjure up bullshit to rectify and prove their control over the ignorance that is so rampant in the football world. At least the casual fan will concur. A farce nonetheless and it should have been worse if it weren't for a futile performance from the king of such, yes, I'm referring to one Peter Crouch.

The positives were abundant. Lucas opened up his scoring account for us with this piece of brilliance:

The kid is going to be a legend.

A lot of the attack went through Babel and Pennant, even though Benayoun will get most of the superficial credit since he did get a hat trick. It appears that Babel is finally learning that he doesn't have to go it alone, as the final goal by Crouch, which the young Dutchman set-up by finding Gerrard in the box on the left. Stevie-G then set it across to an offside Crouch who easily tapped it in. Yes, he was offside, but at that point it mattered little, the match was over.

Pennant looked like his old trickster self, bobbing and weaving his way through the Havant defense like a ghost through a graveyard. I was really glad to see him back to such form. He'll never get the credit he justly deserves since his past will allow the shallow their self-righteous judgments, but in reality, JP's style of play is eclectic and produces results. I hope this performance convinces Rafa that Pennant is deserving of more pitch time.

Havant deserve plenty of credit for playing hard and not giving in. They almost had a third, on a set play, if it weren't for a brilliant stop by Itandje. Their play was inspiring and the flow of their attack was quite impressive, if not lackluster. Defensively though they were as porous as a sponge and their wall-building schemes only managed to leave them stagnant. I could have also done without their overt physicality which was more prone to nearly injuring our players than accomplishing anything else.

As for negatives, well, I could go off on a tangent on how bad Crouch was, but why bother? Once again he showed he's not much better than an amateur. I fear what would have happened if Torres had started, which is another point, we didn't put out our best side and won by three goals. Enough said.

Today's Banters: Our injury crisis worsens, Wenger is a racist?, Gerrard praises Fabregas, & more

- At the start of yesterday's match with Arsenal it looked as if we were about to emerge from our current injury crisis with both Xabi and Torres starting and Arbeloa on the bench. It was all for naught though as El Nino was subbed at the half and Xabi re-aggravating his foot injury later in the match. To make matters even worse, Javier Mascherano left Anfield in a medical boot. Hopefully none of the injuries are too severe, but we'll find out soon enough. Thank God Harry Kewell is near return, Aurelio and Agger are not far behind him, and Arbeloa is back to form, I don't think we can take another major player loss.

- You gotta love stupid fans who try to exaggerate and manipulate what players say to create an illusionary controversy with their beloved club and manager. This idiot tries to imply that Jermaine Pennant is calling Wenger a racist, when in fact JP is saying that he thinks Wenger prefers non-English players, not non-White players. Only a retard would interpret Pennant's word in such a manner. By the way, there's a very good reason why Wenger prefers non-English players, and it has nothing to do with skill-level.

- Stevie-G has nothing but praise for Cesc Fabregas. The world's greatest midfielder said of the young Spaniard: "The world is his oyster. He can go on to be one of the best in the world, there is no doubt about that." I agree, Chucky Fab has all the talent in the world, but sometimes I feel his attitude and the 'South American influence' sours his performances.

Some more links to digest:
- Souness interested in Ireland spot
- Crouch for Sunderland's Jones? I say yes.
- Crouch to Newcastle? Yes, please.
- Goran Pandev in the works? Eh.

Turns out Jermaine Pennant has been playing injured for the last two months

Well, this makes sense and sort of makes me feel bad for the kid, but honestly, he should have probably not been playing hurt and taken care of this right away. I'm not a team physician so I'll just assume they did what they felt was best for him. Pennant will have surgery this weekend for a stress factor of his right tibia. He is expected to be out at least ten weeks.

That means as of this moment we have seven players out and makes me even more confident that Arbeloa has some sort of injury as well as he has not played for us since October 7th when Tottenham visited Anfield. I'm sort of pissed they handled Pennant's injury this way, but I understand why they kept it such a secret. They felt as if they could deal with it while he could still play, but it just didn't work out that way. Here's hoping he returns fit and in top form.

So for all you idiots who blamed Rafa's rotation policy as to our stumbling form, you owe the man an apology. Turns out we were in the midst of an injury crisis. Dumb asses.

Today's Banter: Ladies lose derby, Pennant excluded from England again, Babel wants striker role, & more

- Like the saying goes, 'It's only gonna get a whole lot worse before it's gonna get any better.' Those words seem to be a fair representation of what our beloved club is going through at the moment. Yesterday, just to add a glacier to the well put-out fire, the Ladies lost 2-1 to Everton in league play. Despite taking a 1-0 lead, our girls couldn't hold on as two strikes in two minutes in the second half were enough to lead the lady Toffees to the victory. Next up is a League Cup clash with Leeds United on Sunday in Skelmersdale.

- Steve McClaren snubbed Jermaine Pennant again for an England spot for the Three Lions Euro qualifiers later this month. I understand JP wants to play for his country, but honestly, there is just too much baggage going on in the England camp to make me give a rat's arse about his exclusion. Concentrate on your Liverpool game, lad. Unfortunately, Steven Gerrard will never be excluded from an England side.

- Ryan Babel, who just recently was found under a rock in the Sahara, thinks he is best suited as a central striker. He appears to be patient to get his opportunity to play there and is content playing a wing position. I'll put my shyness to the side here and say put him in the rotation in front of Crouch as soon as Harry Kewell gains fitness. Of course, who knows when that'll happen.

- I found this article about Rafa desiring a show of character for the Tottenham match a bit peculiar. He claims it's a call to have us improve ourselves from the dreadful Marseilles performance. I say it's a call to have all the rumored nonsense going on behind closed doors put to an end. There have been rumblings of discontent about certain players voicing their unhappiness with more than just the squad rotation. Let's just hope Rafa puts certain players aside and puts out a squad that's just happy to be on a great club come Sunday.

Today's Banter: Birmingham fears Pennant, Carra calls an end to penalties, Anderson may start, & more

- Birmingham boss Steve Bruce has singled out Jermaine Pennant as the player his side is worried most about come Saturday. Pennant though, who played two seasons for the Blues, isn't sure he'll even get to play after being sent off in the Porto match. I'm not sure he'll start, but would be a bit surprised if he didn't get to play at all. Rafa may save him for our Carling Cup match at Reading next week.

- Jamie Carragher has vowed to stop the giving away of penalties. Well, Carra, if you can somehow manage to get the league to hire better quality referees, you might have a shot at doing so, but don't hold your breathe. What sucks is that Pepe has yet to concede a goal from play this season.

- Paul Anderson may get his first league start for Swansea when they face League One side Leeds tomorrow, who has won all six of it's previous matches yet stand bottom to last on the table because of a 15 point penalty deduction for failure to comply with rules on insolvency. The 19-year-old on-loan winger already has two goals for his temporary club, one in Leaugue play and the other in League Cup.

- UEFA spokesman William Gaillard is running his mouth again. This time he accused our new owners of having ulterior motives when they took over the club. He claims they are in it for the 'quick buck'. Rick Parry has responded, calling the obligations 'absurd'. I'm not even going to bother to address this, if Platini and UEFA are so stupid that they don't see the true negative influences in the sport, than maybe they are collecting a few bucks on the side from that influence.

- Rafa is worried about the effect the loss of Agger is going to have on the squad. I think it was made worse with Xabi going down as well since the Spaniard showed he was capable of playing centre back if needed, but it's far too soon to panic. We have ample coverage at the moment and I truly believe that Mascherano is fully capable of covering there if needed. Hell, Gerrard could too. One of the pluses is that Carra has just come off a vacation, so as long as he can remain healthy, we'll be fine. The thing that I'm worried about is bringing up Jack Hobbs from the Reserves as a needs be basis. I say give him the start against Reading and if he does well, go from there. The couple of times I've seen the lad play I've been wholly unimpressed, but am more than willing to give him another shot.

- Finally, Michael Shields is set to spend his 21st birthday in prison. He was convicted of attacking a Bulgarian barman just after the 2005 Champions League final. If you want to read more about his situation, go here.

Today's Banter: Allardyce calls Rafa 'lucky', Love for Arbeloa & Pennant, Porto smack talk begins, & more

- Sam Allardyce, who's Newcastle side lost to Derby 0-1 yesterday, the same Derby County we dismantled 6-0 a few weeks back, has stated that Rafa is 'very lucky' to still be employed with LFC and the only reason he is so, is because of our Champions League showings. Other than the obvious that Big Sam needs to worry about his own job and his own side, the Magpies manager appears to be showing signs of amnesia. He says, and I quote, 'Being a foreigner, Rafa doesn't understand it's supposed to be Premier League first and Champions League second.' Really, Sammy? I didn't know that Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho were suddenly British.

- Football365.com has named Alvaro Arbeloa and Jermaine Pennant to their EPL side so far this season. Though I agree with the former, the latter is a bit odd of a selection. Pennant's performance so far this season is neither as impressive nor consistent as his November-on form from last season. One glaring omission from the team is Pepe Reina who has yet to allow a goal from open play. The Spaniard does get a nod, but Brad Friedel? Come on.

- Porto captain Lucho Gonzalez and boss Jesualdo Ferreira have made their feelings about today's match heard. The 26-year-old Argentine has made it clear that his side is ready and capable to beat Liverpool, while their manager thinks that Ricardo Quaresma will be instrumental in beating the English side that has not impressed him. Apparently Ferreira sent his assistants Rui Barros and Joao Pinto to scout LFC at the Pompey match. Hopefully, that's how they think we normally play.

- Supposedly Crouch is set to move to Portsmouth in the January transfer window. No... please... don't... if only it were true.

- Finally, Rafa gives Pepe some love. Cheers, I'll be back for the Porto line-up.

Liverpool vs Porto: What will Rafa do?

This should be pretty easy considering who Rafa didn't start on Saturday at Pompey. The more I think about it, the more shocked I am that he started what is usually our European front in Voronin and Crouch. I understand that Torres and Kuyt probably needed the rest, but it sort of undermines the goal of the league. Anyhow, that's Rafa the Gaffa for ya.

Speaking of the Spanish mastermind, he has announced our Champions League intentions of qualifying for the knockout stages as quickly as possible and then turning our focus back to the Premiership. What better way to prove that aspiration then beating our toughest group stage opponent in their house. I don't see it happening and think we'll come away with a 1-1 or 0-0 draw, but you never know.

Up front we'll probably see Kuyt and Torres. In the midfield on the right, Jermaine Pennant, Gerrard and Mascherano in the middle, and Ryan Babel on the left. There is a possibility of seeing Babel start on the right and Fabio Aurelio making his first start of the year on the left, but I'm not sure how fit the Brazilian is. With Riise injured, the backline will probably have Arbeloa on the left, Hyypia and Carragher anchoring the middle, and Finnan on the right. Pepe in goal.

On the bench I expect to find Itandje, Aurelio, Agger, Xabi, Lucas, Voronin, and Benayoun. Harry Kewell, calling Harry Kewell, where are ya?

So here's my final answer:
Reina
Finnan
Hyypia
Carragher
Arbeloa
Pennant
Mascherano
Gerrard
Babel
Kuyt
Torres

Subs:
Itandje
Agger
Xabi
Voronin
Benayoun
Lucas
Aurelio

I was debating with myself whether or not Pennant would start on the right, but now that I just realized that's probably why Rafa took him out so early in the Portsmouth match I'm more confident he'll get the nod here. Cheers.

Liverpool 0, Portsmouth 0

Well, if I learned anything from this match, it's that we're not going to win tough away matches like this without Torres playing the full ninety. When he came on in the 63rd minute, we immediately became a greater threat to score. Gerrard came on four minutes later, was his usual class self and probably was the reason Torres had so much freedom up front, but for the most part Stevie-G wasn't too involved in the match the roughly thirty minutes he was on.

The thing I disagree with was taking out Pennant instead of Benayoun or Xabi for Gerrard. Pennant was having a better game than those two, and was beginning to get more involved in the attack in the second half, creating an early chance for Voronin that bounced off the top of the bar. Neither Benayoun nor Xabi did much the rest of the match to justify them staying on and in fact, Yossi wasted a golden opportunity in the box.

The officiating was wholly inconsistent, but that's expected on the road. Two things really bothered me other than the obvious horrible penalty call. A bogus foul was awarded to Portsmouth after Arbeloa stole the ball on the left side of the field and we looked to have the advantage on the attack and for the life of me, I don't know how either Davis or Johnson didn't collect more cards. Their play was appalling. Every time they were outclassed, they just stuck a dangerous foot out.

Overall, I don't know, we just didn't have it until Torres and Gerrard came in. Like I said before, I think taking out Pennant was a bad decision. He and our two world class players probably would have been enough to get a goal. In the end, this is not a devastating result, but a win would have been obviously been better. To look at it half full, a draw at Fratton Park is certainly better than a loss.

Liverpool 0, Porstmouth 0: the save

Here's Pepe's save on Kanu's penalty, that was wrongfully awarded, by the way. Cheers.

Liverpool 0, Portsmouth 0: halftime thoughts

Well despite the officials trying to gift Portsmouth the three points and the home side giving a clinic on how to cheat English football style, our boys find themselves drawn 0-0 at the break. Of course if it wasn't for the greatest penalty keep in the world, they'd probably find themselves down 0-1.

The awarded penalty in the 32nd minute was absolutely atrocious. On a Portsmouth cross into the box, Arbeloa went up beside an awaiting Pompey player and knocked the ball away with a flying karate kick. As he came back down, he momentarily, and I mean it maybe lasted one-and-a-half seconds at the most, grabbed at the Portsmouth player's shirt to regain his balance. If that was the line judge's reasoning for the call, bullocks, the ball was far away at that point. There was no contact prior to the ball's arrival either. It was completely unjustified.

Thankfully Pepe stepped up and saved Kanu's attempt by diving to his right. His uncanny ability to know where the ball was headed saved the line judge the embarrassment of having to apologize after the match. By the way, Xabi got a card in the mass protest that ensued after the call and before the penalty was tried.

As a team, we're letting Pompey's overt and near criminal physicality get to us. Early on we had a free flowing transition and looked a real threat to score, but that momentum has dissipated. We need to focus more on organizing our attack and in that regard getting the ball to Pennant more. In the beginning he was our main carrier and then for about a half an hour he disappeared. Toward the end of the half, we got the ball to him a couple of more times and things started to happen.

Our best player has probably been Momo. He's made some fantastic defensive stops, but he tends to revert back to his horrid passing decisions from time to time which seems to almost negate his stops. Pepe has been great on not allowing the ball to get past him, but once he gets possession of the ball, his decisions on who to give it to and how have been at times baffling. I hope it was just the jitters from not playing for a couple of weeks. The only other stand-out has been Carra, who seems to be the only one at times to have a head on his shoulders.

No one has been particularly bad, though I wouldn't call this Voronin's best match by any means. The Ukrainian seems to be letting the Pompey scum get to him. Neither Xabi nor Benayoun seem to be much into the match either and for once I don't have much to complain about Crouch's performance since he's hardly touched the ball.

It looks as if we're going to have to bring either Gerrard, Torres, or even Babel for an offensive spark. The Crouch-Voronin pairing isn't working today so maybe replacing one of them would be a good idea. We definitely need to get Pennant the ball more and I think the way to do that is by getting Benayoun more involved. Anyhow, the second half is about to begin. Come on boys!

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: the line-up

Reina
Finnan
Agger
Carragher
Arbeloa
Pennant
Sissoko
Alonso
Benayoun
Crouch
Voronin

Subs:
Itandje
Hyypia
Torres
Gerrard
Babel

No big surprises except Finnan. Looks awfully familiar though. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: What will Rafa do?

It's baaaccckkkkk!!!! My favorite game trying to predict what Rafa 'the Mad Tinkerer' Benitez will do tomorrow against Pompey. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments. Anyhow, let's go...

With about half the squad on international duty this past week, Rafa's choices have been somewhat limited to players who didn't play or play much on Wednesday because they aren't part of their country's national team (For now, that includes Pennant & Arbeloa), were injured or retired from international play (Finnan, the former, Carra, the latter), their country didn't have a fixture (Yossi Benayoun), they got a red card and were suspended for the match (Xabi, I'm talkin' 'bout you), or were an early exit or late sub from their teams' matches (Agger, the former, Peter Crouch and Andriy Voronin, the latter). That in turn makes my job of predicting who Rafa will field pretty simple, well, probably not.

Reina in goal as he didn't get to play for Spain because Aragones gets hand jobs from Iker Casillas. Honestly, I don't care, I'd rather have a fresh Pepe than see Spain advance and have the chance at having Torres injured at the Euro next year. My backline has Arbeloa on the right as it looks like Finnan will be a scratch thanks to a knee injury suffered in the Toulouse match at Anfield two-and-a-half weeks ago. Get well soon, Finney, we're gonna need ya. In the middle I have Carra back in action and Danny Agger, unless of course he did break his hand, but I figure we'd see something form the official site by now if he did. Finally, on the left will probably be Riise. Though Aurelio did play 45 minutes earlier this week in a Reserves match, I don't expect him to take the pitch in a first team match for at least another week. No need to rush him.

In midfield on the right will be Jermaine Pennant. Time to step it up lad, if we've ever needed a solid performance from JP, it's here. It the middle, despite Rafa supposedly amusing himself with thoughts of starting Gerrard, will be a well-rested Xabi Alonso and Momo Sissoko. Don't be surprised to see Gerrard on the bench though and he'll probably get into the game at some point in the second, if we're down, probably with at least twenty minutes left. On the left I expect to see Yossi since Babel played the full 90 for Holland on Wednesday, but I certainly hope the new John Barnes will be on the bench. Calling Harry Kewell, Harry Kewell, where are ya?

Up front is the toughest dilemma, using my theory of starting the least tired players, probably means Crouch and Voronin, which I'm fine with. As long as we have Torres or Kuyt available on the bench, just in case. Speaking of the bench, I think we'll see Gerrard, Hyypia, Leto, Torres, and Itandje there. Leto gives us coverage on the wings, though he probably won't see the pitch unless Pennant or Benayoun get hurt. So here's my final guess:

GK - Reina
RB - Arbeloa
CB - Agger
CB - Carra
LB - Riise
RM - Pennant
CM - Momo Sissoko
CM - Xabi Alonso
LM - Benayoun
F - Voronin
F - Crouch

Bench:
Gerrard
Hyypia
Leto or Babel
Torres
Itandje

Cheers and see ya tomorrow.

Liverpool Reserves 2, Crewe Alexandra Reserves 1: the video highlights

Featuring Xabi Alonso, Jermaine Pennant, Yossi Benayoun, Momo Sissoko, Lucas Leiva, and Sebastian Leto among others. Cheers.

We should be all right Saturday at Portsmouth

I'm crossing my fingers that our boys on international duty get through the day tomorrow unscathed, but from the looks of the squad that we played against the Crewe Alexandra Reserves today, they might get the day off anyhow.

The starting line-up looked something like this:
GK - David Martin
LB - Fabio Aurelio
CB - Jack Hobbs
CB - Xabi Alonso
RB - Alvaro Arbeloa
LM - Sebastian Leto
CM - Momo Sissoko
CM - Lucas Leiva
RB - Jermaine Pennant
F - Yossi Benayoun
F - Jordy Brouwer

The second half line-up:
GK - David Martin
LB - Robbie Threlfall
CB - Mikael San Jose
CB - Ronald Huth
RB - Stephen Darby
LM - Ray Putterill
CM - Damien Plessis
CM - Jay Spearing
RM - Ryan Flynn
F - Craig Lindfield
F - Dani Pacheco

A couple of things come to mind. First, where is Emiliano Insua? I didn't see him named as part of the Argentina squad, so I'm assuming he's injured. That's not good, I hope it's nothing serious. Second, surprised not to see Carra. If he's expected to play Saturday and he didn't today, maybe that means we'll definitely see Aurelio get the start against Portsmouth. Finally, where's Harry Kewell?

Anyhow, it looks like we'll have a competent line-up on Saturday, though I doubt we'll see Xabi line-up with Carra at centre-back. To help us out, it would be nice to see Spain go up by a couple of goals early and allow Torres to take it easy the rest of the match and be fresh on Saturday. Also, I know I'm asking for the sky to rain dollar bills, but it'd be great if either Babel or Kuyt got the day off against Albania. If we can at least get a rested Torres back, we should be fine at Pompey.

LFC Tea Time: Finnan still not fit, Torres unhappy with Aragones, Hobbs gets extension, & more

- Steven Finnan will not be available for Steve Staunton and the Irish for their crucial clash with the Czech Republic on Wednesday. Ireland pretty much have to win the match to have any chance of qualifying for next year's European Championship. A loss or draw would be devastating. No word on whether Finney will be available Saturday for Portsmouth, but it would be tremendous if he was.

- Apparently Fernando Torres was visibly upset over being taken out in Spain's Euro-qualifying match with Iceland on Saturday. Spain was down to ten men thanks to Xabi Alonso who received a straight red card for a stamping incident. Torres, who's been a staple on Aragones' side since the 69-year-old took over the squad, did not speak to reporters following the match. Being a Liverpool fan, I could care less whether or not he plays against Latvia on Wednesday, though if it means he'll be fresh for Saturday's match than I'm for leaving him out.

- 19-year-old defender/defensive midfielder Jack Hobbs was awarded a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the club through next season. I haven't really seen much of Hobbs, but what I have has not impressed me. Obviously though, Rafa thinks something of him.

- Jermaine Pennant feels he's playing the best football of his career and will try to continue to improve to better his chances of getting an England call-up. He has shown some flashes of improvement over his play from last year, but I think he was more consistent last season. I think he still needs to put together a solid string of five or six starts before I believe he's having a better season than last.

- Steven Gerrard has declared himself fit for England's match with Russia and has warned against his Three Lions teammates of being complacent. Just don't get injured, Stevie, any think else is a plus.

Jermaine Pennant Chelsea Goal Wallpaper

Minimalist.



Enjoy.

Momo Sissoko: the great Rafa experiment

If you saw today's preseason match with Portsmouth and you didn't notice Momo Sissoko's tremendous performance, perhaps you should have your eyes checked. What was even more impressive is that he was being used 'out of position'. Or was he?

It seems that this preseason, Rafa has been pushing Momo forward when he's paired with Xabi, with Alonso playing back as the holding midfielder. At first, it didn't seem to be working. Momo just didn't seem comfortable there, which is understandable being he's not used to playing that far forward, but he's quickly adapting and becoming more of a force on the attack.

This is a great idea by Rafa to make Mali midfielder more diverse. He's already proved he can be the dominate man in the middle, but now it seems he's getting better at being more of a box-to-box midfielder as well. His dribbling, passing, and overall decisions on the ball seem to improve by the game, and the only thing he needs to do to complete the process is to learn how to shoot. I mean, I know he knows how to shoot, but it's the when that most never figure out.

You can definitely tell he's learning a lot from his peers. For example, today he made a Xabi-esque pass, belting a spot on 35-yarder to an on-the-go Pennant which was nothing less than stunning. My jaw dropped when I saw it and all I could think about was, I'm glad we didn't sell him. Before you know it, he's going to pull a rabbit out of a hat and start playing the flanks. Now that would be impressive.

I have to admit it though, I had given up on Sissoko by the end of last season, but I'm man enough to admit I was wrong. A fully fit Momo is a scary prospect, a confident one will strike terror in our opponents hearts and minds. Potentially, we've got a legend in the making on our hands, let's just hope he stays healthy enough to get to that level.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: What will Rafa do?

Well, we got some good news today with the international clearances of Fernando Torres, Ryan Babel, and Lucas Leiva, as well as the near return to fitness for Stevie-G, because after Tuesday's match, it looks as if we'll need all the bodies we can harbor. I'm really excited about getting a look at Lucas and fully expect him to start in the middle with Gerrard.

The heat and the humidity definitely seemed to get our boys by the end of the last match. Danny Agger and John Arne Riise looked especially exhausted, which is not good, considering how thin we are on the back line. Carra and Arbeloa played the entire match as well and Hyypia saw some time at central midfield of all places.

I can see Rafa giving a start to Robbie Threlfall at left back as well as Gabriel Paletta in the middle. I also think, since Hyypia came in late and Finnan left early, they will probably allow them to start at centre back and right back respectively.

On the flanks, I think Babel might start on the left, though I wouldn't be surprised to see Kewell there since he was taken out early on Tuesday and with him just leaving the Asian Cup, he's probably pretty well adapted to the conditions. On the right, we'll probably see Pennant since he only played twenty-five minutes or so in the South China FC match.

Up front is not as simple as it would seem. One would think Torres would get the nod since he's well rested, but I think Rafa might start with a relatively fresh Kuyt and pair him with either Babel or even Crouch. If he starts Voronin there, I'll be shocked since the Ukrainian played the whole match Tuesday, but it is Rafa and he does know his player better than I. Voronin actually didn't look too worn out by the end of the match, but you never know.

At keep, I can definitely see Reina starting, but I think Carson will get the nod, if just to keep him happy.

So here's how I see it:
Carson
Threlfall
Hyypia
Paletta
Finnan
Kewell
Lucas
Gerrard
Pennant
Kuyt
Babel

As for the bench, who knows? If I knew the actual fitness of the players I could guess more accurately, but I definitely expect the younger players like Agger, Crouch, and Riise to be available, despite how the looked by the end on Tuesday.

I hope we win this match, but I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't. Portsmouth and Harry Redknapp, without a doubt, have more desire than we do to win this, despite Rafa's words. I just hope it's entertaining, no one gets injured, and we get a solid look at Lucas. Cheers.

Benayoun on board

It looks as if it's official. Yossi Benayoun is now a member of the Liverpool Football Club. If he's beaten out Ryan Babel as the second signing of the off-season has yet to be determined, but it appears so.

I think he's a great pick up. He's creative, versatile, and has proven he can take the beatings of the Premiership doing so the last two seasons at West Ham. What kind of playing time he'll get though might be less up to him and more up to the performances and health of his competition in the midfield.

The Hammers primarily used him on the right, but I doubt he'll be able to take that spot from Jermaine Pennant. JP was dazzling at times last year and put in a good performance in Liverpool's opening pre-season match with Wrexham. On the left, if all goes as planned, Kewell and Ryan Babel will be splitting time. Though Benayoun has a chance to play at that spot, the competition will be fierce as King Harry will try to redeem himself of two years in the physio room and Babel will looking to prove his transfer worth. Save unforeseen consequences which would put Gerrard and Alonso out, chances of him playing in the middle are scarce.

In regards to injury, he might become invaluable, but it's pretty certain that he'll get plenty of pitch if he can carry the team past the early stages of domestic cups. Whatever happens, at least now we have added depth and quality to our side.