Top of the table... again... for now...

What a match, though for all intents and purposes, the theatrics I could do without. Our boys were clearly the better side from start to finish and for us to have to come back from a 1-0 deficit to begin with, was the biggest joke of all. If Nugent was onside, then so was Kuyt (on his called-back goal, of course)... EASILY. Nothing surprises me from an Evertonian though, as Nugent showed his true scum colors by trying every move in the book to cheat Liverpool of three points. Sorry, son, you lost.

Like it or not, Rafa's tactics worked. Ngog was effective as his speed kept the Pompey back four at bay, scared to leave the Frenchman unmarked for more than a few seconds. Benayoun continued his brilliant form, causing chaos throughout the pitch. The only real disappointment was Babel, who missed a mind-blowing sitter (who the hell uses their right foot on a right to left cross?) and still failed to find the pass when covered by multiple defenders. Somebody is open, somewhere, even if you have to pass it back, it's better than losing possession. In his defense though, he scared the living crap out of the defenders with his threatening pace.

The most effective aspect of Rafa's gameplan? Resting Kuyt, Xabi, and Torres until later in the match. He used his younger and less worn players to wear down the opposition, which made them easy pickings when the more experienced came on.

One thing I found amusing, for two reasons actually, is how hard Crouch played. First, if he had played that hard for us, he'd probably still have a place on our squad and second, he was still pretty much ineffective.

My player of the match goes to Yossi Benayoun. He was effectively everywhere throughout and set-up the match winning goal. As for the rest of the squad, no one played particularly horrible, but I've seen better days from Babel and Mascherano. I would also like to add that Aurelio played particularly well for basically playing out-of-position at central midfield for a majority of the match.

I know I said in my pre-match blog that a goal against us would be embarrassing, but while watching the match I realized that a lot of our 'defensive-minded' players, saw this as more of an opportunity to show their attacking abilities and in that way, it sort of backfired. I wouldn't go as far as to call it 'delusions of grandeur' (except for in maybe Mascherano's case) though. Agger and Aurelio were far from incompetent in what they offered on attack.

Well, two weeks and a day until Man City. Let's hope for a healthy return for all our internationals. Cheers.

The Tinkerman tinkers versus Portsmouth

No Torres, Xabi, Riera, nor Kuyt to start. Strangeways here we come... again. Torres being worn and Xabi being knocked are understandable... somewhat, but the absences of Kuyt and Riera are a bit baffling. Cahill and Arteta as well as a plethora of others played today for Everton?

Anyways, with that said, I like when Benitez gambles, as long as it works, but today's line-up is severely defensive-minded. Five defenders plus Mascherano? Agger has the ability to play midfield as he is good enough on the ball and an adequate passer with the talent to make the occasional great play. Not sure if he's to start there along side Masche though. Dossena and Aurelio on the left should be interesting as both players like going forward. No matter what though, a Pompey goal against will be nothing short of embarrassing.

On the attack side, it's going to be up to Benayoun to lead. Yossi has been playing exceptionable lately though, hopefully that will rub off on Babel and Ngog. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Mascherano or even Carragher uncharacteristically forward. Here's to being back on top by the end of ninety.

Pompey fans struggling for positives, slag off on Anfield

I just had to share this link.

Apparently they don't have much to take from the actual match, understandably so. Anyhow, I guess we Liverpool fans should be 'very, very, very, very, very embarassed' that playing a truly small and insignificant club like Portsmouth doesn't get us going.

Yes, I'm 'avin a larf!

Liverpool 4, Portsmouth 1: Stat of the match

I guess I really should say 'stats' of the match. I'm a number geek, if you can't tell, and what's interesting about this match is that while we dominated possession, 60.5% to 39.5%, they took the territorial advantage, 56.5% to 43.5%. That basically means that, while we had the ball for a large majority of the match, we did little going forward when doing so. What's even more impressive is that our average place of possession winning was at the 28.07m line as opposed to the 27.29m line for them. So, in other words, when we gained possession, we did a phenomenal job of working the ball around, though not necessarily forward. In this case, since we won, patience truly was a virtue.

Liverpool 4, Portsmouth 1: player ratings

I have a hard time saying any of our players were phenomenal today and that's pretty amazing considering we won by three goals against a decent side. The scoreline was deceiving, but I'm wondering if our intentions were as well. We appeared to return to our quick-strike methods where we worry little about bringing the ball forward in a patient, designed fashion, and instead just lob it forward or make a decisive past to a streaking player. Torres and Babel allow us to do such things and it appears that complaints about the 'long ball' tend to fade when you score a plethora of goals doing so. Anyhow, on to the ratings. Here's the scale:
1 - Take off the f*%kin' kit
2 - Still not fit to where it
3 - It better have been just a poor day
4 - Drink too much last night, did we?
5 - Glad you showed up
6 - Good effort, but you could do better
7 - Solid performance
8 - Brilliant at times, adequate at others
9 - Top man
10 - Unbelievably f&*kin' brilliant

Pepe Reina 5.5
The goal wasn't really his fault and he was his adequate self for the rest.

John Arne Riise 6
I'm not sure if I'm flattering him with that grade or not. He appeared to be trying less than recently, and I think it helped him out. He didn't force much and didn't try to get to involved on the attack. Maybe he deserves a better grade? I just want the Old John Arne Riise back, this was at least a step in that direction.

Jamie Carragher 6.5
Carra was instrumental in keeping the ball away from Portsmouth and also set Torres' second goal with a pass to Gerrard. Still, it certainly was a less memorable performance than the Chelsea tie, but at the same time, he was called upon to do less as well.

Sami Hyypiä 6
Again, like Carra, his acumen on the ball helped to keep the it out of Pompey's grasp, but at times he looked as if even he'll be happy to see Agger return.

Alvaro Arbeloa 6.5
Our only defender to really be involved on attack throughout and was beneficial to the side in doing so. The yellow card was somewhat justified, if not harsh.

Harry Kewell 6
Honestly, if he hadn't got the assist on the Benayoun goal, it would have been a pretty poor day for the Aussie. He gave away the ball way too often and clearly lacked the ingenuity to truly take any Pompey players on. Still, he got that assist.

Mascherano 7 Man of the Match
Yes, he made errors and yes, he turned over the ball and yes, I've seen him play better, but he will be in the Portsmouth's players nightmares tonight after hassling them to no end. He also set-up Torres' first goal with a brilliant pass to Babel.

Gerrard 6
I'm being quite flattering to our skipper with that grade, but I think he might have been still suffering a little from the flu. His passing was simply horrid and he could create shit-all, well, accept for the brilliant assist to Torres that is.

Benayoun 6.5
Yossi scored an awesome volley goal, which really jump-started our attack, but he really wasn't too involved overall. I honestly think that may be more his teammates' fault, he certainly tried to make himself available.

Dirk Kuyt 5.5
All I want to know is what happened to the Kuyt of the preseason? The Kuyt who went and tried to enjoy playing football? The one that tried cheeky passes and roamed around the pitch like a man with little worries? We need him back and fast.

Fernando Torres 6.5
A brace and he actually had a better passing day than usual, even though you wouldn't know it unless you... well, did.

Ryan Babel 7
If this kid just works on his passing intuition, he's going to be magic. That's two more goals while he was on the pitch, and he was clearly influential in both of them. By the way, we average a goal every 38 minutes he's on the pitch.

Fabio Aurelio N/A
Lucas N/A
Neither Brazilian really got to break a sweat.

Liverpool 4, Portsmouth 1: Explosions of brilliance

I think I'm finally getting a feel for our side. Honestly, we really didn't play that well overall. Mascherano was his ever-present disruptive self, Benayoun put us up with a brilliant finish from a Kewell pass, Torres notched a brace, and Babel caused havoc in his usual super-sub role, but it was far from calculated dominance. That's the thing, if we can just be ridiculously brilliant in surges and play adequate defense, most of the time, we're going to walk away with three points. I'd almost rather see such an approach than the tedious possession-based, reserved approach we've had to take pre-Torres and Babel.

Portsmouth is a decent side, though they certainly rely on their athletic ability more than skill. So when they come up against an opponent that is equal in strength and pace, but superior in prowess, they've little chance. Benjani's goal certainly rattled us, but they were unable to take advantage and once we regained composure, it was game over. In fact, the confidence they gained from getting on the scoreboard probably cost them more in the end. They started playing further forward and that cost them the Mascherano to Babel to Torres goal, that essential ended the match.

I really don't have much else to add without getting into individual efforts. Torres makes everything look so easy and with 14 goals in 20 all-contest matches, he's got to be considered one of the best forwards, if not players, in the world. The first goal was far from easy and it goes without saying about the second. He is simply brilliant, and honestly, there's room for improvement. A scary thought to say the least. He and Mascherano are the prime candidates for Man of the Match, but I'll decide my pick when I do player grades later. Cheers.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: All the cards...

And the envelope reads...

Reina
Riise
Carragher
Hyypiä
Arbeloa
Kewell
Mascherano
Gerrard
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Babel
Voronin
Aurelio
Lucas

I hope Xabi is okay. At the moment, I think this is our best side, so if we can't win today, we might as well just concentrate on Champions League.

Liverpool vs Portsmouth: What Rafa wants, Rafa does, Rafa bless us all

Whatever happened with the Harry Redknapp arrest incident? Oh, nothing? I'm shocked.

Anyhow, the big question for this tie is whether or not Gerrard will be fit. Now I'm not accusing our skipper and Rafa collaborating on a Man U-like scam, but it certainly was a convenient and opportune time to come down with the stomach flu. That would actually be blasphemous, Stevie-G would have played at Stamford Bridge, vomit and all, if the team would have allowed him. Apparently Torres fell ill as well, but it looks as if both will be available for tomorrow.

The other first-teamers who didn't make the match at Fulham, Pepe Reina, Sami Hyppiä, John Arne Riise, Harry Kewell, Javier Mascherano, and Steve Finnan, should be fit and ready to roll.

I'm not really looking forward to tomorrow's match. It's not that I don't think we can win, it just won't be very entertaining. Portsmouth won't allow it. If they get into an up-and-down match with us, it's over. If we can get a goal early on and force them to play us instead of sitting back, there's a chance that I won't feel as if I've wasted a couple of hours of my life.

Saying this is a must-win, is like saying that people bleed when stabbed. Anything less than three points and I think our league hopes are lost. Come on, boys.

Here's my guess at the squad:
Reina
Riise
Carra
Hyppiä
Finnan
Kewell
Gerrard (or Xabi)
Mascherano
Benayoun
Kuyt
Torres (or Babel?)

Bench:
Itandje
Arbeloa
Aurelio
Xabi (or Sissoko or Gerrard)
Babel (or Torres)

I'm guessing Rafa took Xabi and Babel off early at Stamford Bridge so they'd be somewhat fresh come tomorrow. I really hope Gerrard and Torres start or are at least available. Either way, no excuses.

Rafa wakes up! Crouch on his way out!

For the love of Robbie Fowler it looks as if Rafa has seen the light. In this article, it is revealed that Rafa is looking to dump the useless striker in the January window due to Crouch's attitude towards the gaffer's rotation policy and his recent dreadful performance versus Marseilles where he was clearly a detriment to our side.

Can today get any better? Johnny Wilkinson leads England to the semifinals of the Rugby World Cup with a stunning upset of Australia, Paul Anderson scores another goal, and now it looks as if our biggest (and tallest) problem might have found a solution.

I'm not sure if Crouch has the power to block a move though. I believe he can refuse, but if I was Rafa, I'd put the lanky waste of space on the Reserves squad and have him rot on the bench there.

One thing that baffles me is Crouch saying he loves playing for Liverpool, though won't sign a contract extension. If he's not doing so due to monetary reasons, that's fine, but it doesn't give him the right to throw matches. Another reason may be because he knows it's more likely that he'll be transferred if he gets tied down to a long term deal. He's gone anyhow, and like I've said in previous posts, if they don't sell him in January, maybe it's time for a managerial change.

Sell him to Portsmouth where the other shady footballers roam. He and David James can go casino hopping with Harry Redknapp. I don't care what they do with him, just as long as he never wears a kit again. Oh, and by the way, if he does get the opportunity to play for us again, expect him to play well and then if you need more of a reason to roll your eyes, go find another club to support.

One more point before I go celebrate England's World Cup win. Rafa mentions he'll have around £20m to spend in the January window. I'm not sure if that includes what we'll get for Crouch or not, which will probably be over £10m. Time to start shopping for another striker and a centre back. Cheers.

Today's Banter: Riise injured, Momo to miss Porto match as well, Redknapp LFC's new adviser, & more

- John Arne Riise picked up a groin injury in Norway's draw with Greece last Wednesday and will not be fit for tomorrow's match at Porto. Fabio Aurelio will be available though, just in the nick of time.

- No reason was given, but Momo won't be making the trip either and surprise, surprise, Harry Kewell is still nursing a groin pull.

- Rafa has revealed that his former number two, Pako Ayesteran, is contractually prevented from joining another English club. A number of Spanish clubs are rumored to be interested in retaining his services when he returns from 'gardening leave.'

- Harry Redknapp couldn't help taking a swipe at Rafa for not playing his best eleven against his Portsmouth side. Of course, that is basically saying his own players are second rate and couldn't beat a Liverpool B side, but that would actually take a brain to realize.

- Finally, with goals from Ryan Crowther and David Amoo, the U18s cruised to their second straight victory when they defeated Sheffield Wednesday, 2-0, on Saturday. Unfortunately, Gary MacKay Steven had to come off because of a hamstring injury.

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.

Today's Banter: Carra officially set to return, Traore talking junk, Abigail gets the axe, & more

- Well, at least we'll have Carra. With the Agger injury and Hyypia coming off two full matches in five days, it was unclear what we were going to do for centre backs come Saturday, but it looks like Jamie Carragher will definitely start. I assume that Arbeloa will be there along with him. As for the full backs, it would be great if Aurelio was declared fit and ready, but I doubt it, and I haven't heard anything in regards to Finnan's condition. I'll assume it'll be Riise on the left though and who knows, maybe Stephen Darby on the right? That would be interesting.

- Djimi Traore, quite possibly one of the worst players ever to win a Champions League medal, is talking a little smack about his former club with whom he won that medal, Liverpool. The Portsmouth back thinks his side will win on Saturday because they won't give the Reds much respect and the long travel south will make them tired. What? Are they walking? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but then again, this is Traore we're talking about. It's only about 250 miles by car and our boys will most likely be flying. Anyhow, the linked article which is from a Portsmouth fan site mentions that Portsmouth has won three of the last five games between the two clubs, but then mentions that one of the wins was against a weak Liverpool side as we were on the march in the Champions League last year and the other was on penalty kicks this past summer in a meaningless preseason tournament final. So against full LFC sides, they've won one of the last three. Luckily for them though, they probably won't meet a first team squad on Saturday.

- Peter Crouch's girlfriend, the sort of attractive Abigail Clancy (pictured above), has gotten the axe from Hell's Kitchen, the reality cooking show she's been a part of recently. She apparently will now use her new-found cooking skills to fatten up her boy.

- Rafa, who was named 33rd on the top 50 managers of all-time by the Times Online, has once again expressed the unfairness of our schedule. For the second consecutive time we have to play a lunch fixture following an international break. I can sort of understand his complaining with not having a lot of preparation time on the day of the game and some players being out of sorts with the earlier than usual start, but come on, it's only a couple of hours. I do think they should play a large majority of the matches following an international break on Sunday though as it would allow players an extra day rest and probably increase the quality of their play and the matches in general. Of course, that would just mean less time to prepare for the Champions League match in the middle of the upcoming week. By the way, Paisley and Shankly were 6th and 5th respectively on that list though both should have been ahead of Sir Alex Ferguson for obvious reasons.

- It's been revealed that Dirk Kuyt's schoolboy German lessons have paid off in helping Andriy Voronin adjust to Liverpool life. Though a bit rusty and sometimes unsure of what he was saying, Kuyt has been instrumental in helping the Ukrainian communicate with his coach and teammates. Kuyt also praised Voronin for his work rate and as one of the players he used to admire in his Bundesliga watching days. Being involved in the international scene so long, I'm sort of surprised Voronin doesn't speak English or even Dutch.

- Finally, just because you play for LFC and are named Jamie Carragher doesn't mean you get special treatment. Even if that means getting bumped to the front of a book signing line for a book in which you are featured. As was the case for Here We Go Gathering Cups In May, a book about LFC's seven European trophy runs. Carra had to wait in a line that wrapped around the bookstore just like everyone else.

Agger breaks hand, could be out up to five weeks

Well, our biggest fears have come to fruition with the loss of Danny Agger for up to five weeks with a broken hand. I guess it could have been worse, it could have been an injury to one of his feet or legs. A thorough evaluation will be done tomorrow and an assessment will be made, but our already thin backline just got a little bit thinner, at least for the Portsmouth tie.

Hopefully Steve Finnan will be available on Saturday, but since he didn't play today for Ireland, who knows? Will Hyypia be available? He probably will, but how effective will he be for a thirty-three-year-old who has played as much as he has recently?

I guess that leaves two options, using Xabi Alonso or Javier Mascherano as centre backs or bringing up one of the kids. It's going to be interesting to see what Rafa does, but I have a feeling that he'll try to field the most experience squad possible.

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.