Pepe Reina is away with Spain, and after last month’s appearance in the friendly with Greece, there is a possibility he may start for the Spaniards. Spain are away to Iceland today and host Latvia on Wednesday. Those two games should bring Spain six points, but you never know, as they have messed it up in the past. I hope they do, as my very own Northern Ireland sit a point ahead of the Spanish today, and any slip-ups would be very helpful.
Our back-up goalkeepers, Charles Itandje and David Martin, were either too old for the U-21s (Itandje) or out of contention for now (Martin). Scott Carson (loaned out to Aston Villa) is however in the England squad for the home games against Israel and Russia. He was a dark horse to take the jersey for the matches, until McLaren restored his blind faith in Paul Robinson.

Steve Finnan was to be on duty with Ireland until he got injured. Jamie Carragher is injured, but Steve McLaren appears to have recognised his decision to quit international football. Daniel Agger’s talent has not gone unnoticed (ed-uhuh, naturally), and he is set to be the Danes’ number one defender for the match away to Sweden today. However, confidence is low in the Danish camp, after the 4-0 loss to Ireland last month. John Arne Riise, as usual, is in the Norwegian squad and should play for them today in Chisinau and next week against Greece in Oslo. Four points from those games against Moldova and Greece would do the Norwegians nicely. Alvaro Arbeloa has been left out of the Spain squad, good news for us, I can’t see why with the form he’s in. Sami Hyypia is also a certain starter for Finland’s matches against Serbia and Poland.

Harry Kewell still ain’t fit enough for the Aussie squad. Steven Gerrard is going to threaten serious harm to his toe by playing Israel today. This could put him out of the Liverpool side for weeks. However, we can always hope that this story is true and that he won’t need painkillers. Yossi Benayoun will play against England for Israel today. Xabi Alonso has been called up for Spain, and Aragones has stated he may be in line for a rare start against Iceland. Jermaine Pennant, whilst he should be in the England squad (albeit not playing as I have said), he isn’t and so gains valuable resting time. Ryan Babel may well start Holland’s vital games at home to Bulgaria and away to Albania on the back of his excellent form. Unfortunately, Javier Mascherano has had to travel thousands of miles for a friendly against Australia. This ludicrous match means that he is unlikely to play next weekend for the Reds, even if the Tuesday kick-off is slightly more advantageous for the European players. Sebastien Leto has thankfully been left out. Lucas Leiva has also been left out of the Brazil squad, despite his appearance in the squad for last month’s Algeria friendly. This is good for us, as we don’t really want him to suffer jetlag as a result of the trip to the USA.

Fernando Torres has shook off a knee problem and should play for Spain. Peter Crouch is banned for the Israel game, but should start against Russia on Wednesday in place of former Red Emile Heskey. Dirk Kuyt may play for Holland, but with the return of Ruud van Nistelrooy, Babel’s fine form and some fitness concerns, that is not definite. Andriy Voronin is likely to start up front for Ukraine against Scotland and the Faroe Islands as their top striker.

5. We didn’t sign another keeper
Surely six or eight or who knows how many Rafa has in his back pocket isn’t enough for him.

4. Gabriel Paletta was sold
Though happy it happened, I was still a bit surprised when it did. I really thought Rafa was going to hold on to Paletta as long as possible, hoping that the Argentinian would wake up one morning and all of sudden be a Premiership quality centre back.

3. We signed a French midfielder
First, this is surprising because Rafa is not known for his affinity for French players. Sure, Momo is technically French, but he plays internationally for Mali and has learned the ropes under Rafa in Spain and now England. Second, I’m going to guess that Damien Plessis, the kid we signed, didn’t speak with Anthony Le Tallec nor Charles Itandje nor even Djibril Cisse beforehand. Which brings me to my next one.

2. Anthony Le Tallec is still a Liverpool player… for now
There’s still a little over three hours remaining and he can always be sent out on ‘emergency’ loan at anytime, but as of this moment, he’s still a Liverpool player collecting dust in the reserves. Maybe Plessis was brought in to keep him company. Wouldn’t it be ironic that one of our many, many heroes of the 2005 Champions League run would be needed once again to suit up for us this season? He’s without a doubt the most likely to be gone by the time Big Ben (doesn’t) strikes midnight.

1. We didn’t sign a defender
The only thing I can take comfort in is the fact that we have players like Xabi and Mascherano who are intelligent enough football wise and disciplined enough to possibly play centre back and also we’ll have Carragher back after the international break and Aurelio returning not too long after that, but it would have been nice to sign even more insurance.

As for the rest of the squad, joining Xabi in the middle will probably be Mascherano. Though I would not be surprised to see Sissoko or even Lucas. Torres’ effort alone should be able to beat Derby, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rafa do a little experimentation. On the left, I have to think he’ll go with Babel, but, if he’s not transferred by tonight, we might see Harry Kewell. There’s been no official announcement nor report about Kewell’s current state of fitness, but it was around this time all along that he’s suppose to make his return. It would be a huge boost if he did. Also I don’t think we’ll see Benayoun start here despite his inspiring performance on Tuesday, mainly because he played the full ninety on Tuesday and we’ll need him down the road so there’s no need to wear him out. As for possibly starting Riise on the left, it could happen, but I think Rafa is going to have to start being more cautious about how he uses our defenders. Especially until Carra gets back.

On the backline joining Finnan, should be Hyypia and Agger in the middle and Arbeloa on the left. We could possibly see Insua on the left, though I think it’ll really matter who starts at left-mid. If Kewell or Riise start there, it’s somewhat of a possibility. I know Aurelio is due back in around a month, but we really need to start thinking about working in our future starters like Insua and Darby particularly when playing against lesser clubs at Anfield. We can get away with mistakes in these situations.

So here’s who I think Rafa will play:
Reina
Arbeloa
Agger
Hyypia
Finnan
Babel (or Kewell, I hope)
Xabi
Mascherano
Pennant
Voronin
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Riise
Sissoko
Leiva
Kuyt

In goal, probably Reina, though I suspect Itandje will get a start at some point before League Cup or FA Cup ties start. On the backline, we’ll probably go with what we have available. Riise on the left, Hyypia and Agger in the middle, and Arbeloa on the right to give Finnan a much needed rest. In midfield I expect Benayoun to get the call on the left since he hasn’t played for us since the first Toulouse match, Mascherano in the middle paired with a slight surprise in Leiva, and I wish we had Paul Anderson, but I suspect Pennant will be on the right despite going 90 against Sunderland on Saturday. Up front, the well rested Kuyt and Crouch will have to suffice. The bench will probably have a couple of surprises as I can see Insua there along with Finnan, Pennant, Sissoko, Alonso, Voronin, and Itandje.

I can definitely see Rafa going a little selection crazy in this one, being at home and all, but then again, no one knows what he’ll do. Once again, I would love to see Sebastian Leto on the left, but I’m not sure if he’s legally able to play yet. Also I wouldn’t be surprised to see Babel start on the left, even though he appeared to limp off the field against Sunderland, and Benayoun on the right, who I’m sure will play no matter what. I really wish Harry Kewell was good to go.

So here’s my final guess:
Reina
Riise
Agger
Hyypia
Arbeloa
Babel
Mascherano
Leiva
Benayoun
Kuyt
Crouch

Bench:
Finnan
Insua
Alonso
Sissoko
Voronin
Pennant
Itandje

Before I get the ingenuous comments about how Leiva won’t start, no shit sherlock, this is just a guess and it’s more what I’d like to see then what I truly think who Rafa will play. I, for one, am a bit tired of seeing the boring line-ups that Benitez has put out lately, seems a bit safe. We are clearly more talented than all our opponents so far and with Mascherano out there today, there should be little to worry about.

Subs:
Itandje
Agger
Riise
Kuyt
Mascherano

No real surprises except for maybe Hyypia for Agger. I sort of expect Agger to come in for the second half. I wasn’t sure how much Voronin played on Wednesday for the Ukraine, but I did think he would be somewhere on the team today. It’s his and Babel’s first Premiership starts. I really hope Xabi steps up today, he hasn’t looked all that great lately. Anyhow, cheers.

That leaves only one position, beside Carra at centre back, and being that both Hyypia and Agger played the full 90 for their respective countries, the younger Agger will probably be called on to start. I can’t see him doing something crazy like giving Paletta the start this early in the season away from home.

What I would really love is to see is Leto start on the left, but I’m not sure if he legally can play for us yet. Also, it would be nice to have Kewell fit as well, but if he’s not ready to go, there’s no reason to rush him. Ultimately, I think Rafa will put the most rested, best available team regardless of the match-ups. We should be superior at all positions anyhow. Anyhow, here’s how I see it:

Reina
Arbeloa
Carragher
Agger
Finnan
Babel
Alonso
Sissoko
Pennant
Kuyt
Torres

Bench:
Itandje
Riise
Mascherano
Voronin
Crouch

I don’t think we’ll have much trouble with Sunderland, even though it is away from home, but you never know. As long as we keep up our aura of not undermining our opponents as we have this season, we should be fine. Cheers.

K – Pepe Reina
LB – Alvaro Arbeloa
CB – Jamie Carragher
CB – Daniel Agger
RB – Steve Finnan
LM – John Arne Riise
CM – Xabi Alonso
CM – Javier Mascherano
RM – Jermaine Pennant
F – Dirk Kuyt
F – Fernando Torres

Bench
Charles Itandje
Sammi Hyypia
Momo Sissoko
Yossi Benayoun
Steven Gerrard

Nothing out of the ordinary. I don’t see Babel on the bench over Benayoun, since the latter has experience against Chelsea. Also Yossi can play forward if something were to happen to Kuyt or Torres, which is why I left Voronin off. Rob Styles will be the ref, he called the Chelsea game at Anfield last year.

* With Finnan being called up for Ireland and Agger always a mainstay with Denmark, it looks as if the right side of our backline will be facing off next week when their two countries play a friendly on Wednesday. As much as I loathe international play, I’ll probably make an effort to catch this match.

* It sounds as if McClown is suggesting Crouch go elsewhere if he wants a regular spot on the England squad. Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing el giraffe leave, but the England skipper has a lot of nerve threatening a player who has been an epiphany for his country for the past year and a half. Especially when you consider the options McClown has up front. Should Dean Ashton leave West Ham with Bellamy and Zamora there? What a moron. If anything McClown should embrace Rafa’s not-so-extraordinary rotation policy, as it will keep Crouch fresh whenever he may need him. Muppet.

* Finally, Rafa has added 17-year-old Bulgarian keeper Peter Gulacsi from MTK to his ever growing collection of net-minders. Okay, time to flush that name down the memory hole. I wonder what the odds are for who will be are regular keeper five years from now. Here’s my guess: Reina 3/2, Carson 5/1, Bouzanis 8/1, Martin 10/1, Mihaylov 10/1, Hansen 25/1, Itandje 50/1, Mimms 100/1, & Oldfield 125/1. Is Carson a sucker bet?

Subs:

Itandje
Agger
Riise
Torres
Alonso
Kuyt
Sissoko

Good to see Mascherano out there. The only surprise for me is Hyypia over Agger, hopefully that won’t hurt us with the lack of pace back there. We do have Masche to curb that though, if it gets out of hand. Looks like we’re going to try and end this round today.

If he doesn’t bring any of the aforementioned, I expect the line-up to go something like this:

GK – Charles Itandje – since the Frenchman is somewhat familiar with Toulouse, I think he’ll get his debut here. His experience against the French side, the first time Liverpool has ever faced them in European play, might be invaluable.

LB – John Arne Riise – Riise also has some experience in the French Ligue as he played for AS Monaco some seven years ago

CB – Sammi Hyypia – Carrragher needs a break after being all over the field against Villa

CB – Daniel Agger – no one else to play, despite us possibly needing him to contain Drogba come Sunday. He’s young.

RB – Alvaro Arbeloa – gives Finnan a break for the Chelsea match

LM – Ryan Babel – It’s either him or Yossi, here and on the right

CM – Steven Gerrard – will start when fit

CM – Javier Mascherano – vital in containing opponents in away matches, not sure about his fitness though

RM – Yossi Benayoun – might start on the left

F – Andriy Voronin – relatively fresh after only playing fifteen or so against Villa

F – Peter Crouch – Europe is his forte

Bench:
Pepe Reina
Jamie Carragher
Steve Finnan
Xabi Alonso
Momo Sissoko
Dirk Kuyt
Fernando Torres

We might see Sissoko instead of Mascherano as I’m not sure Javier made the trip or not. I would love to see Insua get the start on the left, just to give Riise a rest, but I’m not sure how realistic that would be. When we get Leto eligible and Kewell back, then the real squad selection issues will begin.

The match is 1030 EST. Cheers.