We get the Gunners in the next round of the Champions League. That’s okay with me. With the current form of the club, taking down Arsenal should be doable. I do think it will be an interesting game though. If we can shutdown Arsenal’s speed, we’ll be fine. Is this round only one leg? Friggin weird. This also keeps my hope for a Roma/Liverpool final alive.

Harry Kewell will more than likely be leaving. Rafa recently gave Kewell the thumbs up to go play for the Australian national team since he wasn’t currently in the Reds’ lineup. The hope is that Kewell will be fitter and in better form when he returns.

We play Reading this weekend. Shall crush them. That is all.

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.

And I’d like to comment first on his post from earlier today. Well-written, admittedly, but I sorta disagree with what he was saying. Pennant was only decent against Derby because it was Derby. Sami Hyypia could have hit quality crosses from the left-wing against that defence. And for England? After one game on the left? Granted – he should be in the squad, and his pace makes him a valuable asset for the Reds – as well as his vast improvement this season, but his crossing isn’t consistently good enough from the wing to be better than the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips. He may be fast, but isn’t as fast as SWP or Aaron Lennon.

Frankly, I wouldn’t have him in my Liverpool team. Possibly against the likes of Derby, whose defenders’ legs have seen many a better day, but for teams where brains are required rather than pace, Benayoun or Babel are both much better choices (Babel even has pace too). England’s Left Side? Joe Cole. He’s brilliant, never mind his lack of playing time thus far. No other questions. And as backup? Stuart Downing. Yes, he’s naturally left-sided. Yes, he’s the teacher’s pet. But yes, he is rather good actually.

But interesting points though. This is what the site is all about – debate and comment. I rather like Babel and Benayoun myself, mixed with a little of Stevie G and the Monster Masch – sounds like a rather nice midfield cocktail to me. But Rafa doesn’t like Benayoun too much, even if he was immense against Toulouse last week. Oh, and we’ve got Sissoko, Alonso, Kewell and Pennant too. I don’t seriously believe that Leiva or Leto will be regularly used this season (despite the €15 million outlay), but both look like crackers for the future.

Let us not get ahead of ourselves though. Top of the league. Fantastic, but every encounter should be treated as tricky. In the next two months, we have Portsmouth away (great atmosphere at Fratton), Everton away (tense derby), Blackburn away (always difficult at Ewood Park) Tottenham at home (good side, but possibly the easiest cos of Anfield and their lack of form) and Arsenal at home (…its Arsenal). If we pick up thirteen points (/15) from the five, as well as full points from the other encounters (Fulham, Wigan, Birmingham) – thats championship form. I will certainly have no doubts we can do it, even if now it feels to me that something has to pop up and ruin it. Like possibly Steven Gerrard’s toe falling off tomorrow.

Interestingly, Benayoun is captaining Israel tomorrow evening. He gives us his own view on the Gerrard jab, deeming him the world’s best player and says that the Israelis have little fear in going to Wembley.

Carra, oh how we love you. He says that he is desperate for the Reds to break their title duck. As are all of us.

More good news for the Reds. Stevie Finnan is set to be ruled out because of injury for Ireland’s games this week. Now he can stay in Liverpool for recuperation and should now be able to get fit and ready for Portsmouth.

“You’re ugly, but you’ll win in the end”. Just like that annoying kid in your Maths class, well thats how I’ve paraphrased Bernd Schuster’s statement. Bit early to be worried about us, is it not?

See ya on Saturday.

As for the rest of my fellow Offsiders, I know I haven’t been the nicest person at times and I apologize if I ever offended anyone. Sometimes I tend to forget it’s only football, especially with all the recent tragedies, but it’s hard not to get caught up in the drama that is the world’s greatest game. To Sam, Inara, Ian, Ian Rose, Martha, Nick, Trent, Adam, and anyone else I forgot, thanks, it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to contribute to the site alongside fans that share such a passion for not only their clubs and countries, but for the game itself. Keep up the good work and I’ll be around looking to learn new things outside of my Liverpool/EPL isolation booth.

Cheers.

P.S. To the Harry Kewell contingency, you’ve got to be kidding me. If you can’t tell that I have an unhealthy affection for King Harry, well, I can’t do anything more to prove that he’s one of my favorite players on the squad and you’re just too damn narrow-minded or lazy to take the time to realize that.

P.S.S. If anyone wants to take over this blog, let Bob know.

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.

* If you thought the transfer window was closing without a bang, you’d be sorely mistaken as the rumor of the day has former Arsenal and current Real Madrid player Julio Baptista coming to us for £13.5m. The Brazilian international, also known as ‘The Beast’, did not fair too well in league play for the Gunners last season, but did score nearly half his all-competitions total in one match at Anfield when he tallied four netters in a less-than-memorable League Cup tie. I hope this goes through for a couple of reasons. First, I’m praying this means Crouch will be sold immediately, and second, if Voronin and Torres have showed us anything, it’s that strong strikers strike more fear in the heart of the defenders than tall, weak ones. You have to respect Torres and Voronin where ever they are on the pitch, while you only have to pay attention to Crouch when he’s in and around the box. Other than then, Crouch is almost always an easy takeaway.

* If that wasn’t enough, several reports have Harry Kewell going to Real Sociedad for roughly £2.5m. The more I think about this though, the more it sounds like rubbish. Even if they doubled that offer, we still won’t be getting back all we’ve invested in King Harry over the last couple of years in medical attention. If it does happen, at any cost, I’m going to be pissed. We need Kewell’s experience and energy if we plan on winning on multiple fronts this season. Plus Sociedad is in Segunda División, which I’m sure is a place the Australian International does not want to be.

* Finally, Robbie Fowler looks to make his debut tonight for Cardiff City in their Carling Cup tie with Leyton Orient. He’ll line-up beside fellow new signing and geriatric club member, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, as they take on the O’s, who are currently undefeated in all comps. 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.

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.