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.

* Steve McClown refuses to give up on trying to lure Carra back to the England squad and visited the Liverpool camp earlier this week to speak with him. I for one am hoping Carra stays adamant about retiring from international play, especially since he’ll probably only be used for the August 22nd Germany friendly anyhow. Sol Campbell wants to play and there’s always Wes Brown (ha ha ha), so McClown can go piss off.

* Rafa has warned agents not to interfere with his squad by telling their players that going elsewhere would benefit them more. If you want to read an interesting article about how much rubbish the reaction to Rafa’s rotation policy actually is, Paul Tomkins wrote an interesting article about it on the official site. He compares the rotating and tinkering of Benitez with Sir Alex and Mourinho and comes up with some surprising conclusions. Turns out, they do it just as much, but for some reason don’t get the same negative feedback from the press, pundits, and fans. I’m personally am no longer going to bash it especially since I enjoy seeing the variety of talent and ability that we have on our squad.