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.

That’s not to say we didn’t make mistakes, because we did, but once we felt they were wounded, we pounced on them like a pack of wolves on a limping sheep. I would have to say Hyypia’s goal in the opening minutes of the first half was probably where Toulouse started thinking about waving the white flag, because after that our boys started salivating.

I’m still going to stick with Arbeloa as Man of the Match, though I feel Kuyt will probably get the accolade on the official site. Arbeloa put on a flawless performance and was not only superb defensively, but he was a catalyst a lot of the times on the attack. Kuyt definitely deserves recognition for his two goal and one assist performance. I was especially happy to see him get the first one as he seemed to have the luck of a leper beforehand. It was a nice one-two with Babel, whom he’s appeared to have formed a nice attacking relationship. The second in the 75th minute on a through ball from Benayoun was just icing on the cake.

Leto failed to put in a memorable performance as he needs to exert himself more on attack if he wants a regular spot at least for cup ties. Babel was a great example as he came more inside instead of sitting out on the flank and pretty much forced them to give him the ball. Leto has to learn to do this and command the ball more as he seemed content with not being much of a gear in the attack engine. Leiva came on as a sub as well and was pretty solid on both ends. He almost scored on a put back right outside the box which would have been almost too magical for the Brazilian wonder kid.

As for the rest of the squad, Hyypia really stepped it up in the second half. I’m sure his class header goal had something to do with it, but he seemed rejuvenated and ran up and down the field like a young fawn after. Everybody else put in solid performances, though Sissoko and Agger started to look a little ragged and hence, were substituted. I’m going to say something here that you may never read again and say Crouch played good as well. There I said it, though he should have probably had at least another goal. The big difference between this performance and past ones was he didn’t hold on to the ball as long as he has in the past. Go figure.

Yossi probably deserves some special recognition as well as his effort was tireless and he assisted on Hyypia’s header goal and Kuyt’s second. For a guy who was said to have complained about lack of playing time, he certainly showed he should be playing more. After today, I’m sure Benitez will at least think about using him more in League play, but there are just so many spots.

The best part about this match is that our defense didn’t have to over exert itself though that didn’t appear to stop Arbeloa, who I suspect might get a rest for Derby County on Saturday. I still think we need to sign either a right or centre back though. We’ll also have Pennant, Alonso, Voronin, Torres, and a relatively fresh Babel, Finnan, and Lucas Leiva, if needs be. Still this was a solid thrashing and should give all our boys even more confidence as we head into the group stages.

The most impressive aspect is how we’ve seemed to figure out our attack so quickly. It’s been concentrated mainly on the right side, through Benayoun and Arbeloa, and after figuring out early on that we need to space out more, our ball movement has been dare I say beautiful? The only thing I think we lack is figuring out what to do once we get down near their box. It seems like neither Sissoko nor Mascherano want to come forward at times and this lack of anchor is quite evident.

If I had to pick a man of the match for the first half, I’d go with Arbeloa. He’s been outstanding bringing the ball up, providing back-up for Benayoun, and being everywhere defensively, even if that means coming across the pitch to stop a potential goal for Toulouse. Mascherano and Sissoko have been solid as well, even if they can’t decided on who should go forward at times.

Up front, Kuyt has been great and should probably have at least one goal to go with his assist to Crouch. Speaking of Crouch, seems like he’s been reading my criticisms of him as he has only touched the ball more than three times on four occasions resulting in only two turnovers so far. He should also have another goal as both Benayoun and Leto have hooked him up with seemingly easy headers, which he botched both times. The goal was grand though.

Leto has had a very up-and-down debut. Early on he showed his class by taking it two defenders, beating them and then seemingly running out of options. Since then it seems the Toulouse defenders have figured him out and have given him space to make mistakes on his own. It also appears that his teammates haven’t really developed much of a trust in him as the ball is primarily being brought up on the right. Hopefully they’ll give him more chances to prove himself in the second.

Agger seems to have captured a little of his lost form as early on he made a stunningly skilled weave through the defense, though I would have liked him to shoot the ball in that situation instead of passing it.

I think what has made this match exciting is how tired our defense seems to be at times and have been caught off guard, but for the most part Toulouse has had little chance to capitalize as we seem to regain our composure at just the right moment. Anyhow, I sort of expect a less exciting second as it looks as if Rafa told everyone to calm down toward the end of the first.

The ref has been a wanker by the way, but what else is new? He must feel sorry for them, because he’s letting them get away with bloody murder.

Here’s the line-up:
Reina
Riise
Hyypia
Agger
Arbeloa
Leto
Sissoko
Mascherano
Benayoun
Kuyt
Crouch

Subs:
Itandje
Finnan
Torres
Alonso
Pennant
Babel
Lucas

I hope Mascherano will be on attack and Sissoko will sit back, but it really depends if Momo is tired or not. Leto and Benayoun will really have to step up on bringing the ball if we are going to score here. Agger needs to also play better than he has recently. I’m hoping we get to see Leiva come in for Sissoko at the half. Anyhow, here’s to at least an entertaining match and to Rafa for finally showing some balls and experimenting a little.

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.

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.

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.

In a not-so-big surprise, we’ve sent Scott Carson out on loan to Aston Villa for somewhere around £2m apparently with an option for them to buy him at the end of next season for an additional £10.5m. Rafa has stated on numerous occasions that Carson is not for sale and at a total of around £13m, I doubt Villa will be looking to keep him.

To replace our resident super model and future England numero uno, we’ve plucked Charles Itandje from Lens of Ligue 1. All I know about him is that he has funky little dance for penalties. If I can find a video I’ll post it, but my searches have come up futile to this point. I’m still not sure we needed him, but it’s always nice to have five or six decent keeps around. Expect him to get a start as early as next week in the first leg of our Champions’ League qualifying ties with Toulouse.

Finally, Sebastian Leto is now an official member of the club, though has yet to gain international clearance and therefore will be ineligible to play in any official matches until then. I personally think he’s a very promising prospect and our future left winger. The fact that this deal has been officially completed and that he’s been given a number, 33, makes me believe that it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s approved. Cheers.