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.

P.S. I liked Carra’s coat. Very Back to the Future.

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

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.

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.

Alvaro Arbeloa B-
He was seemingly all over the place when he was playing left-back, but showed the awareness to be where he needed to be, when needed. When he had to switch to centre back, he really showed his class with a more disciplined performance. With his versatility, he’s the only reason at the moment that I’m not too worried about our backline.

Jamie Carragher C
Eh, nothing spectacular, but nor was such a performance needed. He showed up and did his job.

Daniel Agger C-
There seems to be something bothering him as he has yet to put in a good performance this season. I really hope he’s not hiding an injury or letting personal issues affect his output on the pitch. Some of his decisions, clearance and passing-wise, were a bit questionable, though he does still seem to have that uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time.

Steve Finnan C+
The thing that always surprises me about Finney is his pace. For a 31-year-old, he not only appears to have not lost a step, but seems even faster than last year. Another flawless performance for the right back.

Ryan Babel C+
I’m sure we’ll see better performances from the 20-year-old, as this one was far from great, but if there’s one thing he showed once again is that he’s a force to be reckoned with. His pace, dribbling, passing, and vision are only going to get better and that should scare the living bejesus out of our opponents. His decisions on the ball should get better as well and I really don’t understand so-called fellow ‘fans’ are slagging off on him already, he’s only 20 and if he hasn’t shown you his potential yet, you should really think about getting your eyes checked.

Momo Sissoko B
After watching this match at least twice more, I’ve come to the conclusion that Momo truly does deserve the Man of the Match. Besides the terrific goal, he was calm, cool, and collective, made less reckless tackles, and was everywhere being the best menace to Sunderland as he could be. People tend to forget Momo is only 22 and has his best days ahead of him… now that’s just scary.

Xabi Alonso C-
I’m beginning to think that I expect too much out of Xabi. Though not really that bad in this match, he did have a few nice moments, for the most part he was useless. When Gerrard is out, it’s Xabi’s opportunity to shine, something he failed to do here.

Jermaine Pennant B-
When JP wants to take over, JP takes over, I just wish we’d see it more often. If he can draw two and three defenders on his runs down the right every time, it’ll open up tons of space for everyone else. A couple of his crazy-legged dribbles down the flank were just spectacular and I would really love to see him take a shot once in a while, other than that, a solid performance.

Andriy Voronin B-
His presence and awareness on the pitch are invaluable. His experience really shone through in this match as he set up Momo’s goal and scored another. I hope Kuyt is taking notes on how, even when he loses the ball, he commands respect from the defense by being a constant threat and using his strength to push opponents around. Dirk might have lost his number two status in that match. His finishing and decisions on the ball though left a little to be desired.

Fernando Torres C+
If only he finished just one of his opportunities, he’d easily been Man of the Match. I can’t wait for a club to not show him the kind of respect he commands, it’s going to be a long day for them. The way we just threw the ball his way, had him go after it and have him win it so many times was really encouraging. The kid is class personified. Still, he’s going to have to improve his finishing, but other than that I don’t see much to complain about.

I don’t see the point in grading any of the subs nor Hyypia since they didn’t get much time nor really contribute.

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.

Let’s see, Beckham? Check. Terry? Check. Lampard? Check, and might I add that his goal was impressive yet he seemed to relatively disappear after that. I guess Fatty Frank also heard that the food at the New Wembley is pretty good and seeing how overpaid he is, in his price range. It was quite evident that this team lacked the kind of world class ability that scousers Gerrard and Rooney would have provided. At times it seemed they couldn’t put a meat pie in Fat Frank’s mouth using their hands, yet alone put the ball in the back of the net.

In other Liverpool players International action, despite praise from the official site, Riise did not have a great game for Norway against Javier Mascherano and the Albicelestes. In fact, Riise won a very questionable penalty from his fellow teammate by basically diving in the box after Javi kicked the ball away from him and he had no chance of making a play. Mascherano, on the other hand, was quite impressive at times, including a lot of fancy footwork against the Norwegians.

The only Liverpool player to score on the day was Dirk Kuyt, who came on for Holland in the second half and scored the only goal for his country in their 1-2 loss at Switzerland. Ryan Babel also played in this match.

All 15 called-up except Scott Carson (how ironic is that?) LFC players played some minutes for his country with Pepe Reina, Sammi Hyypia, and Daniel Agger playing full matches. Why Daniel Agger played the full 90 is a mystery to me, his team lost at home 4-0 to Steve Finnan and the Irish. Seems to me a manager would take out his star players as not to risk injury, especially after his side went down 3-0 in the 54th minute. With Agger and Hyypia now fatigued, who are we going to start alongside Jamie Carragher at centre back on Saturday at Sunderland? Arbeloa?

Anyhow, overall not a good day for our internationals and a boring day at that. Hopefully the boys will take out their frustrations on the Black Cats. Cheers.

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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.