RSS
ATOM
advertisement
Liverpool Must Win Crunch Champions League Tie Against Debrecen Without Injured Fernando Torres
Rafa Benitez and his medical staff not willing to risk 'El Nino' in Europe…
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
Nov 23, 2009 12:48:16 PM
Liverpool travelled to Hungary today for this week's make-or-break Champions League tie with Debrecen without star striker Fernando Torres.
Reds manager Rafa Benitez confirmed that the Anfield coaching staff had decided that there was little point in the Spanish international making the trip as he is still undergoing treatment on a persistent groin injury.
"We thought it'd be two or three weeks and he's only 12 or 13 days into that, so there's no point in him going," Benitez told the Reds' official website.
"The next few days will decide if he is fit for Everton, but at this moment there are no guarantees."
Liverpool go to Hungary knowing that a victory for Fiorentina over Lyon in the group's other game would see them eliminated from this season's Champions League, no matter what the result against Debrecen.
But Benitez has urged his players to focus on the task at hand and ignore events in Florence on Tuesday night.
"A lot depends on Fiorentina and Lyon, but the main thing for us is to concentrate on our game and see what happens," he explained.
"We have to prepare our game because we don't have any influence over the other one. If we can do our job and win, we'll see.
"I think we can do it. We have some players coming back from injury, so hopefully with a bit of luck we can progress.
"It's football, so you never know. We'll see if we can keep going in the Champions League."
Ryan Babel did not travel either, as he picked up a foot injury in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Saturday.
Liverpool squad v Debrecen:
Pepe Reina, Diego Cavalieri, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Emiliano Insua, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Andrea Dossena, Alberto Aquilani, Steven Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva, Jay Spearing, Dirk Kuyt, David Ngog.
Zack Wilson, Goal.com UK
Reds manager Rafa Benitez confirmed that the Anfield coaching staff had decided that there was little point in the Spanish international making the trip as he is still undergoing treatment on a persistent groin injury.
"We thought it'd be two or three weeks and he's only 12 or 13 days into that, so there's no point in him going," Benitez told the Reds' official website.
"The next few days will decide if he is fit for Everton, but at this moment there are no guarantees."
Liverpool go to Hungary knowing that a victory for Fiorentina over Lyon in the group's other game would see them eliminated from this season's Champions League, no matter what the result against Debrecen.
But Benitez has urged his players to focus on the task at hand and ignore events in Florence on Tuesday night.
"A lot depends on Fiorentina and Lyon, but the main thing for us is to concentrate on our game and see what happens," he explained.
"We have to prepare our game because we don't have any influence over the other one. If we can do our job and win, we'll see.
"I think we can do it. We have some players coming back from injury, so hopefully with a bit of luck we can progress.
"It's football, so you never know. We'll see if we can keep going in the Champions League."
Ryan Babel did not travel either, as he picked up a foot injury in the 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Saturday.
Liverpool squad v Debrecen:
Pepe Reina, Diego Cavalieri, Glen Johnson, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio, Emiliano Insua, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Andrea Dossena, Alberto Aquilani, Steven Gerrard, Yossi Benayoun, Javier Mascherano, Lucas Leiva, Jay Spearing, Dirk Kuyt, David Ngog.
Zack Wilson, Goal.com UK
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £100 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power for a free bet up to £50 |
|
Thank you for your comment!
Please enter your name
Please enter your location
Please share your comment!
17 Comments
Advertisement
Inside Goal.Com
-
Capello remains one of the greats of the game
After tasting success wherever he had gone previously, the coach will look upon his time at Wembley as an incomplete job rather than a complete failure
-
Can Suarez repeat Cantona's grand comeback?
The divisive Uruguayan can look to history when he starts against United on Saturday for the first time since receiving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra
-
Key battles: Manchester United v Liverpool
The former Reds defender believes that the Uruguayan must put controversy to the back of his mind when his team face the champions
-
The importance of Champions League qualification
The Ruhr side's remarkable run in Europe's elite tournament saw their revenue unexpectedly soar last season, but some teams are structured to depend on such results to survive
-
Cartoon: Capello's managerial merry-go-round
Goal.com cartoonist Omar Momani gives us his unique take on the football news of the day ...
Advertisement
Advertisement
