Liverpool’s plans for their crunch match with Lyon have been thrown into disarray with up to 12 players looking likely to miss the match through injury. With only one win in their last seven games, and qualification from Champions League Group E anything but assured, the pressure is on Rafa Benitez to produce a performance to silence the critics.
There are many who cite Benitez’s European record as evidence of his success at Liverpool, challenging those who criticise him for failing to pick up an English Premier League title since arriving at Anfield in 2004. Having picked up the trophy after one of the most famous wins in the club’s history in 2005 and reached the final again in 2007, the manager is entitled to feel his record stands up to close inspection.
In the five seasons Benitez has been in charge Liverpool have only once failed to make the quarter-finals and have never failed to reach the knockout stages. Failure to win against Lyon on Wednesday night would put that record is in jeopardy, with defeat meaning the Europa League spot would be a more likely outcome for the Reds.
Liverpool currently occupy third spot in Group E, three points behind Fiorentina in second place and six behind leaders Lyon. A win for Lyon would not only put the French outfit through to the next phase but leave Liverpool’s chances hanging by a thread. If Fiorentina win at home to Debrecen and Lyon beat Liverpool, Liverpool would have to win both their remaining games, including beating Fiorentina by three goals, to have any hope of progressing. Fiorentina’s 2-0 defeat over Liverpool in Italy gives them the advantage in the head-to-head as things stand.
The task is made more difficult with the injury situation at Anfield. Talismanic midfielder Steven Gerrard is expected to miss the game with the groin problem that has kept him out of action recently. Fernando Torres was substituted again at the weekend and is not fit to play 90 minutes, while Diego Calavieri and Alberto Aquilani have flu.
Glen Johnson, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger, Fabio Aurelio and David Ngog are all major doubts with injuries that forced them to miss the last league game while Albert Riera and Martin Kelly remain sidelined. Phillip Degen is not registered as part of the 25-man Champions League squad and connot take part.
There seems to be little encouragement for a side travelling to play the team that beat them 2-1 in Liverpool but Lyon’s home record is far from spotless. They have defeated Anderlecht and Fiorentina in France this season but won only two of the eight home matches they played in the previous two campaigns.
Claude Puel’s side got back to winning ways with a 2-1 victory at St Etienne last weekend but had lost their previous two matches against Nice and Sochaux in what has been a surprisingly patchy run of form. Bordeaux have a two point lead over the big-spending side in the table and despite heavy investment the team that dominated Ligue 1 over the last few years has seen their crown slip in the last eighteen months.
Early qualification for the knockout stages would let Lyon turn their attention to domestic matters for a few weeks, while the scalp of Liverpool would be motivation enough for any side.
The game promises to be a cracker, with Liverpool determined to put a terrible run behind them and keep their European hopes alive while Lyon, always an entertaining side, look to deliver what would almost certainly be a knockout blow to their illustrious opponents. You can watch the game live on the stv.tv here.
Last updated: 02 November 2009, 15:02
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