[lfc-news] Liverpool v Blackburn

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Liverpool v Blackburn 14/10/05
http://www.soccer365.com/EUROPEAN_NEWS/Match_Previews/page_127_107077.shtml
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has put into perspective the severe
problems created by trying to chase Barclays Premiership champions Chelsea.

It is five months since the euphoria of Istanbul when Benitez guided his
side to Champions League glory, but their domestic campaign has started
with just seven points from six games.

The European Cup sits, permanently now, in Liverpool's trophy cabinet but
the Premiership crown they want above all others is still far away.

Two games in five days on the domestic and Champions League front could
well define Liverpool's season as they return to action against Blackburn
at Anfield.

They then face a vital European trip to Brussels on Wednesday and a Group G
clash with Anderlecht.

Both will have to be played without injured skipper Steven Gerrard -
recovering from a shin muscle injury while on England duty - and both
surely have to be won to lift the Anfield gloom following the mauling
Chelsea gave them a fortnight ago.

But Benitez remains defiantly upbeat, although he is honest enough to
accept that just one win all season in the league is not good enough for
Liverpool.

"Nobody in England before has had to play against a side which spends
£100million every year on players," he said. "But I'm not afraid of them.
I know we can achieve everything we want at Liverpool.

"I know we need to reduce the gap, but we played well against
Middlesbrough, Tottenham and Manchester United and could have won those
games. I feel we are at the same level as Manchester United now.

"I know we have a good team and a good squad, but I also know that we must
improve and that's what we're continuing to work towards. I believe we
should look to the future with confidence.

"The Chelsea game is gone now. When you can't change anything, all you can
do is forget about it, analyse why it happened and make the necessary
changes to ensure it doesn't happen again in the future."

Liverpool will have Mohamed Sissoko to slot into midfield as a replacement
for Gerrard, with Xabi Alonso likely to be given an advanced-midfield role
against Blackburn.

Blackburn midfielder David Bentley knows discipline is the key to his side
scoring a second away win in succession against one of their more
illustrious north-west neighbours.

Mark Hughes' side travel to Anfield with back-to-back Premiership victories
to their credit, the first of which came against Manchester United at Old
Trafford thanks to a brace from Morten Gamst Pedersen.

Many were surprised that day as Rovers - who have earned a reputation as a
physical and difficult-to-beat outfit - played expansively, opting for two
up front and a midfield featuring the attacking capabilities of Pedersen,
Bentley and Tugay.

Rovers are likely to be without Craig Bellamy from that winning line-up
because of a knee injury, but 21-year-old Bentley believes there is nothing
to be fearful of.

"Blackburn is a big club. We go to places and we think that with the
players we've got in the team we are going to win," he said. "We are going
to work hard and hopefully we have the ability to win games.

"Liverpool will be hard to break down and it is a matter of going there and
attacking them. But we won't go gung-ho, it's away from home, we have to be
disciplined."

Robbie Savage returns to the squad after serving a one-match ban, while
Shefki Kuqi, who scored both goals in the victory over West Brom, may start
if Hughes opts to play with two up front at Anfield.

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