Debrecen v Liverpool (Act two of a three act play)

mike65

Edge of the seat or lost down the back of the Champions League couch?

It matters not a whit what Liverpool do if Fiorentina beats Lyon. I understand the Italians are without a few of their best players and Lyon will shirley prefer to finish top but even then Debrecen still have to be beaten and I wouldn't bet on that (certainly not at the quoted odds).

The squad: 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.

jesus_thats_gre

Joys

_blank_

Easy win for Liverpool.

And I think top spot will be on Lyon's mind, rather than Liverpool.

Liverpool won't be knocked out of Europe this week.

Quint

If Liverpool somehow get out of this group I'm never watching football again :mad:

Headshot

I havent heard anything about Fiorentina injury woes but I did hear lyon have injury woes

but getting back to the liverpool game

0-1 liverpool and Gerrard the scorer

everdead.ie

I hope they get through the more games they play the better the race for fourth will be

Bobalicious93

1-2 Liverpool, after going behind early on.

Headshot

actually I found it

Fiorentina have been prolific in the Champions League so far, having scored eleven goals, the joint highest total in the group stage along with Real Madrid. But they are likely to be seriously hampered because of the unavailability of their two most influential attacking players - Adrian Mutu and Steven Jovetic. Mutu has been their top scorer in this season's Champions League with 3 goals, with Jovetic chipping in with two. Because of these injuries, Cesare Prandelli might start with Alberto Gilardino as the lone striker with Mario Santana and Marco Marchionni patrolling the wings.

As far as Lyon are concerned coach Claude Puel also has his own injury problems to contend with Mathieu Bodmer, Anthony Réveillère, Maxime Gonalons and Jérémy Toulalan are not likely to be making the trip to Florence.

concerning Fiorenina and lyon, if that match ends in a draw and liverpool win

is that a good result for liverpool ?

jesus_thats_gre

Quint wrote: »

If Liverpool somehow get out of this group I'm never watching football again :mad:

As much as I despise Man United, I wouldn't begrudge them getting through in the same circumstances. It is stuff like that that make football the best sport in the world.

jesus_thats_gre

Lyon have to win I think.

bUILDERtHEbOB

A draw would be okay, but that'd mean we'd have to beat Fiorentina 3 at Anfield, or if we beat Debrecen by 6 a 2 goal win would suffice.

kippy

bUILDERtHEbOB wrote: »

A draw would be okay, but that'd mean we'd have to beat Fiorentina 3 at Anfield, or if we beat Debrecen by 6 a 2 goal win would suffice.

Can ye loan in Defoe and Lennon for the match?

Honestly, its not at all outside the realms of possibility that Lyon beat Fiorentina and give Liverpool a very real lifeline.

blackbetty69

if lyon beat fiorentina, im thinkin an olympiakos-type finale to our journey through the group stages!:) with mutu and that other fella out for them, i have full hope lyon will do the business

NukaCola

Headshot wrote: »

0-1 liverpool and Gerrard the scorer

Bobalicious93 wrote: »

1-2 Liverpool, after going behind early on.

:eek:
Liverpool will win by at 2/3 EASY!!
C'MON THE REDS

All the papers talking about relying on Lyon etc etc but we have to win first!!

The way we are playing I think we will struggle tbh especially without Torres.

I win in 10 isn't good reading, hopefully we can put that right tonight. We need Gerrard to have a big game and our shocking defence to sort itself out.

Boggles

Score draw.

gucci

You live in eternal hope sometimes as a football supporter, even more so as a LFC supporter. I think they will win tonight, but not keep a clean sheet, and be made sweat on occasion. Hopefully Johnson gets a start, although I am unsure as to what combination of personnel at the back will give us the strongest footing.
But I think it will be too little too late, can't see Fiorentina failing to get enough from the remaining two games to go through. But we will wait and see!!

Arnold Layne

Headshot wrote: »

I havent heard anything about Fiorentina injury woes but I did hear lyon have injury woes

but getting back to the liverpool game

0-1 liverpool and Gerrard the scorer

He'll do one of his glorious dives like he did against Athletico Madrid last year.

Headshot

Arnold Layne wrote: »

He'll do one of his glorious dives like he did against Athletico Madrid last year.

Was there any need for that?

mike65

Arnold Layne liked to dress up in womens clothing you know.

slingerz

Aqualini to make his starting debut tonight I think. I'd keep Johnson in reserve for the derby match. Think Lyon can get something from Florence, without Jovetic I think Fiorentina's attacking threat will be severely blunted. My Liverpool team would be:

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Kryakios aurelio
Mascherano Aquilani
Kuyt Gerrard Yossi
N'gog

cavalieri, insua, agger,johnson, lucas, babel,dossena

slingerz

mike65 wrote: »

Edge of the seat or lost down the back of the Champions League couch?

It matters not a whit what Liverpool do if Fiorentina beats Lyon. I understand the Italians are without a few of their best players and Lyon will shirley prefer to finish top but even then Debrecen still have to be beaten and I wouldn't bet on that (certainly not at the quoted odds).

The squad: 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.

only 2 strikers in that squad and one of them is more a right winger now

yikes!

_blank_

slingerz wrote: »

My Liverpool team would be:

Reina

Carragher Skrtel Kryakios aurelio
Mascherano Aquilani
Kuyt Gerrard Yossi
N'gog

cavalieri, insua, agger,johnson, lucas, babel,dossena

If Johnson is fit to be on the bench, he should start, and Carragher play at CH instead of Kyrgiakos

Kiith

Debrecen 0 - 3 Liverpool
Fiorentina 2 - 1 Lyon

daveyboy_1ie

One thing you can always say about Rafa is when he needs to produce results he does, some say he is lucky or gifted in that respect 9depedning on how you view him), but you cannot deny that when he has simply HAD to win he does and noone can take that record from him.

Debrecen are also a useless team with no points on the board and won't expect anything from tonight. The twist is in italy, and how Lyon will play. seeing as they are through already may or may not influence their team selections. My guess is they will want to win the game and play to goal and not get beaten. They will want to win the group as historically it helps with who you get the next round. A draw means it will go down to the last game, thats my prediction anyway.

'Pool to win easily and a score draw in Italy.

kippy

daveyboy_1ie wrote: »

One thing you can always say about Rafa is when he needs to produce results he does,

Thats one thing that you cant say about Rafa to be fair.
How many games in the past three weeks have been "must win"?

Holsten

There will be no clean sheet, perhaps a 2-1 to Liverpool.

If they lost it would not surprise me at all.

flahavaj

Handy win for Liverpool tonight, can't see them dropping points, even in their current run of form.

I'd say 0-3 at the very least.

Oliver1985

Fingers crossed things go are way!!! Come on the reds!

flahavaj

flahavaj wrote: »

Handy win for Liverpool tonight, can't see them dropping points, even in their current run of form.

I'd say 0-3 at the very least.

You obviously haven't watched Liverpool much recently.

SlickRic

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

Lyon have to win I think.

i don't think so.

i think if it's a draw, we then have to beat fiorentina by 3 goals at anfield.

if we win tonight of course.

that's how i understood it.

noodler

flahavaj wrote: »

Handy win for Liverpool tonight, can't see them dropping points, even in their current run of form.

I'd say 0-3 at the very least.

I don't know how you arrived at that conclusion either!

1967

Think they will win tonight but think we will be playing europa league football and 3 o clock kick offs on a sunday.

mayordenis

SlickRic wrote: »

i don't think so.

i think if it's a draw, we then have to beat fiorentina by 3 goals at anfield.

if we win tonight of course.

that's how i understood it.

That's correct

assuming we win it's

Fiorentina win we're out
Fiorentina draw we have to win by 3 against them next week
Fiorentina lose we have to beat them - any scoreline is fine.

Headshot

Draw / Liverpool 3/1 looks good

Headshot

a **** it anyway

just realised that tv3 have the liverpool game, no bloody Emao rant

sky it is I suppose

mike65

I'll be squinting at an interweb image

MementoMori

Just an update on what the injury situation was from yesterday below and a detailed confirmation of the action qualification status ins-and-outs.

Would like to see

---

Pepe

---

--Johnson--Carra--Agger--Insua--

---

Aquilani---Masch

---

--Kuyt

---

Gerrard----Benayoun--

---

N'gog

---

Could see Benayoun being replaced by Aurelio or even Dossena, as we would already have Johnson, Aquilani, Agger and Gerrard who would have question marks over fitness.

Also think it would be a good game for Aquilani to start as I would expect us to have a fair amount of the ball. If he's only got 60 mins in him then Lucas or Spearing are on the bench to replace him.

Would be nice if we could use this game as a bit of a marketing boost to increase the fanbase in Hungary given the success of the link up with MTK so far.

INJURY LATEST FROM HUNGARY

Jimmy Rice in Budapest 23 November 2009

Rafa Benitez is confident both Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger can play key roles for Liverpool in Debrecen despite injury concerns over the weekend.
Johnson was set to play against Man City on Saturday until tests on the morning of the game revealed he was not 100 per cent.

Agger did start but departed on a stretcher following a clash of heads which left him needing five stitches.

Both are in the 18-man squad for Tuesday's Group E clash, and Benitez told his pre-match press conference: "If we decided to bring them here it's because we think they can play. We will train (on Monday night) and then we'll see.

"You know that for us it's important now to have players coming back from injury. You talk sometimes about players being available but not ready, but at least if they are training we have more options."

Another player present and correct on the plane to Hungary was Steven Gerrard following a groin problem.

He played his first full 90 minutes since October 4 on Saturday and Benitez is hopeful any injury troubles are now behind the England man.

"He was tired the other day but it was a difficult game," said the boss.

"When you are more or less three weeks without training with the team, to play 90 minutes is not easy. He was a little bit tired but I think he will be okay for Tuesday."

On when Liverpool fans can expect to see Fernando Torres in action again, Benitez added: "He is improving. We were talking before about three weeks. He still needs time but he's working with the fitness coach and physios every day. We cannot put a deadline on it but he's doing well."


Journalists from around the world were present as Benitez gave his pre-match thoughts. An Italian reporter wanted to know if summer signing Alberto Aquilani would feature in Hungary.

The gaffer said: "Aquilani is in the squad so he can play. It depends. The team has some players in his position now - Gerrard coming back and the two midfielders (Lucas and Mascherano) doing well, but he'll have his chances.
"We want him as soon as possible but we have to manage with the squad."

The Hungarian press pack were also out in force, with one journalist asking why their young goalkeeping hope Peter Gulacsi was not in the squad.

Benitez said: "We are really pleased with him. He's a fantastic keeper and a really good lad. He's doing really well but we have a second keeper in Diego Cavalieri and I'm also very happy with him.

"But we are pleased with all the players we've got from MTK Hungaria."

WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN TONIGHT
Paul Eaton 24 November 2009

As Liverpool fans gather in Budapest for tonight's clash with Debrecen, it's worth recapping the possible permutations as the Reds bid to keep their Champions League hopes alive for this season.
Liverpool go into the clash in the Hungarian capital knowing their European fate for this season is not in their own hands.

For the Reds to stand any chance of progressing to the knock-out stages of the competition they have to beat Debrecen. Any other result and Liverpool will be out of the Champions League.

If Rafael Benitez's men collect all three points in Budapest then attention will quickly swing to more than 400 miles away where Fiorentina host Lyon in the other Group E encounter this evening.

If Liverpool beat Debrecen and Fiorentina beat Lyon then Liverpool are out of the competition.

If Liverpool beat Debrecen and Fiorentina draw with Lyon then Liverpool need to beat Fiorentina by a three goal margin in their final group game to progress.

If Liverpool beat Debrecen and Fiorentina lose to Lyon then Liverpool need to beat Fiorentina by any scoreline in their final group game to progress.

flahavaj

rarnes1 wrote: »

You obviously haven't watched Liverpool much recently.

You obviously didn't read the "even in their current run of form" bit.

blackbetty69

does any1 think aquaman will start?! i wudnt be too sure tbh, wud be class to see him for a ful game tho:)

Podge2k7

blackbetty69 wrote: »

does any1 think aquaman will start?! i wudnt be too sure tbh, wud be class to see him for a ful game tho:)

If he does start, i'm pretty sure that Rafa wouldn't give him the full game.

MementoMori

blackbetty69 wrote: »

does any1 think aquaman will start?! i wudnt be too sure tbh, wud be class to see him for a ful game tho:)

I'm hopeful he will start, but like Podge I couldnt see him playing the full 90 minutes.

blackbetty69

MementoMori wrote: »

I'm hopeful he will start, but like Podge I couldnt see him playing the full 90 minutes.

yeah thats true.. rafa wouldnt just throw him in like that, hel ease him in gradually over the next couple of weeks id say. if i see voronin anywhere near that pitch tonite il scream!

Morzadec

Headshot wrote: »

a **** it anyway

just realised that tv3 have the liverpool game, no bloody Emao rant

sky it is I suppose

Noooooo! Didn't know this.

Think I might put it on mute and do my own commentary

Morzadec

I really do think we should win tonight (i've been saying that a lot lately and we havn't been!). If we can't beat Debrecen in a must win game then it really is just not good enough to be honest. I dont expect it to be easy, but this team hasn't picked up a point yet. Anything other than 3 points is unacceptable to be fair.

The Fiorentina vs Lyon game is really tough to call. We really need a favour from the French and if I had to bet on it I would go for a draw as both teams won't be too disappointed with it. That should leave us with a big ask against Fiorentina but at least it would still be in our own hands and I really wouldn't rule out Liverpool by 3 goals in a big important European game in Anfield. Its doable. Most likely scenario is the Europa League but never say never.

blackbetty69

Morzadec wrote: »

I really do think we should win tonight (i've been saying that a lot lately and we havn't been!). If we can't beat Debrecen in a must win game then it really is just not good enough to be honest. I dont expect it to be easy, but this team hasn't picked up a point yet. Anything other than 3 points is unacceptable to be fair.

The Fiorentina vs Lyon game is really tough to call. We really need a favour from the French and if I had to bet on it I would go for a draw as both teams won't be too disappointed with it. That should leave us with a big ask against Fiorentina but at least it would still be in our own hands and I really wouldn't rule out Liverpool by 3 goals in a big important European game in Anfield. Its doable. Most likely scenario is the Europa League but never say never.

i have to agree with u there morzadec.. it isnt acceptable to be out of the group stage before the final game, and if we dot put in a heck of a performance tonite, a lot of questions will be asked

mike65

Formation my guess

---

Reina,
Johnson, Carra, Agger, Insua,

---

Masch, Lucas,
Kuyt

---

Gerrard--- Aurelio

---

Ngog.

Subs: Cavalieri, Spearing, Dossena, Aquilani, Benayoun, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel.

JerryHandbag

I'll go for 1-3

Spiritoftheseventies

Silver lining on the cloud. If Barcelona go out as well at least we will have something to play for in Europa League.

Podge2k7

bayviewclose wrote: »

Silver lining on the cloud. If Barcelona go out as well at least we will have something to play for in Europa League.

Are Barca struggling to get through?

mike65

They and Bayern can go out this week.