Liverpool's Weekend Test

On Wednesday, Liverpool apparently decided that they no longer felt like returning to the Champions League final, or the knock-out stage for that matter. My Reds lost to the Turkish side Besiktas to drop to the bottom of their group and put themselves squarely behind the proverbial eight ball in the qualifying group stage of the CL. To add insult to injury (from which star striker and leading goal scorer Fernando Torres has yet to recover), it was the second time in as many games that defender Sami Hyypia scored on OUR goal.

Despite those sour grapes, I am past this disappointment and looking towards our vitally important upcoming match with top-of-the-table Arsenal on Sunday. Thankfully we get them at Anfield which means this is the Scientologist's (aka Gooners, aka Gunners, aka Arsenal) first serious foray outside of London this season. Ironically, the Reds have had much better results away from Liverpool than at their home grounds making the game's location a disadvantage for both sides! The Gooners have been playing amazing football all season and though neither team have lost, Liverpool's 4 draws to Arsenal's 1 create the gap in the standings between the 2 teams.

The aforementioned Torres is listed as likely, but I doubt that he'll start. The is a strong chance that long-absent midfielder Xabi Alonso will also return to the line-up but his fitness after 5 weeks off is questionable. Both winger Jermaine Pennant and defender Daniel Agger are out for this first major test of the season.