Xabi Alonso will hold talks with Rafael Benitez today to clarify his future at Liverpool – as Alvaro Arbeloa edged towards the exit door.
Alonso and Arbeloa return to training at Melwood today along with fellow Euro 2008 winners Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina.
And Alonso is expected to waste no time in asking Benitez whether he remains part of the manager's long-term plans.

Robbie's brace, Arbeloa knows where the net is, Carra still gets away with fouls and Rafa almost slipped at the sideline again

It was business as usual for our men in Red, as they wrapped up this late-kickoff match with a 3-nil victory over newly-promoted, West Brom Albion.

Steve Finnan has revealed that Liverpool's Spanish players convinced him to come to Espanyol.
The Republic of Ireland international made the switch to Espanyol on deadline day as Albert Riera travelled in the opposite direction to Anfield.
Finnan admitted last week that the transfer had come 'out of the blue' but he decided it would be a good move after speaking to the likes of Jose Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso.

Rafael Benitez will give his supporting cast the chance to shine tomorrow in Liverpool's first pre-season friendly.
They travel across the Mersey to face neighbours Tranmere in a 15,000 sell-out match at Prenton Park.
Benitez cannot call on his Spanish contingent of Fernando Torres, Jose Reina, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa who are all still on holiday after their Euro 2008 triumph.

Liverpool showed glimpses of their resilient form, last seen during the 2006 FA cup finals against West Ham, when they came back from a 2-goal deficit, to beat Manchester City 2-3, both teams ending the game with 10-man.

Oasis's favourite football team got off to a good start when they went ahead with a goal from Stephen Ireland ,as Alvaro Arbeloa failed to clear the ball around the penalty area.

New signing Philipp Degen is facing the prospect of missing the start of Liverpool's season with a groin strain.
Degen could require surgery on the injury, sustained during the team's pre-season training camp in Switzerland last week.
The right-back, who arrived on a free transfer from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, missed much of last season with a groin problem.

Ever the professional, it seems Rafael Benitez's only concession to the notion of a pre-season friendly match is to prowl the technical area resplendent in a pair of jeans.
There is little chance of the Liverpool manager taking a similarly casual attitude to his team's preparations for the coming campaign.

Rafael Benitez has confirmed he must sell again to bring Gareth Barry to Liverpool after completing the £20.3million signing of Robbie Keane.
The Reds manager insists that is what he aims to do, but he has no intention of selling Spain international Alvaro Arbeloa.
Liverpool are believed to have had a £7million bid from Sevilla for the 25-year-old, but Benitez has made it clear the player is going nowhere, despite speculation defender Arbeloa wants to return to Spain for personal reasons.

Here are the top 25 performers in the English Premier League this season, according to the Actim Index:

1 Gabriel Agbonlahor - Aston Villa - 136
2 Frank Lampard - Chelsea - 135
3 John Carew - Aston Villa - 126
4 Neves Denilson - Arsenal - 124
5 Jermain Defoe - Portsmouth - 119
6 Shaun Wright-Phillips - Man City - 112
7 Deco - Chelsea - 109
8 Lucas Neill - West Ham - 108
9 Ashley Young - Aston Villa - 106
10 Dirk Kuyt - Liverpool - 105
11 Kevin Davies - Bolton - 102
12 Matthew Etherington - West Ham - 101
13 Amr Zaki - Wigan - 99
14 Gareth Barry - Aston Villa - 98
15 Emmanuel Adebayor - Arsenal - 95
16 Peter Crouch - Portsmouth - 95
17 Scott Parker - West Ham - 93
18 Jose Reina - Liverpool - 92
19 Nigel Reo-Coker - Aston Villa - 92
20 Jose Bosingwa - Chelsea - 90
21 Petr Cech - Chelsea - 90
22 Valon Behrami - West Ham - 89
23 Ayegbeni Yakubu - Everton - 89
24 Martin Laursen - Aston Villa - 87
25 Alvaro Arbeloa - Liverpool - 86

According to the Premier League website, "Actim Stats are a collection of team, player and match statistics.

On the first anniversary of the day Fernando Torres arrived at Anfield in a record-breaking £28million deal, manager Rafael Benitez has hailed the potential of a player who cost the club nothing.
Defender Philipp Degen has been signed on a Bosman deal from Borussia Dortmund and met his new team-mates at Melwood for the first time yesterday.

Rafael Benitez will parade new £20.3million signing Robbie Keane this morning before turning his attention to trying to secure Gareth Barry's transfer.
The Liverpool boss last night completed Keane's move from Spurs on a four-year contract worth £80,000 a week to the Republic of Ireland international.

One player who's been the least affected by Rafael Benitez's perceived rotation policy is Alvaro Arbeloa, with the Spaniard featuring regularly for the Reds in the early part of the season before succumbing to injury. The versatile defender made his international debut during the week, although he may incur his club manager's wrath according to [.

So far in Euro 2008, Anfield's interest in the Spanish team's fortunes has been centered around Fernando Torres.
Liverpool's top scorer has made a goal, scored a goal, been substituted prematurely, denied falling out with his coach and denied that he's about to join Chelsea for a world record fee.

The Cristiano Ronaldo saga has another player - Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa. The 25-year-old Spaniard had some fun when asked about the Manchester United star, saying the he hoped the winger would leave Old Trafford for Real Madrid. I would...

Liverpool have finalised the move of Philip Degen from Borussia Dortmund but have lost Harry Kewell to Turkish outfit Galatasary. Long time reserve member Anthony Le Tallec has also completed a move away from Anfield to Le Mans while The Reds look to snatch up Gareth Barry and Andrea Dossena over the next few days.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has revealed he is happy with the club's pre-season preparations so far.
The club kicked off their pre-season with wins against Tranmere and FC Lucerne, matches which saw a number of fringe players given the chance to impress the boss.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.

Liverpool's Spanish contingent will be back in training at Melwood on Friday after their successful Euro 2008 campaign.
Fernando Torres, Pepe Reina, Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa helped their country claim European Championship glory this summer, and were granted extended leave in order to recover from the tournament.

Andriy Voronin had a second-half penalty saved but Liverpool maintained their unbeaten record so far in pre-season with a draw against Hertha Berlin.
In front of 51,641 fans in Berlin's Olympic Stadium, Liverpool's starting line-up included just three players who could consider themselves first choice come the start of the season.

Andriy Voronin scored at the death to give Liverpool a 1-0 win over SS Lazio at Anfield in their last pre-season friendly.
The kick-off of Liverpool's pre-season friendly against Lazio tonight was delayed until 20:15 because of ticketing problems.
New signings Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena were making their Anfield debuts against Lazio, with Pepe Reina and Damien Plessis returning to the starting XI in place of Diego Cavalieri and injured captain Steven Gerrard.

Big controversy in the weekend's big Prem game. Emmanuel Adebayor, sitting on a yellow, lazily flailed his arm (6:40 above), which graced Alvaro Arebloa, who then reacted as though he'd been kicked in the face by Jet Li - or knifed, as is Emmanuel's interpretation. Cue second yellow/red card and thus a bit of controversy.

Fernando Torres has handed Liverpool an injury boost by returning to training.
The club's top scorer missed last weekend's draw at Chelsea after suffering a hamstring injury while on international duty with Spain.
Reds boss Rafa Benitez has declared Torres fit to face Internazionale in the Uefa Champions League next week and he is considering using him in this weekend's FA Cup tie with Barnsley.

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez will give the club's Spanish contingent an extended holiday after their efforts at EURO 2008.
Reds striker Fernando Torres was the hero for Spain on Sunday, his first-half strike against Germany leading La Furia Roja to their second European Championship crown.

Tottenham Hotspur forward Robbie Keane is set to complete a transfer to Liverpool within the next 48 hours after it emerged that the Republic of Ireland captain had been left out of the north Londoners' 19-man squad that played a friendly at Hercules in Alicante last night.
Keane is expected to put pen to paper on a £18 million deal over the weekend, despite his employers at White Hart Lane having lodged a formal complaint with the Premier League over Liverpool's conduct in this whole affair, although Spurs themselves made no comment before the fixture kicked off regarding their captain's subsequent absence from the team line-up.

Robbie Keane missed the best chance of the night on his Liverpool debut, just 24 hours after his £20million move to Anfield.
Keane played the first half of the friendly in Castellon, Spain, where his appearance was upstaged by the heroes' reception for the members of the Euro 2008 winners.

Aston Villa have signed England right-back Luke Young from Middlesbrough, who reportedly want Liverpool's Steve Finnan as his replacement.
Young, 29, completed a medical on Thursday evening before becoming the second new full-back to arrive at Villa Park following the capture of Nicky Shorey from Reading earlier in the day.

A draw would have been enough, so a win is quite and added bonus. Liverpool played well trying to exploit the gaps left as Marseilles pressed forward but the tiredness from last Saturday showed. Marseilles, on their part, were very good and had they scored an equalizer no one would have complained. Their attacking play was full of inventiveness and nice flicks but, fortunately for us, they were unable to get that final touch right.

SAMI HYYPIA today admitted his shock and dismay at being dropped from the Reds Champions League squad until the New Year at least – but hopes he still has a significant part to play in Liverpool's plans this season.
New UEFA regulations mean that eight players from every club's 25-man Champions League squad must be home grown.

Liverpool defender Alvaro Arbeloa is eager to set the record straight against Manchester United on Saturday.
It is almost seven years since Liverpool defeated United in the league on Merseyside, meaning Arbeloa - who joined the Reds in January 2007 - has yet to take three points from the champions.

Manchester City 2 - 3 Liverpool
Much like their match against Chelsea, Man City came out swinging and took an early lead against Liverpool. Steven Ireland capitalized when Liverpool defenders could not clear the box, slamming the ball into the back of the net. In the 41st minute, Javier Garrido curled a perfect free kick into the top corner of the goal to give the home side a 2-0 half-time lead.

Soccerword's Premiership Team of the Week - 12

We're going with a 4-3-3 formation for this week's team:

Goalkeeper: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton)

Defenders: Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea), Rafael (Man United), Jolean Lescott (Everton), Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool)

Midfielders: Samir Nasri (Arsenal), Matthew Taylor (Bolton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea)

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Robbie Keane (Spurs), Louis Saha (Everton)