Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has hailed the clinic that has got four of his top men fit for Saturday's crunch Premier League encounter with Manchester City.
Benitez defended the use of a controversial Serbian clinic to get Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Yossi Benayoun and Albert Riera all fit. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool have been given a boost ahead of their crucial Champions League tie with Debrecen by the news that captain Steven Gerrard should be back for the game.

The club currently sit in third place in Group E on four points and are five behind Fiorentina in second place with only two games remaining.

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Many are expecting Liverpool's Champions League fate to be decided a fortnight today but I'm convinced it will boil down to the last game against Fiorentina.
I can see Lyon getting a result in Florence and the Reds seeing off Debrecen to set things up for a Match Day Six showdown at Anfield. Click to continue reading...

Albert Riera admits Liverpool FC are suffering from a mental block as they struggle to overcome their poor run of form and a crippling injury list.
The 2-2 draw with Birmingham City on Monday means the Anfield outfit has won only one of their last nine games to fall 11 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea. Click to continue reading...

The timing could never had been better. Precisely ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, another barrier in Europe is being taken down: the wall between the strong and the weak of European football; between the Champions League and the Europa League; between the Big Four and the Little 16.

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So... to review... for Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League round of sixteen one of the following scenarios needs to occur:

1.) Liverpool beat Debrecen AND Lyon beat Fiorentina AND Liverpool beat Fiorentina.

2.) Liverpool beat Debrecen AND Lyon draw with Fiorentina AND Liverpool beat Fiorentina by at least three goals.

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While Wednesday's heartbreaking draw against Lyon didn't seal Liverpool's place in the Europa League it did put our chances on life support. Aside from needing to defeat Debrecen, Liverpool will also need some help from Lyon to keep the potential miracle alive. But what if Lyon and Fiorentina draw? Click to continue reading...

Rafael Benitez insists he does not fear for his job even though Liverpool now need a miracle to reach the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Liverpool boss had seen victory snatched from his team by Lyon, who equalised through Lisandro Lopez in the dying seconds of their Group E clash at the Stade Gerland on Wednesday night. Click to continue reading...

Goalkeeper Pepe Reina has branded Liverpool's Champions League performances this season 'disgraceful'.
The Spain international was left fuming after conceding a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw in Lyon on Wednesday night which has left the Reds' qualification from the group stages in the hands of rival teams. Click to continue reading...

They must fall. And so four games in, the Champions League contenders and pretenders have been separated fallen into place for the group stage which, a few spots aside, could've been drawn up in August by a blind chimp and his serf, a man who tans. Breaking down the likelies, unlikelies, and those who are already [. Click to continue reading...

A kick in the stomach. There's no better way to describe a game where, with a squad decimated by injuries, Liverpool went to Lyon and totally dominated. With better finishing, the contest should have been over by half time and when Ryan Babel scored, it looked as if Liverpool were going to get a much merited win. Click to continue reading...

(video gol, 1-0. Mutu)
(video gol, 1-1. Rudolf)
(video gol highlights di Fiorentina-Debrecen)
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Culminó la jornada 4 de la UEFA Champions League con muchos goles en diferentes frentes y resultados que favorecieron a equipos grandes.

Nuevamente el Rubin Kazan hizo la hombrada y sacó un empate con sabor a victoria ante el Barcelona.

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Just when you thought our season couldn't get much worse, along comes Lyon to equalise in the last couple of minutes. We're not out of the Champions League yet, but we're relying on some serious favours now.
It's a shame that Babels stunning goal didn't give us the deserved win. And apart from a couple of defensive errors, can't really fault anyones performance. Click to continue reading...

Italian side Fiorentina romped past Debrecen in this Group E encounter.

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1-0 Mutu

1-1 Rudolf

2-1 Dainelli

3-1 Montolivo

4-1 Marchionni

4-2 Coulibaly

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The bad news just keeps getting worse for Liverpool with Torres to join Steven Gerrard as a possible candidate for surgery. He has a hernia which could be cured with a long layoff of a month but if symptoms persist then surgery will be the other alternative.

Rafa has no choice but to play Torres in today's match against Lyon at the Stade de Gerland.

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Rafael Benitez is facing the very real prospect of trying to save Liverpool's European dream without Steven Gerrard.
The Liverpool boss is without his skipper at Fulham in the Premier League, and is seemingly clutching at straws that Gerrard will be available for Wednesday's Champions League trip to Lyon. Click to continue reading...

(video gol, 1-0. Czvitkovics)
(video gol highlights di Debreceni-Fiorentina)
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A seven goal thriller in Hungary as Fiorentina continued their fine form.

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1-0 Czvitkovics

1-1 Mutu

1-2 Gilardino

1-3 Mutu

2-3 Rudolf

2-4 Santana

3-4

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Liverpool and Rangers are in urgent need of victory in the UEFA Champions League, while Arsenal can extend their 100 per cent start.
Liverpool vs. Lyon: Preview
Gerrard back as Liverpool aim to avoid worst run in 22 years.
Debrecen vs. Fiorentina: Preview
Barcelona vs. Click to continue reading...

Uefa Champions League Debrecen vs AC Fiorentina : Live Stream here Debrecen - AC Fiorentina : Highlights here Pre-register at the NEW football site 11×2 today Click to continue reading...

... We're back for another Tuesday full of matches, coming from Groups E, F, G, and H. In Group E, Liverpool/Lyon is an important one for the hosts, while Stuttgart hosts Sevilla in what should be an entertaining Group G clash.
My picks are below and you know the drill - bring it strong with your picks in the comments section. Click to continue reading...

Liverpool nation's hopes may ride on the back of Gerrard and Torres

Debrecen vs. Fiorentina

The Viola has to like their chances as Tuesday's game approaches. They have taken points from Liverpool and Juventus in recent matches and they face a team who haven't scored in their own two games in the Champions League this year.

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Vive la Foot!

A belated Vive le Foot this week since I found myself flying to the land of Ligue 1 overnight...sadly enough I will not be able to attend the PSG -Nancy tie in Paris...but my SF correspondent will be at the Emirates scouting some Frenchies vs. Blackburn...

Boulogne lost the match of the promoted last weekend and will face a Lille side that destroyed Slavia Prague 5 - 1 in the last 15 minutes of their Europa League tie.

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As great as it is to see Liverpool embracing an attacking philosophy and scoring lots of goals in the league, the team has still been unable to win against anything other than comparatively inferior opposition. And with Chelsea coming up on Sunday, this does not bode well at all.
Here is a list of teams Liverpool has played so far:
Tottenham
Stoke
Aston Villa
Bolton
Burnley
Debrecen
West Ham
Leeds United
Hull City
Fiorentina
What do all the beaten teams (in bold) have in common? Click to continue reading...

Steven Gerrard has revealed his dismay after Liverpool FC's Champions League horror show in Florence which has thrown their quest to reach the knock-out stages into disarray.
Liverpool were soundly beaten 2-0 by Fiorentina in the Stadio Artemio Franchi after Stevan Jovetic's first-half double, and now face tricky back-to-back clashes with Group E leaders Lyon, who have won each of their two matches so far. Click to continue reading...

Group E
Fiorentina shocked visiting Liverpool 2-0, both goals coming from Stevan Jovetic. It was the Reds first away-loss in 16 months. Lyon picked up a huge win on the road, 4-0 at Debrecen. Three goals came in the first 24 minutes.
Group F
Inter Milan was held to a disappointing 1-1 draw against FK Rubin Kazan in Russia. Click to continue reading...

Anyone who may read this blog may know that I don't often have anything nice to say about Italian teams. However, as strange as it may sound, now I do: in the Champions League I watched Fiorentina play Liverpool last night, and was very impressed by the Italians, who in the first half of the match in particular were far superior to the great English side. Click to continue reading...

After six straight wins over Bolton, Burnley, Debrecen, West Ham, Leeds and Hull, the Merseyside team gets a reality check. Liverpool were poor at the back, overrun in midfield and wasteful upfront. They were beaten by Fiorentina and they were beaten soundly. Click to continue reading...

Dirk Kuyt today spoke of his immense pride at the prospect of matching Ian Rush's European Cup goals tally.
Kuyt is just two shy of Rush in Europe's premier club competition after taking his haul to 12 against Debrecen.
If the Dutchman draws level with his Welsh predecessor, only Steven Gerrard with 28 will have scored more Champions League goals for Liverpool. Click to continue reading...

As Arsenal prepare for Matchday 2 of the Champions League Group Stage this evening, it is hard to look at the changes made to this part of the tournament by Michel Platini, European football's equivalent to the anti-christ, as being, in any way, beneficial to the competition.

Platini's motives are somewhat sound, even if his execution is not.

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Tomorrow, Lyon will be taking on Hungarian side Debreceni VSC in their quest to qualify for the knockout rounds. They are already off to a good start, having taken three points from Fiorentina, but there are still five games to go, and anything can happen. It's important that Lyon get three points tomorrow because they have a double-header with Liverpool (who, incidentally, have suddenly regained an impressive amount of form in the last two weeks), as well as an away game at Fiorentina.

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Lyon will seek to add to their 1-0 win at Fiorentina when they head to Hungary to play last year's champions, Debrecen.

Lyon will be missing key players Lisandro Lopez and Michel Bastos but despite this Lyon manager Claude Puel believes his team is strong even without those players.

"The squad has a real strength and team spirit.

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2:45pm, live in the US on Setanta.
Last 3 matches:
Liverpool: 6-1 Hull (h); 1-0 Leeds (a); 3-2 West Ham (a)
Fiorentina: 1-0 Livorno (a); 2-0 Sampdoria (h); 1-3 Roma (a)
Referee: Felix Brych (GER)
Guess at a squad:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Carragher Insua
Lucas Gerrard
Benayoun Kuyt Riera
Torres
Sky Sports certainly threw a spanner in the works this morning, announcing that neither Benayoun nor Mascherano traveled to Italy because of an injury and illness respectively. Click to continue reading...

Since the Burnley game, LFC has played against Debrecen in the CL, West Ham in the league and Leeds last night in the Carling Cup. I did not get to catch the Debrecen game but, as with the other two games, LFC won not so 'comfortably too' I was told.

We are sitting 'comfortably' at third place in the league after the West Ham game when a few teams in the top five dropped points as expected.

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