For the second time this week Liverpool face a team that has beaten them in a cup competition this season, as they host Zenit St Petersburg at Anfield in the second leg of their Europa League tie.
Earlier in the season the Reds were eliminated from the Capital One Cup after suffering a 3-1 home loss to Swansea, who Liverpool delt to in the Premier League on Monday winning 5-0. Despite fielding a much weaker side with one eye on this week's League Cup final, the Swans were well off the pace in their league rout, while the scoreline and performance has given Liverpool hope they can turn around their fortunes in Europe.
Liverpool came away from Russia last week hugely disappointed after an excellent 80 minutes was spoiled by a fantastic strike by Zenit's Hulk, and a period of switching off defensively, resulting in a 2-0 loss. Defensive errors have lead to opposition goals far too often this season, and the Reds were haunted by their own demons again during their away trip.
But confidence is high around Anfield that, on the back of the Swansea win, the players can deliver enough goals at home to force their way into the Europa League's final 16. However that difficult task will have to be achieved without Liverpool's two january signings – Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho – who are both ineligible.
The exclusion of Sturridge is particularly worrying given that another of Liverpool's strike options, Fabio Borini, has been ruled out for six to eight weeks – after dislocating his shoulder early into this week's Swansea fixture, he's also facing more surgery on the foot that kept him out for three months. Manager Brendan Rodgers should have the rest of his senior squad to select from though, with fullback Martin Kelly the only other long-term injury absentee.
With so much riding on the result of this match, it's expected Rogers will opt for the strongest line-up possible .. although it remains to be seen who he will opt for in a couple of positions.
The defence should almost pick itself, including the selection of Pepe Reina in goal. The Reds' Spanish stopper still remains first-choice at Anfield, and has this week reiterated his desire to remain a Liverpool player, despite rumours linking him again with a move to Barcelona. Fullbacks Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique are almost certain to retain their spots from earlier in the week, along with Daniel Agger, who should also feature.
Any questions on who will play surround veteran Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel, and who of the pair will partner Agger in the centre. Skrtel's lack of form and Carragher's lack of pace have been the sticking points for many, but the former's strength and the latter's organisation will be big considerations for their inclusion. One wonders if Skrtel will be pushing hard to face his former club – the Slovakian helped Zenit to the Russian league title in 2007, before moving to Liverpool.
Ahead of them the midfield trio would seem to be fairly automatic, with Lucas and Jordan Henderson the most likely options to partner captain Steven Gerrard. Joe Allen started ahead of Lucas in the away leg, with the 2-0 loss attributed in part to Liverpool's lack of a conventional defensive midfielder. The Brazilian's presence also affords Gerrard the ability – and confidence – to surge forward more often, which will be required as the Reds go in search of the goals needed to avoid elimination. Henderson's inclusion should come on the back of good form, and the energy which he provides in abundance.
Speaking of goals, a lot of the responsibility will also fall on the shoulders of Luis Suarez. The Uruguayan's finishing was below-standard at Petrovsky Stadium in thei first leg, but he turned that around against Swansea scoring one, winning a penalty and providing the assist for Coutinho's first goal for the club.
In the first leg Rodgers experimented by playing midfielder Jonjo Shelvey in a central attacking role and, for the most part, it was an effective enough plan. The lack of a naturally instinctive goal-scorer left the Zenit goal area devoid of red shirts at times, but Shelvey caused enough headaches to at least come in to consideration.
Stewart Downing and Raheem Sterling are the other obvious contenders for inclusion in the starting line-up and, should Rodgers opt for Shelvey up front, the assumption is Downing would start with the pace of Sterling a factor later in the game. They could both get the call-up though, with the possibility of Suarez returning to a more central role.
Goals from Hulk and Sergey Semak secured Zenit's home win, and the former will be a player to watch again. The Brazilian wide man notched up 54 goals in 99 appearances for Porto before moving to Russia this season, and has very little to talk about in terms of weakness. His linking with Zenit's other attackers will be something the Liverpool defence will have to do it's best to nullify.
Hulk's former Porto teammate Bruno Alves is a strong presence at the back, along with Belgian international Nicolas Lombaerts, who should provide decent support down Zenit's left flank. Fellow Belgian internation Axel Witsel provides a fantastic fulcrum in the Zenit midfield along with captain Roman Shirokov, and Vyacheslav Malafeev provides Zenit with an excellent stopper betwen the posts.
Along with needing to score at least twice to keep their hopes alive, Liverpool know they must also prevent Zenit from scoring a vital away goal, so a clean sheet will be just as important as a fluid attacking display. Should Zenit score, the Reds will need to bang in at least four to progress to the next round.
After a poor previous week that saw Liverpool sink to back-to-back 2-0 losses in the only competitions they are still alive in, this week Liverpool have the chance to almost completely turn things around by securing their continuation in the Europa League.
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