Rafa Benitez has named a strong 18-man Liverpool squad for their
game against TNS, but Milan Baros will again miss out after being
an unused substitute at Anfield.
The Reds are 3-0 up from the first leg of their UEFA Champions
League qualifier, but the Spaniard is still taking the second leg
at Wrexham seriously.
Benitez has made just one change to the first leg squad, with Luis
Garcia replacing Baros - which could again put his future in
doubt.
Baros scored in Liverpool's 3-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen on
Saturday but missed out on the first leg at Anfield after being
named as a substitute, amid rumours that his future was in the
balance.
Again not figuring in the Champions League will see his future
called into question, as some believe that Benitez does not want
him cup-tied for Europe as he may still decide to sell him this
summer.
Benitez has warned his strikers that they must start firing, as
they struggled for goals last season through a mixture of injuries
and loss of form.
"Last season our top goalscorers scored 13 goals and that isn't
enough," Benitez told the club website.
"The strikers always need to score more than 13 goals but I am
confident that if we have better possession of the ball this season
and play better football then they will have more chances.
"We had a lot of problems last season with injuries to strikers but
I am sure it will be different this year."
Djibril Cisse is likely to start after looking sharp in pre-season,
while Scott Carson could get a run-out in goal after Jerzy Dudek
was again left out - but Benitez promises he is not taking the
result for granted.
"We will use a strong team against TNS," added Benitez.
"It might not be the strongest team we could select, but it will
still be a strong side.
"We must be careful in the game. Even though we're three goals up
we want to name a strong side because we don't want any surprises
on the night.
"We must do the right job and we must approach it in a serious
frame of mind."
The Liverpool squad have flown from their training camp in
Switzerland just for the game in Wrexham and will return on
Wednesday.
Stephen Warnock injured his elbow during the Leverkusen game but is
fit enough to be included in the squad.
not sure whether this is good or bad news for you pool fans..i mean
if he's selling baros and bringing in crouch?i thought crouch was
supposed to be the partner for baros..ok maybe benitez feels that
cisse is much better..your views??
