Adebayor boost for ambitious Arsenal

United lead
The two sides return to the scene of Wednesday's 1-1 first-leg draw with the return encounter at Anfield looming over the occasion, but Wenger's men cannot afford to be distracted as they attempt to reduce the six-point gap to leaders Manchester United FC. With just six games left to play, the Gunners lie third and need to keep pace with United before travelling to Old Trafford next weekend.

Van Persie out
The bad news for Wenger is that striker Robin van Persie will be unavailable after being withdrawn at half-time on Wednesday with a thigh complaint. The news is more positive for ankle-injury victim Adebayor, however. "Robin is not available but Adebayor will be," said the Frenchman of his team's goalscorer in midweek. "He is fit enough to start. I don't really know if he will be able to last 90 minutes. That is difficult to predict." Abou Diaby misses out through suspension.

Mascherano suspension
The visitors travel without a suspended player of their own in Javier Mascherano, but he is unlikely to be the only regular starter absent from Benítez's lineup. The Reds can afford to take a few risks thanks to their five-point lead over fifth-placed Everton FC, and that could mean a weekend off for Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Dirk Kuyt, Jamie Carragher and veteran centre-back Sami Hyypiä.

Age factor
"I will need to think carefully about my team for the league match," explained Benítez. "Torres and Gerrard will need to be strong for the second leg, and Kuyt ran himself to a standstill on Wednesday. Some players recover in two or three days, others need four. Maybe we will need to change some players. The age may be the key. Fernando can recover in two days, but Sami could take five."