Reds resolved to prove worth

By Simon Hart in Liverpool

The players of Liverpool FC should have something to prove when Bayer 04 Leverkusen visit Anfield on Tuesday. Besides wishing to make amends for a feeble performance in their 2-0 defeat at Birmingham City FC in their most recent Premiership outing, there will also be a desire to show they can cope without their captain, Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard suspended
It was Gerrard's superb late strike in the 3-1 victory against Olympiacos CFP that carried the Reds out of the UEFA Champions League group stage. Since then Gerrard's goals have earned Liverpool a place in next Sunday's English League Cup final against Chelsea FC, so his absence through suspension from this first knockout round game will doubtless be felt.

'We have solutions'
However, manager Rafael Benítez is confident Liverpool have enough about them to prosper in the England midfield player's absence. Indeed, influential as Gerrard may be, the Merseysiders have actually won a fractionally higher percentage of their matches played without him this season (53.8 per cent), than with (53.5). Benítez said: "We know he is very, very important for us, but we have been planning for nine days without him and I think we have solutions."

Kewell returns
The solution in central midfield could well be to pair Dietmar Hamann with Igor Bišcan while in attack, with Fernando Morientes cup-tied, Benítez is expected to bring back Harry Kewell alongside Milan Baroš. Kewell has been sidelined since December with groin and achilles problems but Benítez said: "I feel he is ready, he wants to play, he has been training hard in the week and we want to see the best of Harry."

Need for consistency
If Kewell has struggled for consistency since arriving at Liverpool two summers ago, the same applies to the team as a whole in recent weeks. Of their ten games in 2005, Liverpool have won five and lost five and Benítez, recalling the loss at Birmingham, acknowledged: "We know we need to be more consistent, more aggressive and to play with as high a tempo as possible."

Nowotny injury
Leverkusen, by contrast, have been in fine form since the German season resumed. Saturday's 4-2 victory at 1. FC Nürnberg was their fourth in five matches, although it came at a cost as captain Jens Nowotny tore the rear cruciate ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. In his absence, 20-year-old Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker will make his first start in the Champions League alongside Juan in central defence. Leverkusen coach Klaus Augenthaler said: "Liverpool may have Steven Gerrard suspended and Fernando Morientes ineligible, but we have got important players out in Jens Nowotny, Marko Babic and Roque Junior."

Omens favour Liverpool
Augenthaler was in the FC Bayern München side beaten by Liverpool on away goals in the 1981 European Champion Clubs' Cup semi-final and the Reds' record against German opposition certainly augurs well for them: 14 home games have yielded eleven wins and three draws. Leverkusen, for their part, have won just once in ten meetings with English opposition - the 4-2 home win against Liverpool in the 2002 quarter-finals, which overturned a 1-0 defeat in England.

'Special atmosphere'
Still, Augenthaler hopes Anfield will inspire rather than intimidate his players. "We came away with draws from our trips to Madrid and Rome, so there is no reason why we can't get a result at Anfield. Hopefully the fantastic, special atmosphere will motivate my players even more instead of making them nervous. I played everywhere in Europe during my career, but Anfield is something special."