Odds stacked against Barca recovery at Anfield
By Mike Collett
LIVERPOOL, March 5 (Reuters) - Barcelona surrendered top spot in the Primera Liga on Saturday and their hopes of retaining the Champions League title will hang by a thread at Anfield on Tuesday.
A 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool in the first leg of the first knockout round tie and Saturday's loss by the same margin against Sevilla have thrown Barca's season sharply into focus.
The odds are stacked against them turning round the tie in what could be a classic European night on Merseyside.
No team has ever successfully defended Europe's top club trophy in the Champions League era and it is 11 years since a team recovered from a first leg home defeat to progress.
Liverpool bowed out of both domestic cup competitions at Anfield this season, however, and after a Premier League title challenge that never materialised, the Champions League represents their last chance of silverware.
A 1-0 home defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester United on Saturday was painful, although reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of Barcelona would be the perfect tonic.
"It's unbelievable that we lost that match. We are down but we will train hard and be ready for our tie against Barcelona," Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez said after the United defeat.
"We must stay positive and maybe we will have better luck on Tuesday."
While Benitez is still to discover the magic formula for the Premier League, there is no doubt that his tactical knowledge of European football has made 2005 European champions Liverpool a tough nut to crack in the Champions League arena.
Barcelona, who won 3-1 on their last visit to Anfield in 2001, will have to win and score at least twice, a scenario that could play perfectly into Liverpool's well-drilled counter-attacking style.
NO WINS
Liverpool have failed to win a Champions League home game against a Spanish club in four previous attempts and have not scored in the last three, although even a 1-0 defeat on Tuesday would be enough to take them through.
Barca will be boosted by the return of Samuel Eto'o who is certain to play a part on Tuesday after the Cameroon striker was given a 20-minute run-out against Sevilla on Saturday.
However, he still looked some way off his best and it is unlikely that he will last the full game.
Barca have plenty of other attacking options in the likes of Ronaldinho, who scored his 17th league goal of the season in the defeat by Sevilla and then squandered a penalty.
The Catalans ended that match with nine men after the sending off of Ludovic Giuly and Gianluca Zambrotta, although midfielder Andres Iniesta believes the Sevilla defeat will have no influence on Tuesday's match at Anfield.
"No one should think that this will affect us against Liverpool," he said. "Tuesday will be a completely different story and we will be doing everything we can to win."
Coach Frank Rijkaard has departed from his favoured 4-3-3 formation in recent matches, but whatever tactics he adopts the Dutchman knows his side face an uphill battle if they are to turn the tables on Liverpool.
"The lesson we have to learn for Anfield is that we can't afford to relax," said Rijkaard. "We have to battle harder than ever and never give up just like Sevilla did against us."
Probable teams:
Liverpool: 25-Pepe Reina; 3-Steve Finnan, 23-Jamie Carragher, 5-Daniel Agger, 6-John-Arne Riise; 8-Steven Gerrard, 22-Momo Sissoko, 14-Xabi Alonso, 11-Mark Gonzalez; 18-Dirk Kuyt, 17-Craig Bellamy
Barcelona: 1-Victor Valdes; 11-Gianluca Zambrotta, 21-Lilian Thuram or 4-Rafael Marquez, 5-Carles Puyol, 16-Silvinho or 12-Giovanni van Bronckhorst; 24-Andres Iniesta, 20-Deco, 8-Xavi; 10-Ronaldinho, 19-Lionel Messi, 9-Samuel Eto'o
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany)