Facing its 21st Champions League game in a little over a year, defending champions Liverpool looks certain to reach the lucrative group stage of Europe’s premier soccer competition on Tuesday.
Then Rafa Benitez’ players hope to celebrate on Friday by beating CSKA Moscow in the European Super Cup.
European soccer’s busiest club holds a 3-1 advantage over CSKA Sofia ahead of Tuesday’s home leg at Anfield, having won their first five qualifying games by a combined 14-2 score.
Having finished fifth last season’s Premier League and out of the Champions League qualifying spots, Liverpool was given a special dispensation by UEFA to defend their title as long as the team started from the first qualifying round.
Starting last season’s campaign on August 10 last year, Benitez have already played 20 matches. Friday’s showdown with UEFA Cup champions CSKA in Monte Carlo will be their 22nd European game in just over 12 months.
Team captain Steven Gerrard, who has scored seven goals in Champions League action this season, misses Tuesday’s game because of a calf muscle injury he picked up in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland in the Premier League.
But Benitez, who have made five new signings in the off-season, have plenty of replacements.
”Steven had a scan which showed a strain in his right calf,” said Liverpool spokesperson Ian Cotton. ”He will definitely miss Tuesday’s game. Regarding his involvement in the Super Cup we will have a better idea later in the week.”
Liverpool’s neighbour, Everton, is back in European soccer’s most prestigious competition for the first time since 1970 but doesn’t look like staying long.
Everton got one of the toughest possible opponents when they were drawn against Villarreal, which finished third in the Spanish league to Barcelona and Real Madrid and is packed with Argentinian internationals.
Villarreal won the first leg 2-1 at Goodison Park and Everton goes to Spain without defender Alessandro Pistone, who damaged his knee ligaments in Sunday’s 1-0 victory at Bolton. Scorer Marcus Bent limped off with an ankle problem but hopes to face Villarreal.
”We are not quite sure about Marcus,” Moyes said. ”We don’t have much time to turn things around before Wednesday.”
Manchester United, Inter Milan and Ajax Amsterdam are other powerhouse teams trying to make it to Thursday’s group stage draw in Monte Carlo.
United leads Hungarian champion Debrecen 3-0, Inter has home advantage and a 2-0 lead over Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk, and Ajax welcomes Denmark’s Brondby to Amsterdam with the teams tied at 2-2.
AS Monaco, which lost to FC Porto in the final two seasons ago, bids to overcome a 1-0 deficit to Real Betis. After two losses in four French league games, however, its form is patchy.
”If we are eliminated, the season will be long, because everyone who is here, is here to play the Champions League,” said Monaco’s Argentine international Lucas Bernardi.
If this week’s third round qualifying round matches go according to form, then the 32 clubs who go into Thursday’s draw for the group stage will include 13 former winners with a combined 41 titles in European soccer’s most prestigious soccer tournament.
Among the 16 teams already waiting in Thursday’s draw, which will separate the teams into eight groups of four, are nine-time European champion Real Madrid, Spanish league winner FC Barcelona, Italian champion Juventus and multiple European winners AC Milan and Bayern Munich.
Although Chelsea and Arsenal have never won the top European title, they also are in the draw after having finished first and second in last season’s English Premier League. – Sapa-AP