Liverpool without Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard for Europa League tie against Trabzonspor
English Premier League club Liverpool would not have two of their most important players, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, when the Reds take on Trabzonspor for the 2nd leg of the Europa League playoff.
Club captain Steven Gerrard has been suffering from a back problem, and team manager Roy Hodgson believes that Torres is not yet fit enough to play three big games consecutively. Former Chelsea player Joe Cole would be back after missing the league encounter with Manchester City due to suspension following his red card. Javier Mascherano would once again not be under consideration, as he supposedly himself told the manager not to pick him in the last game. Daniel Agger is still suffering from a concussion and would not be available, and Maxi Rodriguez has fallen ill due to some virus.
The Liverpool manager said that he understands the importance of the match against Trabzonspor, but he would not want to risk his two best players. Hodgson said that the duo is expected to be fit for the Premier League match against West Brom on Sunday.
Liverpool leads in their Europa league tie. They won the first leg 1-0, and the coach believes that he can afford to leave out his two best players and still come out with a win. Hodgson said that fact that it is an away tie can make it a bit tricky. He said that he has not been there before, and people have been telling him that it is not an easy place to go and play.
Roy Hodgson said that Gerrard was not 100% fit even before the match against Manchester City, but he decided to play. The manager said that he has suggested to his captain that an appearance from the bench would be better, but he said that the match is a very significant one and he has to start. Liverpool lost the match 3-0 to City and now have just 1 point from 2 matches. Liverpool drew their first match of the league against Arsenal 1-1.
The Liverpool manager said that they have decided to protect their ace striker Fernando Torres. He said that he has not fully gotten back to full fitness ever since coming back from the 2010 World Cup. He added that he will make sure that he does not play 3 games in a row, so he would definitely be rested for the next game.
Hodgson said that Agger did play in the match against City, but it was against the medical advice of the doctors. He said that Agger suffered a concussion in the match against Arsenal and needs to be rested.
The manager went on to say that Maxi is unwell; he is on bed-rest and there is no way that he would even be able to travel with the team.
Hodgson said that the fact that they are resting two of their key players does not mean that that are taking Trabzonspor lightly. He said that they are a very capable team and Liverpool should have put the game to bed in the first tie. Hodgson referred to the penalty miss by Joe Cole in the first leg, and said that had that gone in, it would have been pretty much decided that night at Anfield.
Hodgson said that Turkish football is something of an unknown quantity to the rest of Europe, but the level of the game there is quite high. He said that Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor are three of the top teams in the country, and it would not be a walk in the park defending a one-goal lead against them.
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