Fernando Torres returned to form on Monday with a brace against Portsmouth at Anfield. After months of Liverpool being an almost unrecognizable team, the players seem to have gelled once again and are playing beautiful football. Quick, accurate passing and attacking play were the trademarks of Monday's match, but a late Portsmouth goal resulted from the Reds' temporary loss of attention. Yossi
Benayoun returned to action and could replace Kuyt or Lucas for Thursday's match. Pepe Reina also looked good with a few difficult saves that showcased his world-class ability. Liverpool will have to overturn a one goal deficit and Benitez will adopt an attacking formation with
Gerrard and
Torres both eager to impress.
The first leg of this fixture did not see Lille as the dominant side, but the luckier one. Both sides had good chances, but in the 84' Eden Hazard finally broke the deadlock.
Lille won 1-0 this weekend against Grenoble as they continued to push up the Ligue 1 table. They are currently in 4th place but only 2 points behind leaders
Bordeaux. Their away record has been steady (5-3-5), but they will need to be much more solid defensively if they are to put forth a strong case at Anfield.
Both teams have a tough matchup in the coming weekend with Liverpool facing Manchester United and
Lille playing league leaders Bordeaux. Despite this, both teams will hold nothing back in their attempt to advance to the next round of Europa League play. Liverpool have won their last 6 home games in all competitions while only conceding 2 goals. The return of Fernando
Torres as well as Liverpool's home advantage should be the tipping point for this match as the Reds qualify for the next round.
Liverpool FC vs Lille OSC
Thursday March 18, 2010
Kickoff: 9:05 PM (CET)
Venue: Anfield Road (Liverpool)
Tip: Liverpool (1x2)
Best Odds: 1.53 @ Betsson
