After our disappointment in the Eastlands we travel to Turkey to take on Trabzonspor for the second leg of the Europa League qualifier.
Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres did not travel with the rest of the team. Stevie is reported to have a back problem while Roy does not want to risk Nando. Javier Mascherano will probably not feature as his move to Barcelona seems to be in an advanced stage.
Playing in Turkey against Turkish opposition is always very difficult especially due to the high decibel level of sound that the Turks can generate. These guys don’t need vuvuzelas, if I am not mistaken the Turks hold the world record when it comes to noise at a football game. The 132 decibel level was reached a few years ago when Fenerbahce played Besiktas.
We won the first leg thanks to a goal by Ryan Babel and I believe that Roy will unleash the Babel / Cole partnership again in Turkey. I also predict that Roy will bring in Soto to partner Carra in the heart of our defence. I also expect Roy to start Dani Pacheco.
Predicted Lineup:
Pepe Reina, Glen Johnson, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Jamie Carragher, Fabio Aurelio, Lucas Leiva, Christian Poulsen, Dani Pacheco, Joe Cole, Ryan Babel, Dirk Kuyt
Kick off is at 6:30PM BST