Fit again wing back Fabio Aurelio is confident we will bounce back following our disappointing Champions League outing in Florence.
He said: “We would have hoped for a better result but we can’t think about that now and must think about the future.
“We have an important game in the Premier League against Chelsea on Sunday and we must try to make things right.
“Hopefully it will be a different game and we can go there and get a result.”
I’m backing us to get up by one against that Blue Scum.
Jamie Carragher has told former Anfield team-mate Michael Owen that the fans that once adored him will not welcome him back to the club now that he has joined the Manc scum.
“Our fans are usually brilliant with former players but he might get a cool reception,” Carragher said.
“I can understand the fans’ point of view. He used to play for us and now he is at our big rivals. At the same time, Michael has got his own career to think about. He wants to play in the Champions League and get back into the World Cup squad. The move gives him that opportunity.
“It will upset some fans but that’s football.”
Dutch striker Dirk Kuyt thinks Reds team-mate Glen Johnson has become one of the pivotal players in our team. I completely agree Dirk. He is a quick, has great movement and is a constant threat going forward. Plus he has made me a fortune in my Fantasy League team 
Dirk said: “I think Glen has done really well,”
“He was a big signing for us but he has shown straight from the start that he is very important - both defensively and in attack.
“He has scored some very good goals and provided some assists. He is probably one of the best players in the team so far this season.
“He is still young and I think he will only get better and better.”
Carling Cup hero David Ngog has received praise by boss Rafa Benitez following his performance against Leeds.
“He is a young player, but he has quality,” said Benitez.
“That is something we knew. He showed character.
“He was trying to keep the ball and get into positions. He was really tired at the end but he did a fantastic job.
“He knows the Premier League is very difficult but here he showed he can do it.
“Cup competitions are always very difficult. You have to win, everyone is working so hard.
“He is still a young player, he has quality.”
Ok so it was not the most polished Carling Cup performance you have ever seen but we did enough to get through against a tough Leeds United side who were always going to be tough at Elland Road.
Good to see the fringe players get a run and I thought goalscorer David Ngog did well on the night.
Following the match Rafa the Gafa said: “We worked hard and I feel we had our chances. We won with a lot of players not playing and I am really pleased with my team, with the squad. These kind of games are very important to keep the quality of character. I think it was a fantastic win for us,”
“I think we showed today we can manage with different players and for the rest of the season it is important to know you have players who can come in.”
Starting XI: Cavalieri, Degen, Kyrgiakos, Carragher, Dossena, Aurelio, Mascherano, Spearing, Riera, Babel, Ngog.
Subs: Reina, Johnson, Gerrard, Torres, Voronin, Plessis, Skrtel.
Captain fantastic Steven Gerrard says the confidence is coming back into the team following our recent run of victories.
He said: “We got a really good win at West Ham last season, we were well organised and very dangerous on the counter-attack, and I am sure that will be the plan again at the weekend.
“The title race seems to be becoming a big six, and at the weekend we have the Manchester derby while Chelsea play Tottenham.
“So something will have to give.
“So hopefully we can get a good win at West Ham, concentrate on our own performance and pray the results will fall in our favour by the end of the weekend.
“We are slowly getting back to where we want to be with three wins on the spin and hopefully another at West Ham.”
He added: “The confidence is starting to come back into the squad now, losing those two early games close together was not good but we are building slowly back to the form we want.
“It takes a while to get back to your best, but we are happy with the reaction from everybody so now we aim to go and get a good win at West Ham on Saturday.
“It is still very early, but it was important that we recovered from that poor start. This is only the beginning for us.
“We have seen Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea start well, and some of the big teams without important players, so it is going to be an interesting fight this season.
Ok we know that the 1-0 midweek home Champions League win against European minnows Debrecen was not the most polished performance but hey, we got the points, avoided injuries and continued our recent winning momentum. Dutch workhorse Dirk Kuyt got on the sheet just before the break and that was enough. Lets hope we can get another couple of victories in the next few games so we can play some youngsters and focus on the league.
Robbie ‘God’ Fowler has continued his great goal scoring start to the A-League season. Fowler netted his 5th goal of the season for North Queensland against league big hitters Sydney FC. You’ve still got it Rob, form is temporary class is permanent!
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