Paul Hassall 19 February 2008
Inter Milan arrive on Merseyside having breezed into the last 16 of Europe's premier competition with five wins from six Group G encounters while continuing to lead the way at the top of Serie A.
In contrast Liverpool have fallen off the pace in the Premier League and only made it into the latter stages in Europe courtesy of a superb 4-0 win in Marseille on Matchday Six.
Add to that Saturday's FA Cup defeat at the hands of Championship side Barnsley and few outside of L4 would be backing the Reds to make it into the last eight of the Champions League.
It's certainly a daunting prospect for Rafa and co and yet you can't help but feel like we've been here before can you?
Cast your mind back to 2005 when Liverpool were faced with a scrap for fourth place in the Premiership with Everton and up against it in Europe with a tie against the Italian heavyweights Juventus.
The Old Lady were much-fancied to see off an injury-ravaged Reds side, who had only made it into the knockout stages following a sensational 3-1 win over Olympiakos.
But yet again, Liverpool would defy the odds and went on to lift the trophy for the fifth time in our history.
Okay, it might not be the same stage of the competition this time around and circumstances are much changed, but the similarities are unmistakable.
Europe's premier competition is where Rafael Benitez is at his tactical best and Roberto Mancini's side will be well aware that form and reputation are of little consequence when matched against Anfield's 12th man.
In fact, Inter were one of the first sides to fall victim to Anfield and one of its famous European nights when they were undone 3-1 by Bill Shankly's side back in 1965.
That day will no doubt be in the thoughts of many a supporter when the game kicks off over 40 years on, and a repeat of that success would not only make the Reds favourite to progress but also see them notch up their 100th win in Europe.
Should Steven Gerrard be a goalscoring contributor to a home win he will also be celebrating a landmark achievement as he will have netted in five consecutive European matches and will also have claimed his 50th Liverpool goal at Anfield.
A Reds triumph would be very much in-keeping with our history against Italian opposition as we have met on six previous occasions at Anfield and won four of them. The two defeats both came in the UEFA Cup, against Genoa in 1992 and Roma in 2001.
But let's not under-estimate Inter who will no doubt provide one of our sternest tests yet.
The visitors will arrive at Anfield in buoyant mood following a 2-0 win over Livorno that stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to 11 points.
As far as team news goes, Mancini will be without the banned Cesar and injured Luis Jimenez, while they must also decide on the fitness of Luis Figo.
Liverpool will also be boosted by the news that Skipper Steven Gerrard, Jose Reina, Javier Mascherano, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Aurelio have all returned to the squad.
In fact, Benitez is only missing defender Daniel Agger and striker Andriy Voronin, both still nursing long-term injuries, as he looks to plot Inter's downfall at Anfield and keep us on course for a sixth European crown.
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