Liverpool were given a massive shock by unknown Havant & Waterlooville in the third round of the FA Cup. The non-league side actually twice went ahead but were ultimately vanquished 5-2 by the Reds. Liverpool play another minnow this weekend in the fifth round of the FA Cup and their gaffer Rafael Benitez is not taking any risks against lower division Barnsley.
Rafael Benitez says that although he has one eye on the UEFA Champions League clash witk mighty Inter Milan in midweek, he is not eager to field a weak team against Barnsley.
We have some experience of how difficult these games can be. Everybody says we will beat Barnsley but we must be careful and do the right things.
Against Havant & Waterlooville we were thinking about scoring goals and we conceded. If you concede first goal against whoever you are playing, you will start to get anxious.
We knew of the dangers before that game but it still happened. Clearly this is a cup final for them, so we must be careful and give them a lot of respect. If we score first everything will be okay.
Liverpool’s abysmal Premiership run has forced them to concentrate on the FA Cup and any slip-ups on Saturday could just end Liverpool’s season. Yet given the class and quality of Liverpool, you can put your money on the Reds to move into the next round of the oldest competition in the world.