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Arsenal skipper Thierry Henry says that it's nice to beat Real because the players can
relax for 2 weeks now, except that they have to keep focussed for tomorrow's
game against Liverpool.
Four players picked up injuries playing Real on Wednesday:
Freddie Ljungberg (calf), Henry (knee), Jens Lehmann (another knee), and Cesc Fabregas (groin). But Arsene
Wenger says that Henry and Jens have both recovered, and that Freddie and Cesc
are also expected to be ok for tomorrow.
Robin van Persie and Pascal Cygan are expected to return
to training on Sunday, while Sol Campbell has already done so but is short of match fitness ("mentally
there is no problem", says Wenger, who thinks Sol will be back to play Juventus
in the quarter-final).
Ashley Cole, Kerrea Gilbert and Gael Clichy are a bit further away,
and Lauren is out till the end of the season.
Much of the team picks itself at the moment. Perhaps the most interesting question is whether or not we revert to a simple 4-4-2, with Adebayor coming back in after being cup-tied on Wednesday, or stick with the formation that's served so well against Real.
Liverpool have renewed focus themselves, having gone out of Europe.
They're 2 points behind Manchester United in second place, although
United have a game in hand. For Arsenal, with Tottenham and Bolton
having tough games against Chelsea and West Ham respectively, the
game represents a chance to get back into the position of being
almost-favourites for the 4th Champs League spot, although with our
erratic domestic form one'd be hard pressed to make us actual favourites
for anything until the final whistle of the final game.
The visitors have Mali midfielder Mohamed Sissoko recovering from an
eye problem sustained in the first leg of their Champs League loss
to Benfica. He has just returned to training but won't be back for
a week or two. Dietmar Hamann may well play instead of Sissoko,
alongside Xabi Alonso in central midfield, with Steven Gerrard
playing wide right. Sami Hyypia may be out with a hamstring problem. If
so, Daniel Agger may deputise since Djimi Traore has proved himself to be
worse at centre-back than he is on the left. They're also
without John Arne Riise who could be missing for a while with groin and back problems. The reds are in the process of
finalising a loan deal for their 3rd choice keeper Scott Carson, who
will be going to Sheffield Wednesday.
If Liverpool have a problem at the moment, it's that they're not
scoring enough goals. It wouldn't be surprising to see our
nemesis Robbie Fowler play a significant part of this match.
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