Rafa wary of danger posed by City
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Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is wary of Manchester City's quality,
despite expressing his relief that Carlos Tevez will miss Sunday's
showdown.
The Argentina international, who Liverpool tried to sign in
the summer, is currently in his homeland on compassionate leave
after his wife gave birth prematurely.
And while he will not feature in a clash which could have a
major bearing on who finishes fourth in the Premier League, Benitez
is aware there are many other players who can hurt his side.
"Clearly he is a good player who is doing well," said the
Spaniard of the 19-goal striker.
"But they have other good strikers, so I think they have
enough quality in the squad and can replace Tevez with another good
player.
"If Tevez is not there and they miss him we will be pleased,
but I will say again, they have quality."
Tevez's international team-mate Javier Mascherano knows
exactly what the striker offers but expects City to be able to cope
without him.
"He is a really good player but Manchester City have a lot of
really good players so if he doesn't play, they will use a player
who will try to do the same as him," said the Argentina captain.
"They are a top side with some really good players. I think
it will be a really important game and will be a good game to
watch."
Benitez has tried to play down the significance of the match,
with City currently occupying the final Champions League spot one
point ahead of Liverpool and with a match in hand.
He believes there is plenty of time remaining in the season
for things to change significantly - especially with Tottenham and
Aston Villa also challenging.
"It will be an important game for both teams and we will try
to win," he said.
"If you cannot, it is better not to lose, but the main thing
for us is to try to win.
"We will try to attack and we know we will have to score
goals if we want to win.
"They are an attacking team and we will have to attack too,
so I think it will be open."
Mascherano also believes that one match will not decide the
Champions League fate of either side.
"We are one point behind them and some teams are very close
to us so it's important to get the three points," said the
midfielder.
"I think it's an important game but if any team lost, nothing
will happen.
"There are still a lot of games to play so it will be an
important game but it will decide nothing."
The side will have been lifted by last night's 1-0 victory
over Unirea Urziceni, having seen their seven-match unbeaten
Barclays Premier League run ended by Arsenal last week.
Vice-captain Jamie Carragher singled out the impact of
substitutes Ryan Babel and Daniel Pacheco, with the former crossing
for his team-mate to head across goal for David Ngog to score with
nine minutes to go.
"Ryan and Dani did very well when they came on and made a big
contribution for the goal," said the defender.
"They gave us a bit of a lift and more energy and that's what
we needed. They made the difference.
"It would have been nice to get a few more but hopefully we
can get an away goal and finish the game off next week."
Highly-rated reserve team striker Pacheco was making only his
third appearance for the senior side, but the young Spaniard hopes
to be able to play a bigger part in the remainder of the season.
"I was very happy to get involved with the game and help the
team out and I think everyone was quite happy at the end," said the
19-year-old.
"It is always a good thing when the manager is talking about
you but I know I have to keep working, keep listening and doing my
best for the reserves.
"I've got to keep my feet on the floor. I hope I will get
more chances in the future and do the same again.
"We can now think about Manchester City. If I get a chance
again, I hope I will take it but we will see what happens."