If English giants and 2005 winners Liverpool lose to Lyon in France on Wednesday night their Champions League dreams could be all but over.  Should Fiorentina beat Hungarian outfit Debrecen (a very likely occurrence) Liverpool will be six points adrift with just two games left.

It makes for grim reading for the Anfield faithful, with their Premier League title hopes in tatters the Champions League represents a great chance for them to pick up some silverware and an exit in the group stages is virtually unthinkable.

Lyon will, of course, be no pushovers.  They came back from a goal down to beat Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield the last time these two sides met and they’ll be confident on home soil.  To make matters worse for the English club they’ll be without star player and ‘captain fantastic’ Steven Gerrard, while it seems unlikely Alberto Aquilani will start against Lyon, if indeed he makes an appearance at all.

Liverpool’s loss to Fulham at the weekend raised further questions about their strength in depth and whether they can mount a title challenge this season.  They head into this fixture with Lyon as the underdogs in the betting markets and it will be a hard task for them to take all three points.  The French side have some extremely talented players, such as Sweden’s Kim Kallstrom, midfielder Miralem Pjanic and French international Jeremy Toulalan.  In attack Bafetimbi Gomis and Sidney Govou can cause plenty of problems for any defence and with Liverpool’s defensive problems (under performing and injuries) Lyon certainly have the potential to end Liverpool’s Champions League campaign.

That is certainly what Lyon winger Cesar Delgado seems to think anyway.  Speaking to British tabloid newspaper the Sun he said: "It won't surprise me if we beat them again," the winger told The Sun: "It won't surprise me if we beat them again,

"People thought Liverpool would be a fixture in the quarter-finals but now we make sure they are left out.”

"The problem with Liverpool is they are so inconsistent, with huge differences in the levels of their performances,

"We have analysed them against Manchester United and against Fulham and they are like two different teams.

"Nobody could doubt that we are the best team in the group. We can go a very long way."

Delgado is right, there have been ‘huge differences’ in the Merseysiders’ performances through the course of the season and you never really know which Liverpool team is going to turn up on any given day.  However, their fixtures against the bigger clubs have brought their better performances in general (a 2-0 win against Manchester United) and this fixture against Lyon is arguably their biggest of the season so far.  They may just pick their performance up for this tie and they are very much capable of taking the French side apart, even in their own back yard.

Because of the significance of this tie and the implications should Liverpool lose this could well be the pick of this particular round of fixtures. AC Milan face Real Madrid in another must see game but thankfully that tie is today (Tuesday), while Liverpool play tomorrow.  The Champions League can bring out the best in teams and Liverpool are greatly in need of a lift, it all depends on the players performances and whether boss Rafael Benitez can mastermind an upset in Lyon.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing betting advice for Betfair.

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It may still only be October but should Liverpool lose to Manchester United on Sunday their title challenge will effectively be over.  They've already lost four times in the league this season and boss Rafael Benitez's woes continued in midweek when French outfit Lyon pulled off a surprise 2-1 victory at Anfield.  That result has left Benitez needing victory in their next Champions League game to stand any chance of reaching the knock-out rounds, while he also has the tricky task of United's visit on Sunday.

To make matters worse for the home side it looks very likely they'll be without captain and talisman Steven Gerrard.  The talented midfielder is suffering with an injury and looks highly-doubtful to take part, although Spanish striker Fernando Torres should be available for selection after missing the defeat to Lyon in midweek.  Make no mistake, if Liverpool lose this fixture or only secure a point it will be catastrophic for the Merseysiders and their title hunt may well be over.

Liverpool's problems this season have been mainly in their defence and they won't bee looking forward to taking on an in form Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney, who has just returned from injury.  Veteran playmaker Ryan Giggs should be available and he has been in fine form this season, no doubt he would love to pile more misery on United's old rivals.

A major factor in this game could be former Liverpool striker and current United employee Michael Owen.  The 29-year-old was a hero on Merseyside but the boos and jeers will surely ring out if he sees any action in a United shirt on Sunday.  He has a habit of scoring important goals and it wouldn't surprise me if he managed to get among the goals at Anfield this weekend.  I doubt he'll start the game but I'm sure he'll see some action, especially if United are in need of a late goal.

Whenever United and Liverpool meet there is always plenty of interest but considering the importance of this tie this game should be an absolute cracker.  Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is under immense pressure to turn their fortunes around while his United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson would surely love to see off Liverpool and end their title hunt at this early stage of the season.  The game kicks off at 14.00 (GMT) On Sunday and should be one well worth checking out.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer promoting Irish racing betting tips for Betfair.

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Over recent years the Arsenal youth academy has introduced some fantastic players into English football.  On Tuesday night Arsene Wenger's side take on Championship high-flyers West Brom in the Carling Cup in a game where we may see the next crop of Arsenal youngsters make an appearance.

Wenger likes to use the Carling Cup to test his fringe and youth players and this season should be no different, even if they are under pressure to end their trophy drought.  One youngster who looks set to have a big future at Arsenal and indeed in football is ack Wilshere.  The 17-year-old caused a stir in the Emirates Cup over the summer with two stunning goals which led some to suggest he could force his way into Fabio Capello's plans for the World Cup in South Africa.  Wenger is a manager who likes to protect his younger players from the spotlight and as yet Wilshere has had very little action this season.  However, it seems highly likely the midfielder will start against the Baggies tomorrow as the Arsenal boss rests his first-choice players and he could well be one to watch over the course of the season.

The opposition must not be ignored of course.  West Brom won many an admirer with their passing football in the Premier League last season and they'll be up for the challenge.  Manager Roberto Di Matteo likes his side to play an open attacking brand of football and he won't change this just because they're at the Emirates.  The Baggies will consider the league and promotion their top priority and will go into this game eager to prove themselves without the real pressure of being expected to progress.  This tie should be a great one between two attacking sides who like to keep the ball on the floor and it should be a fantastic encounter.

The Arsenal V West Brom game is not the only encounter worth keeping an eye on tommorow night.  Fallen giants Leeds United welcome Liverpool to Elland Road in a game that should be highly charged.  The long suffering Leeds fans continue to turn up in numbers despite the fact the club are currently in League One and the visit of Liverpool to Yorkshire should draw a bumper crowd.   The Leeds fans are known for their passion to the game and will be in full voice with Liverpool in town.

I doubt Rafael Benitez will field his strongest team in these early stages of the Carling Cup but that should not detract from what is a massive game between two huge clubs, albeit clubs in very different situations at the moment.  Leeds have been in fine form in the league and sit proudly at the top of the division, having won seven and drawn one of their opening eight fixtures.  There will be no pressure to progress on the home side and they will play to enjoy the occasion.

Leeds have scored an impressive 16 goals so far this season and their defence has only been breached four times.  I doubt they'll beat Liverpool in all honesty but it wouldn't surprise me a great deal if they forced the replay.  In players like Jermaine Beckford, Lucciano Becchio and Mike Grella they have players with enough quality to cause Premier League sides problems and I'm sure all three will be fired up for a tie with Liverpool.

The Carling Cup may not be the most prestigious of competitions but it still throws up some great games and I'm hoping we see some decent encounters tomorrow night.  The smart money would go on Liverpool and Arsenal but I'm sure West Brom and Leeds will prove worthy opposition for the Premier League sides when the games kick off on Tuesday.

Written by Gareth Freeman, a sports writer who works for Betfair, where you can find Rugby betting advice and horse racing betting advice.

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