[Merlin]

A couple of weeks ago I was planning without hesitation to lump on AC Milan , largely on account of being spellbound with awe and wondering how on earth Liverpool are going to cope with the worlds greatest current midfielder; Kaka .

Fortunately the spell has been broken, not least through further thought and consideration.

Personally, I don’t feel statistics play a major role in games such as this, and to a lesser degree, neither does current form. This leaves a little bit of a conundrum insofar as deciding on an angle, deciding on the point of departure leading to prediction.

I will state now, that if the Italians were playing either the greatest team in England; a certain Manchester team , or the special ones it would have been a certain Italian job , but playing Liverpool will be different.

The scouser`s go into this final as the 3rd best team in England , and lets be frank here, they clearly lack the consistency to win the premiership – but in one off games it’s a different ball game . And the beauty of it is, every scouser and his dog knows the current Liverpool side will not win an English premiership title , there are no illusions – what counts on the Spion Kop is the Champions League.

Liverpool have been preparing for this final since before Christmas , as they have had nothing better to do since then , and more importantly, nothing but this final to focus upon – the work is done, they are there, the finishing line is to make it count against the illustrious Rossoneri.

How are they going to achieve the win?

Honesty amongst friends , Liverpool have no star quality , all players are equally mediocre – but the rub is – this is their strength – they are a team and play as a team.

However, the one thing that keeps running round in my head is what are they going to do about Kaka, he has to be contained. And whilst I am a firm believer in the old cliché that one player doesn’t make a team, I do believe that one player can make a difference to a team. And the Milanese difference is the adopted Brazilian . Obviously, Benitez will have a plan, the essence of which will be to close him down, not allow him space and time on or with the ball – but that’s how Liverpool will play this, so it’s just a matter of delegating the responsibility.

Come the final whistle there will be no beeping Fiats or Ferraris on the streets of Milan – but the Kopites rendition of you will never walk alone will be heard from Penzance to Penrith.

Rafa Benitez will be well advised to sleep with one eye open on Wednesday night , otherwise, come Thursday morning he may well find he has snuggled up to a horse`s head…

BET
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LIVERPOOL 90 MINUTES = 4 POINTS @ 3.70
LIVERPOOL EXTRA TIME = 1 POINT @ 16.00
LIVERPOOL PENALTIES = 1 POINT @ 11.00