I've A Terrible Feeling About This....

Match Preview

UEFA Champions League

3rd Round Qualifying 2nd Leg

Maccabi Haifa vs Liverpool

Rafael Benitez had to withstand a tortuous trip to the Ukraine on Monday before walking straight into an astonishing assault on Liverpool's motives and character ahead of Tuesday's Champions League showdown against Maccabi Haifa.

Liverpool's flight from John Lennon airport was delayed for 90 minutes due to mechanical problems before they were forced to wait for another 90 minutes at Kiev airport to get their baggage because their plane 'had been parked in the wrong place'.

Eventually the charter plane was moved to the correct place to allow the baggage to be unloaded but not before there had been further delays over Chile international Mark Gonzalez's visa, while Peter Crouch was unable to produce his passport because it was stuck in the hold while the baggage row continued.

Both players eventually continued their journey to the city centre with their team-mates before embarking on a delayed training session.

Now, this is what I call a nightmare. We'll be playing against Haifa away at a neutral ground over at Ukraine, holding on to a slender 2-1 lead over the Israelian side. But Liverpool will of course face some problem and to be honest, I've a bad feeling about this game. It all points to us screwing it up, but I shall be optimistic and keep things in perspective.

Of course the thing that concerns me most is Jamie Carragher and John Arne Riise will NOT be fit for this game. The duo are the lynchpin in our defence and we'll sorely miss them. So Daniel Agger and Fabio Aurelio will most likely deputise them.

Let's cross our fingers and hope we don't screw this game up. Losing a place in the Champions League is not an option for Liverpool, you know. Come on Reds, bounce back from that disappointing draw against Sheffield Utd. and start firing now.

We really, really CAN'T afford to lose this game. I can't imagine really, I can't....