Liverpool v Watford: Rafael Benitez will hope his senior players prove as ruthless against Watford tonight as he has been in his team selection after the Liverpool manager relegated the youngsters who had propelled his side to the semi-final stage to the sidelines.
The Spaniard will instead select the likes of Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Milan Baros, who have not featured in this competition this season, for the home leg in the hope that Liverpool establish an emphatic advantage to allow him to rest the seniors for the second leg at Vicarage Road in a fortnight.
"We have a lot of senior players and we'll have time to recover them ahead of the game against Manchester United on Saturday, so they'll play," said Benitez, who will be without Sami Hyypia, who is ill, but has selected only Darren Potter of the recognised juniors in his squad for this evening's game.
"I don't think that's being unfair. This is the semi-final and the Carling Cup is important for everyone at the club."
The postponement of last Friday's FA Cup third-round tie at Burnley allowed Benitez to give his entire playing staff a welcome rest. In the meantime, the Spaniard has continued to monitor, with some frustration, his club's protracted negotiations with Real Madrid over the proposed £6 million purchase of the striker Fernando Morientes.
Benitez remains confident agreement is close, though he will look elsewhere if Real do not sanction the sale within 48 hours. "We will wait one or two days, no more," he said. "If we don't have a solution by then, we have to work on one or two other names. Real have told us that they have received two or three offers from clubs for more money than we have proposed, but the player wants to come to us. I'm optimistic something will be sorted out."
One senior player who will not feature tonight is Mauricio Pellegrino, who was paraded as a Liverpool player yesterday having insisted the Merseysiders offer him only a six-month contract with an option for another year, rather than an immediate 18-month deal as originally proposed.
"I want to prove myself," the 33-year-old said. "I could have taken the easy option and sat my contract out at Valencia, but this is a new challenge. This is an opportunity I could not pass up."
Alex Ferguson is ready to call on Wayne Rooney after recent suspension for Manchester United's semi-final first leg at Chelsea tomorrow. "It is possible Wayne will play," Ferguson said. "He has missed the last three games but he has been doing well in training, so it is a consideration."
After a humiliating, goalless draw against non-league Exeter on Saturday, Ferguson will need a much improved performance, and Louis Saha, John O'Shea and Quinton Fortune might also be available after recent injury.
United's replay with Exeter will be shown live on BBC on Wednesday, January 19th, with a 7.45 pm kick-off. The extra £150,000 means Exeter will have generated over £750,000 through the two meetings, enough to wipe out their entire debt.
