THEY USED to say it was only the foolish and the rich who were bold enough to bet against a Liverpool victory, irrespective of circumstances, irrespective of opposition.
However, it is safe to assume that most of Merseyside's crumpled tenners will be remaining in back pockets until after Paris St Germain have departed home tomorrow morning.
It is not that the Liverpool public no longer loves its team; it just doesn't trust it any more. Anfield is bracing itself for the painful experience of elimination from the Cup Winners' Cup and, perhaps, readying itself to deliver a collective raspberry to a teamed ,dubbed locally The Spice Boys as a result of some of its members' alleged liking for life's fripperies - Spice Girls and the like.
Two weeks ago in the Parc de Princes Liverpool produced their most inept performance of a chequered campaign. In winning this semi final's first leg 3-0, Paris were, apparently, at their imperious best. And there lies the hope. Not a great deal of hope, but just enough to remove tonight's game from the category labelled `fore gone conclusion'.
If the roles can be reversed this evening it will take two to tango Liverpool might, just might, come up with a miracle.
Roy Evans is not a gambling man, yet tonight he will toss caution to the wind - not because he wishes to, but because he has no option. In the hope of forcing the early breakthrough which is imperative if logic is to be turned on its head, he will start the game with three orthodox forwards, Robbie Fowler, Stan Collymore and Patrik Berger.
