Reds aim to banish Euro blues against Blackburn

Liverpool can banish the crushing disappointment of their midweek Champions League defeat against Chelsea by beating Blackburn on Saturday to keep up the pressure at the top of the Premier League.

Less than 72 hours after suffering a 3-1 quarter-final first leg defeat at Anfield, Rafa Benitez’s shell-shocked players return to domestic matters when they host struggling Rovers at Anfield.

Liverpool, who will kick off one point behind Manchester United, can go top of the table with a victory ahead of the leaders’ trip to Sunderland later Saturday.

Reds midfielder Lucas admits that the mood within the camp was glum following a defeat which leaves Liverpool requiring three goals at Stamford Bridge in next Tuesday’s return leg.

But the Brazilian, who started against Chelsea in the absence of suspended Javier Mascherano, believes a victory over Blackburn would lift the mood ahead of next week’s Champions League second leg.

“It is impossible not to think about this game afterwards when you go home, but at training the next day you have to focus on Blackburn,” Lucas said.

“Hopefully we won’t make the same mistakes because we still have chances in the title race.

“We are really disappointed but we have to forget about this now because we have a really important game on Saturday, then the second leg.

“We can’t talk too much now about the Champions League because we have a massive game against Blackburn.”

Liverpool’s mood has not been helped by the news that influential captain Steven Gerrard is struggling to make the starting line-up.

The England midfielder, who had surgery on his groin last August, aggravated a persistent groin problem during the Chelsea match on Wednesday.

The extent of the injury remains unclear but if Gerrard has exacerbated the problem, it could have deep repercussions for the remainder of the season as Liverpool have little margin for error in their pursuit of United.

“Steven was not 100 percent – you could see that,” said Benitez, who welcomes back Mascherano from suspension.

“It was the same for Fernando Torres, you could see that they were a little tired, not as sharp as before.”

On paper, Liverpool ought to dispose of Blackburn without too much fuss.

Blackburn have spent the season fighting relegation and although they arrive on Merseyside boasting a five-point safety cushion, they are without a league win at Anfield since 1993.

Sam Allardyce, the Blackburn manager, was at Anfield on Wednesday to watch Liverpool commit defensive suicide against Chelsea.

He believes his players can expose some of the frailties he witnessed.

“I went to have a look and watch what was probably the most in-form team in this country at the moment come a little unstuck on the night,” Allardyce said.

“We can only hope it knocks their confidence a little bit. Their pride will have been hurt, but they are still just one point off Manchester United.

“I think they’ll be all guns blazing, but we’ve come across that before and have had to cope with it.”