Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez is intent on making up for his side's virtual elimination from the Barclays Premier League title race by taking a major step towards alternative silverware this week.
Benitez leads his side into Saturday's FA Cup fifth round clash with Barnsley before Inter Milan arrive at Anfield just three days later for a crucial Champions League showdown.
And while Benitez is expected to juggle his starting line-up in order to give himself the best chance of success on two fronts, he is not under-estimating the importance of the clash against the Tykes.
Benitez said: "Your aim is to win every trophy but sometimes you have to be realistic and sometimes you cannot. A lot of teams have the same problem. We have not won the league for 18 years and I have been here for three.
"We will try to win every game in the league to try to finish in the top four. But we know we also have a big chance in both of the cups and we will be taking them seriously."
Benitez was buoyed by last weekend's gutsy draw at Chelsea but will need to reshuffle his defence in search of another clean sheet as Martin Skrtel is ruled out with a calf injury.
Fernando Torres, Sami Hyypia, Fabio Aurelio and Alvaro Arbeloa are all available again but present varying degrees of risk and Benitez is likely to rest all four of them with an eye on the Inter clash.
"All of them will be fit, but the question for me is whether it is a risk I need to take, or do I have other players who can play in those positions?" added Benitez.
Source : www.sportinglife.com
