Smith: Now's the time for Aquilani

Tonight really is the ideal game for Alberto Aquilani. But it’s certainly not the ideal game for Liverpool FC, writes Tommy Smith in the Echo.

I can't remember a European match at Anfield which was effectively meaningless. But this one is and it's so frustrating.

The Italian though, will quite rightly see it differently and after sitting on the bench for so long he'll be bursting to get out there.

The fact the pressure is off is a good thing for him. But there is a different sort of pressure on him and it's all to do with expectation.

Everyone can see, that, as we feared, the loss of Xabi Alonso this season has hit us hard.

Fans are praying Aquilani can replace him now, though he'll have his own style and strengths and comparisons in that sense will be unfair.

He's also comes with a £20m price tag. But if reacts to it in the same way as a certain Fernando Torres did, then it will prove money well spent.

Aquilani's appearance really is the main focus tonight because win or lose we're going into the Europa League.

Some people say it's not worth winning but this is not just a trophy, it's a European trophy and one I was proud to lift back in 1973. So I hope we shrug off the disappointment of being in it and next year go all out to win it.

If we do so it wll give the fans a great day out in Hamburg and prove to people that we're not suddenly to be written off as a force in Europe.

Add to that a to four finish which would put us back on the big stage next season, and we can still prove a good few people wrong.

But tonight at Anfield it's all about Aquilani.

Not many Italians have succeeded in the Premier League.

But for the sake of Liverpool and Rafa Benitez, this guy just has to go on and make a real difference now.

Big time for Ryan Babel

IT seems Rafa Benitez has given Ryan Babel the benefit of the doubt over his latest reported outburst. If so he's a very lucky lad and he had better take what will surely be his last chance. He may also play tonight and he too has a point to prove.

It's talking on the pitch time, big time for Babel.

Let's go gunning for Arsenal

SUNDAY'S game at Anfield against Arsenal could not be more different than tonight's.

The Gunners are still a team in transition for me and while they can hurt you, they do give you chances too.

The loss of van Persie long term is a big blow to them but they are also likely to be missing Bendtner, Rosicky, Walcott and maybe Eduardo too.

That said, we'll have to keep a closer eye on Andrei Arshavin than we did last season, when he got all their goals in that 4-4 draw.

If Aquilani does show us what we hope to see tonight he may well be given another start. If so I just hope he'll give us that bit more creativity going forward and free Steven Gerrard up because as ever, he is bound to be key to the outcome.

So is Fernando Torres. We always miss him - any team would - and if he's back and we can do the business, it will give everyone at Anfield a huge lift.

Points we can take from the better sides are going to be crucial now to breaking back into that top four.

I just hope if we do go in front on Sunday, we show more bottle than we did against Manchester City, when we sat back afterwards and let them score twice.

We have to show more belief than we've been doing - and go for the goals that finish these teams off.

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