Rafael Benitez has put a brave face on the loss of Morientes and Pellegrino (cup tied), and Gerrard (suspension) for tomorrow's massive game against Bayer Leverkusen.

"It's always good to have our best players available but this is not always the case," says Benitez. "It is normal to have player out through either suspension or injury and there is nothing we can do about it. We have been preparing for this game without those players and we have solutions.

"It is in attack were we are most affected but we have options to play alongside Milan (Baros). We have Kewell, Le Tallec, Garcia and Smicer. They all have experience."

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