Rivals reach breaking point at Anfield

Liverpool FC and Arsenal FC have been inseparable in recent days, both in terms of the scoreline and the number of times they have faced each other, but something's got to give in their UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg at Anfield.

Score draws
The sides played out their third 1-1 draw of the season on Saturday, in the Premier League in north London, leaving Arsenal six points behind leaders Manchester United in third place and eight clear of Liverpool, who are fourth. The same result on Tuesday would send the tie to extra time and, potentially, penalties but Liverpool's away goal last Wednesday means Arsenal must score at some stage to stand any chance of survival in the clubs' third meeting inside a week.

'Massive difference'
Asked if he thinks this latest encounter will be radically different from the previous matches, Liverpool manager Rafael Benítez replied: "Yes, I think so, for two reasons – one is that we are playing at Anfield and that is a massive difference, and the other thing is that they [Arsenal] need to win, so it could be an attacking game." A goalless draw would be enough to see Liverpool through on the away goals rule, but the Spaniard said: "We need to win also ... we don't want a 0-0 draw. We prefer to score and we prefer to win. We know that Arsenal can score away from home."

Crouch dilemma

'More urgency'
Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger says he expects the unexpected from the return leg. "A surprise can always happen, even if you know each other very well," he said. "I believe it will be different this time because, at the end of the game, there will be a sanction – we want to stay in this competition but one of us has to move out. So there is more urgency in this game and less observation."

Tense times
Wenger concedes he is suffering with his nerves more than usual this season, but he predicts that his players will keep their cool in the intimidating cauldron of noise that the Kop will help generate. "They [Liverpool] have the support for them but it's down to us to keep the crowd quiet, though I accept that's difficult because here they are a bit louder than anywhere else and, especially, they have more stamina than anywhere else. At the end of the day, it will still be down to how well we play on the pitch," the Frenchman said.

Van Persie back
Arsenal include striker Robin van Persie in their squad, although he limped off with a thigh strain in the first leg and missed the subsequent Premier League fixture, but Eduardo da Silva, Tomáš Rosický, Johan Djourou, Alexandre Song and Bacary Sagna all remain unavailable.