Trabzonspor v Liverpool preview

Hodgson: Turkish task

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Liverpool take on Turkish side Trabzonspor for the second leg of their Europa League qualifying play-off tie without seven first-team players.

The Reds take a slender 1-0 lead into the game after a victory at Anfield in the first leg, and were in control of much of the opening affair last week.

However, Roy Hodgson's men were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Manchester City on Monday and will find things much more difficult against the Turkish outfit on their home patch.

Captain Steven Gerrard is out with a back problem while Fernando Torres will not be risked for a third successive game following his recent fitness problems.

Both are expected to return for Sunday's Premier League fixture with West Brom, but it will be interesting to see how Liverpool cope without their big guns.

Defender Daniel Agger is still suffering from mild concussion and will not play, while Maxi Rodriguez is missing with illness.

Wantaway midfielder Javier Mascherano, who has been targeted by both Inter Milan and Barcelona, did not play against City earlier in the week and has not flown to Turkey as his transfer saga drags on.

Milan Jovanovic has been rested and new signing Danny Wilson is also omitted from the squad, while Joe Cole and Christian Poulsen could return to the starting line-up.

No apology

Manager Hodgson, who reached the final of the competition with Fulham last term, has made no apologies about resting players, making it clear that the league is the priority for the club this season.

"In leaving a player like Torres out of this game to make sure he can play on Sunday (against West Brom) I am not capable of saying this is the priority," he explained.

"We decided it would be unwise for him to travel as he played virtually a full game on Monday night, the situation with his knee (last season) and the fact he is still in a pre-season training programme.

"No-one wants to go out at this stage of the season but we've been handed the most difficult draw.

"The task will be a tough one but there is no doubt, come May, our league position will be of more interest than how well we fared in the Europa League so I don't make any apologies.

"But if we don't go through it will be because we won't have been good enough to secure our passage, or the attitude was wrong or the desire to progress was not there."