As Liverpool emerge into the Nou Camp this evening (8.15, BBC 1) the last thing on their supporters' minds will be pingpong. "But it'll be a bit like a table tennis game," insisted Gerard Houllier yesterday. "Barca like to attack and so do we. I'd be surprised if it ended 0-0."
With good reason. Liverpool have scored 96 goals in all competitions this season; Barcelona, red-faced at their early demise from the Champions League and a hopeless 10 points adrift of Real Madrid in the Primera Liga, have failed to score at the Nou Camp only twice this season.
"We don't fear anybody," said Houllier, who is attempting to emulate the Liverpool side of 1976 that triumphed in Barcelona on their way to UEFA Cup victory. "We are getting stronger as the season progresses. I think my team can compete with any side in Europe."
The home coach, Lorrenzo Serra Ferrer, likely to be replaced by Valencia's Hector Cuper in the summer, described this as the biggest game of Barca's season in a desperate plea for supporters to attend. The turn-out may still reflect Catalan displeasure at their side's stuttering progress, despite the anticipated goal glut.
"Barcelona can be brilliant," Houllier said. "Offensively, not many teams can compete with them. Rivaldo, Overmars, Kluivert, Luis Enrique - that's got to be the best in Europe. But because they attack so much they leave themselves open.
"Rivaldo's a great player because he can repeat and reproduce individual brilliance which change the face of games. But we've got Michael Owen."
Houllier has been keen to tie the England striker to a new contract, conscious that his current deal expires in 2003. "I think Michael would be making a mistake to leave us," he said, "but I can't criticise players who might want to move abroad because I am a Frenchman who moved to England".
The 21-year-old's startling recent form has not been lost on the Catalans. "Liverpool have so much pace they will use the wide spaces of the Nou Camp to their advantage, especially Owen," said the Dutch midfielder Philip Cocu.
Although Liverpool will be without the injured former Barca playmaker Jari Litmanen, they boast a trio of Germans who know how to deflate the Nou Camp.
Dietmar Hamann, Markus Babbel and Christian Ziege were members of the Bayern Munich squad which won 2-1 at Barcelona in the 1996 UEFA Cup semi-final. Although the latter, having failed to establish himself in the Liverpool defence, has finally riled his manager with his constant whingeing.
"I just told him to shut up," said Houllier. "The players understand that if they are on the bench it's not because they are not playing well, but because I have to pick a team that will hurt Barcelona."
While history will be on Liverpool's side with that 1976 win, recent form suggests victory over Catalans, who won the competition for the third and last time when it was still the Fairs Cup back in 1966, is unlikely.
Barcelona have played five English sides in the Champions League in the last four seasons - Newcastle United, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds United - and none of them have managed to win at the Nou Camp.
Ferrer will make a late decision on his line-up, with Abelardo a long-term injury victim and Michael Reiziger struggling to be fit. Emmanuel Petit or Cocu could be pulled back into defence.
In the other semi-final, Kaiserslautern, managed by the former Germany defender Andreas Brehme, travel to Alaves. The Spanish club, in their first season in Europe, are the underdogs although, having already beaten Inter Milan, their confidence will be high.
LIVERPOOL (probable): Westerweld; Babbel, Hyypia, Henchoz, Carragher; Barmby, Gerrard, Hamann, Murphy; Owen, Heskey.
BARCELONA (probable): Reina; Gabri, Cocu, De Boer, Sergi; Guardiola, Xavi; Luis Enrique, Rivaldo, Overmars; Kluivert.
