Champions League: Sami Hypia has urged his Liverpool team-mates to "look themselves in the mirror" before they meet the Swiss champions Basle at Anfield this evening.
Following their comprehensive 2-0 defeat in Valencia last week, Liverpool must avoid defeat tonight if they are to maintain serious hopes of progressing from Group B into the second stage.
"The result in Valencia has to be a wake-up call for the team," said Liverpool's captain. "There are only five more games in the group including tonight's match and we need to get enough points to progress. It is time for us to wake up and get those points.
"Everybody was disappointed by our performance last week and we must use that disappointment to drive us on. The way we lost the game was not acceptable because we played so badly.
"All of the players must look in the mirror and see what they can do better against Basle. We are all only human and sometimes you have a bad day at the office. Unfortunately, more than one person had a bad day last week."
With Anfield hosting its 100th European game this evening, Liverpool's manager Gerard Houllier has insisted that Michael Owen will retain the responsibility of taking penalties, despite the England striker missing his second spot-kick of the season against West Bromwich Albion last weekend.
Owen has missed six of his last 12 penalties for Liverpool and has scored just once this season, a penalty against Newcastle.
"Michael will take our next penalty," Houllier insisted. "I've spoken to him about it and he told me that he would understand if I took him away from the duty."
The striker has also received a vote of confidence from England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson: "Unfortunately, he's not scoring, but if you see every big striker in the world, now and then that happens to them and it becomes a thing inside the head more than a physical thing."
Liverpool are without the suspended Dietmar Hamann and Vladimir Smicer, whose broken toe has still to heal.
On Hamann, Houllier said: "I would have liked to have decided myself when to give my players a rest, but maybe it will help him considering he has not had a break since the World Cup and he will be refreshed for the game at Manchester City on Saturday."
Bruno Cheyrou or Salif Diao look the prime candidates to be plunged into a restructured midfield, but one that will have the in-form pair of Steven Gerrard and Danny Murphy at its heart.
LIVERPOOL: (probable 4-4-2) Dudek; Carragher, Hyypia, Henchoz, Riise; Murphy, Gerrard, Cheyrou, Heskey; Owen, Baros.
BASLE: (probable 4-3-1-2): Zuberbuhler; Haas, Quennoz, M Yakin, Atouba; Barberis, Cantaluppi, Esposito; H Yakin; Gimenez, Rossi.
Referee: D van Egmond (Netherlands).
Guardian Service
Liverpool v Basle, 7.45 (TV3)
