Spartek Moscow vs Liverpool
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier takes his side into Tuesday's crucial Champions League match against Spartak Moscow convinced that he is building a side capable of winning the Premiership and Europe's top club competition. A 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday put Liverpool top of the Premiership for the first time this season and Houllier appreciated the qualities his players showed at Elland Road.
"What I also like about the team is that once we were ahead, we showed a lot of composure and maturity in our game, and that's important, while in many aspects, tactically we were superb," he said.
"We know what we want to do and we are getting there progressively.
"Half of the squad are between the ages of 21 and 23 to 24, which is a good sign because you reap the best of your team later on.
"We have built a squad for the future and at some stage we will reach the target we have in mind."
The French coach, who a year ago was fighting for his life after undergoing surgery for a ruptured valve in his heart, revealed that the Champions League is the tournament he would most like to win. Liverpool last ruled Europe in 1984.
"My players want to win the Premiership and I want to win the Champions League," Houllier told the club's website.
Liverpool are chasing a milestone as no British team has ever beaten Spartak in the Russian capital.
"A good result in Moscow would be history," said Houllier. "It is like when we went to Kiev at the same time last year and became the first British side to win there."
The buoyant mood among the Liverpool camp disguises their average results so far in Group B. They lost to Valencia in their opening game and could only draw with FC Basel although they did thrash Spartak 5-0 at Anfield.
Liverpool are equal on four points with Basel, who host Valencia on Tuesday, and manager of the Swiss club Christian Gross believes they can win although they lost the first match 6-2. Basel's chances are helped by the absence of Valencia's Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar who has a dislocated shoulder.
Striker Emile Heskey, who missed the Macedonia game with a groin strain and did not even make the Liverpool bench at Leeds on Saturday, was passed fit to travel but his international colleague Steven Gerrard failed a fitness test on a hip injury.
Spartak are in form having qualified for the Russian Cup quarter-finals with a 4-0 defeat of Elista on Friday.
They will still be without their Ukrainian international winger Dmitry Parfyonov and skipper and playmaker Yegor Titov, who are both nursing long-term injuries.
Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier takes his side into Tuesday's crucial Champions League match against Spartak Moscow convinced that he is building a side capable of winning the Premiership and Europe's top club competition. A 1-0 win over Leeds on Saturday put Liverpool top of the Premiership for the first time this season and Houllier appreciated the qualities his players showed at Elland Road.
"What I also like about the team is that once we were ahead, we showed a lot of composure and maturity in our game, and that's important, while in many aspects, tactically we were superb," he said.
"We know what we want to do and we are getting there progressively.
"Half of the squad are between the ages of 21 and 23 to 24, which is a good sign because you reap the best of your team later on.
"We have built a squad for the future and at some stage we will reach the target we have in mind."
The French coach, who a year ago was fighting for his life after undergoing surgery for a ruptured valve in his heart, revealed that the Champions League is the tournament he would most like to win. Liverpool last ruled Europe in 1984.
"My players want to win the Premiership and I want to win the Champions League," Houllier told the club's website.
Liverpool are chasing a milestone as no British team has ever beaten Spartak in the Russian capital.
"A good result in Moscow would be history," said Houllier. "It is like when we went to Kiev at the same time last year and became the first British side to win there."
The buoyant mood among the Liverpool camp disguises their average results so far in Group B. They lost to Valencia in their opening game and could only draw with FC Basel although they did thrash Spartak 5-0 at Anfield.
Liverpool are equal on four points with Basel, who host Valencia on Tuesday, and manager of the Swiss club Christian Gross believes they can win although they lost the first match 6-2. Basel's chances are helped by the absence of Valencia's Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar who has a dislocated shoulder.
Striker Emile Heskey, who missed the Macedonia game with a groin strain and did not even make the Liverpool bench at Leeds on Saturday, was passed fit to travel but his international colleague Steven Gerrard failed a fitness test on a hip injury.
Spartak are in form having qualified for the Russian Cup quarter-finals with a 4-0 defeat of Elista on Friday.
They will still be without their Ukrainian international winger Dmitry Parfyonov and skipper and playmaker Yegor Titov, who are both nursing long-term injuries.
