Liverpool travel to Istanbul to face Galatasaray in a Champions League group-stage match on Tuesday, having already secured first place in Group C. Manager Rafa Benitez left several key players at home, including captain Steven Gerrard, goalkeeper Jose Reina, defender Sami Hyypia, and right-back Steve Finnan, using the low-stakes fixture to give younger players exposure. Stephen Darby, who led Liverpool's youth side to FA Cup glory the previous season, earned his first senior call-up alongside Danny Guthrie, Lee Peltier, David Martin, and Miki Roque.
Goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek is expected to start, a notably sentimental selection given that the match takes place in the same stadium where his penalty shootout heroics against AC Milan secured Liverpool's fifth European Cup title in May 2005. Dudek has made only seven first-team appearances since that night, just one in the current season. More than 5,000 Liverpool supporters are expected to make the trip to Türkiye.
Striker Peter Crouch, rested for the weekend's 4-0 win at Wigan, said the priority now is improving league form: "The most important thing is to get our Premiership form up to scratch." Liverpool had not won a Premiership away match all season before the Wigan result.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.