Group B: How they stand/Spartak Moscow v Liverpool Gerard Houllier is prepared to order his Liverpool players off the pitch if they are subjected to intolerable racial abuse while playing in Europe, starting with this evening's game against Spartak Moscow.
Liverpool are to play in a stadium where the home supporters are known to taunt the seven black players in their own squad. Much to Spartak's alarm the problem has spread to the extent that, during a reserve-team fixture last week, fans broke off from making monkey noises to shower their black players with bananas.
Despite the disturbing escalation in racist behaviour at recent high-profile matches, the Russian champions have not stepped up security for tonight's fixture at the Dynamo Stadium, with UEFA's present system of fines clearly acting as little deterrent.
Houllier has mooted the idea of banning clubs from European competition for up to a year if their fans offend, and is understood to be willing to lead his side off the field should the abuse escalate.
"We know we'll get some racist abuse and I am concerned, not only for my team but for football in general, because it is creeping back into the game," the Frenchman said. "We handled it in the past and we'll handle it again in a very strong and dignified way, but I will not ignore the problem.
"It's increasing all the time and I know what I'm prepared to do if it goes too far. Action has to be taken. If we let it creep back any further it will be difficult to stop. Maybe if one day a club was banned, the others would be spurred into action because that would really hurt them. We have to do something to eradicate the problem now."
Liverpool's black players suffered the treatment from Valencia fans this season and are likely to have five black players in their squad tonight and three in the starting line-up if Emile Heskey passes a fitness test on a groin.
Heskey, abused with Arsenal's Ashley Cole on England duty in Slovakia two weeks ago, also received similar treatment at Boavista last season, with the Portuguese club subsequently fined a paltry £9,500 by UEFA. "I am aware that it's very difficult for a club to do anything," Houllier said. "What can you do to stop fans shouting from the stands? But we can't ignore it.
"It will not affect my team selection and I would not be afraid to take more radical action should the need arise but, for the moment, the best we can do to counter it is beat their side on the pitch."
To that end Michael Owen, who started on the bench at Leeds on Saturday, will return against a side who capitulated 5-0 at Anfield. The Russians have never lost to English opponents at home though and, 10 years to the day, beat Liverpool 4-2 in a match that saw Bruce Grobbelaar sent off and David Burrows finish in goal.
In Group B's other game Basel manager Christian Gross will be without midfielder Mario Cantaluppi for the visit of Valencia due to a knee injury but Swiss international Hakan Yakin is set to return after being rested in the 6-0 win over St Gallen on Saturday.
With Scott Chipperfield still out, strikers Julio Hernan Rossi and Christian Gimenez are set to continue their productive double-act up front for Basel, who lost 6-2 to Valencia in Spain three weeks ago.
Valencia's Argentine playmaker Pablo Aimar is likely to miss the match after suffering a shoulder injury in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid.
The good news for coach Rafa Benitez is that Argentine winger Kily Gonzalez and Yugoslav defender Miroslav Djukic are both fit.
Another victory will see Valencia through to the second phase, but defender Miroslav Djukic is expecting the Swiss to put up more of fight than they did the last time the two teams met. "We have to think it will be a hard game for us and that the other match was simply a bad day for them," he said.
SPARTAK MOSCOW (probable): Cherchesov; Mitreski, Bezrodny, Kovtun, Khlestov; Kalynychenko, Da Silva, Kudryashov, Kebe; Beschastnykh, Danishevskiy.
LIVERPOOL (probable): Dudek; Carragher, Hyypia, Traore, Riise; Murphy, Diao, Hamann, Heskey; Baros, Owen.
PREVIOUS RESULTS
Sep 17th Valencia 2 Liverpool 0
Basel 2 Spartak 0
Sep 25th Spartak 0 Valencia 3
Liverpool 1 Basel 1
Oct 2nd Valencia 6 Basel 2
Liverpool 5 Spartak 0
REMAINING FIXTURES
Tonight: Spartak v Liverpool
Basel v Valencia
Õct 30th Liverpool v Valencia
Spartak v Basel
Nov 12th: Valencia v Spartak
Basel v Liverpool
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