Benitez will stifle Milan's main men

Two years on and still some of us are trying to get our heads around what happened in Istanbul, but here we are again, Liverpool and AC Milan in a Champions League final. I have a feeling the outcome will be the same, that Liverpool will win the competition for the second time in three years, but I wouldn't put too much money on them doing it in the same manner.

Naturally, in the build-up to the final, much has been made of 2005, how it could be a big factor on Wednesday - that either Milan will be so determined to erase that memory they will be unstoppable, or that they will be so scarred by it that they will crumble again. I don't subscribe to either view.

In fact, I don't honestly see 2005 being a factor, at all. Yes, of course, Liverpool can take confidence from the memory, and Milan might just be a little more protective of a three-goal lead should they build one again, but the likes of Maldini, Nesta, Gattuso, Pirlo and Seedorf are so used to playing in massive games, at club and international level, some of them in World Cup finals, they're not going to be affected by something that happened two years ago. It's gone.

That's why these players have been around for so long at the highest level, they're mentally very strong, they're not scarred by anything. As a team Milan were hugely impressive against Manchester United in the second leg of the semi-finals, it's hard to think of a better performance this season. But Liverpool simply won't allow Milan the time and space in midfield that United gave them that night. That's the key difference. Liverpool can cope with the physicality that AC Milan possess in midfield, and I think that's why they can win it.

United got taken apart by Milan, Pirlo, Gattuso, Ambrosini and Seedorf were outstanding in midfield, and with Kaka dropping off a little bit he almost made it a five-man midfield at times. United looked very lightweight, they just couldn't get the ball to service the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney and Giggs, it was just a physical impossibility on the night.

There's no doubt United are a better team than Liverpool in many, many areas but, Liverpool are just better equipped at strangling the opposition. When it comes to not being pulled out of position, making sure the opposing midfield has very little time on the ball, almost suffocating them, Liverpool are as good as any one. That's why they're in the final, it's something they do extremely well.

And I do think Milan will be more worried about playing Liverpool than they would have been playing United, because of what Liverpool have and what they can do to them. They would always have fancied their chances of scoring against United, both at home and away, but they know Liverpool are capable of restricting the opposition to very few chances.

Rafa Benitez just sees these Champions League games as chess matches, it's all about getting your pieces to compete with the opposition's pieces, to offer that barrier to them. For 70 minutes you wear them down, then maybe make a couple of subtle substitutions, then you start to go for it a little. His approach is very much "score one, then protect it". His teams aren't particularly designed to chase a game, and that's the area where they fall.

Carlo Ancelotti, then, will be doubly anxious that Liverpool don't take the lead because he knows if they do they will just close the game off.

For a game of this importance you can generally guess what team most managers would pick, but with Benitez there are usually at least two in there you wouldn't have guessed.

It's a case of expecting the unexpected with him. Zenden in the semi-finals? Where did that come from? Riise could be pushed forward from left back. Will Arbeloa come in? Kewell? There's even a possibility that Gerrard will be played off the front striker, probably Kuyt, which would be a very Benitez-type thing to do. He could put Zenden or Kewell in that role too. You just never know.

His more likely midfield set-up would be Gerrard on the right, with Mascherano and Alonso in the centre. On the left? Well, Zenden seems to be struggling to be fit, so it's possible that it could be Kewell on the left.

Granted, it would be him doing his bi-annual "get fit for the Champions League final" carry-on, but I was at the Liverpool v Charlton game and when he came on he was excellent, he looked sharp, but he can hardly claim to be tired after a long season.

Mascherano has brought Liverpool a tremendous reliability, particularly with his tackling. It's a nice combination with Alonso or Gerrard, or whoever plays in there.

It will be interesting to see who Benitez starts up front. If Crouch starts you really have to play with wide men to supply him, otherwise why bother? But do you start with Crouch and Kuyt, or do you play Bellamy? Well, for me, in the last three months of the season Bellamy has been totally ineffectual so I would be very surprised if he starts.

The outstanding players for each side are Gerrard and Kaka, maybe Pirlo, but neither side has a genuine world-class striker. In fact, Milan effectively play without a centre forward. They have Gilardino and Inzaghi, but they rarely play together, and really their main role is to occupy defenders - if you're Liverpool and you've done your homework, which Benitez will have done, you get your two centre backs to deal with, say, Gilardino, allowing your full backs to push on, adding even more bodies to midfield, which suits Liverpool.

Whoever he picks Benitez will ensure that Milan are smothered in midfield, that they have nowhere near the level of freedom and space they were given by United. He knows that if you're going to beat Milan you've got to keep the ball from the likes of Pirlo and Kaka. And I can seem them succeeding in stifling Milan.

If it was a crazy game two years ago, a goal-fest, I think this time we're talking a goal drought, possibly of Saharan proportions. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if it went to penalties again, so we could be in for another long night. And I just have a feeling that Liverpool will do it, again.