It's been a long summer with the Alonso (and Mascherano) saga putting a huge cloud over life so it will be very nice to get back to actually talking about the football. Hopefully this being a midweek game will mean the daytrippers aren't out in full force and give us a decent atmosphere to kick off with.
How do you feel about playing Stoke first up at home. On paper you could have far tougher tasks, but we managed to pull out a couple of draws last season?
One of the hardest first home fixtures we could have had in all honesty. It's one where we're expected to win comfortably but we all know we won't, especially after a tricky opener at Spurs. 180 minutes without a goal against you last season so certainly not who I'd have wanted.
Would you say you need a victory on Wednesday, or is it too early to even think about being out of the title race?
It's not too early at all, Steven Gerrard once said the title wasn't won in September but it can be lost. Far too often of late we've been playing catch up almost from the start and again we are, another few dropped points here and the rest of the big four (five) win again and it puts huge pressure on us, especially with the world citing Alonso's loss as the factor.
You have a lot of injuries at the minute, is the sale of Alonso coming back to bite you on the backside? Has Benitez's popularity suffered due to this?
I'm not sure Benitez's popularity has suffered due to it, those who aren't a fan weren't a fan before Xabi left. Those who are a fan knew Alonso was leaving months ago. £30m was a good price to receive, the most annoying thing is we haven't spent a penny of it (Aquilani was funded with money from selling some squad players). I sincerely hope there's another midfielder on their way.
Any Stoke players you are wary of?
None in particular but obviously Delap's throw is a concern, particularly after the injuries to Carra and Skrtel on Sunday. We need them to be fit to combat the high balls into the box. Beattie always seems to do well against us though.
Who should we be looking out for on your side?
Hopefully Torres will get some better service, Johnson looked good against Spurs, Benayoun should start and have a point to prove. You could look out for Voronin coming off the subs bench - that's when you know we're desperate!
Finally, your prediction is?
2-1 scrappy home win. I'd take it too. I don't care how we win this as long as we do!