With an 8-0 Anfield victory against Besiktas still fresh in the memory, it would seem an odd time for Liverpool's home form to be called into question.
But with Rafael Benitez's team set to host Fulham in the Premier League today, the Merseyside club will be aiming to claim their first home league victory since a 6-0 thrashing of Derby on Sept 1.
In the four league games staged at Anfield since that emphatic victory, Liverpool have claimed just four points from a possible 12 after drawing with Chelsea, Birmingham, Tottenham and Arsenal.
And with Arsenal and Manchester United beginning to pull clear of the chasing pack at the top of the table, Benitez admits Liverpool can ill-afford to drop more points against Fulham.
Benitez said: “We cannot continue to draw games at home in the league. We must start winning now. If we want to get as close as possible to the top of the table, we have to win more often at Anfield.
“If you analyse the games we have drawn, the difference on each occasion has just been one goal and it could be the difference between where we are now and maybe being second in the table.
“We need to be as good at Anfield as we have been away from home and that needs to start against Fulham.”
Liverpool's Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio has challenged his team-mates to forget about the record-breaking Champions League victory over Besiktas and focus on domestic priorities.
Aurelio said: “We did play very well against Besiktas and we can take a lot of confidence from that, but in football the most important game is the next one and for us that means Fulham, so we must now concentrate on that.
“When you have a result like the one on Tuesday night you have to take it in your stride and not get carried away because we have many important games coming up in the Premier League and in the Champions League and we cannot afford to be distracted.
“We have had a lot of draws in the Premier League and our form at home has not been as good as we would have liked.”
Fulham travel to Anfield still searching for their first away victory of the season and manager Lawrie Sanchez admits that the key for his team will be their ability to compete for the entire 90 minutes.
Sanchez said: “We're a top-seven team for 80 minutes and if we can lock off those last 10 minutes we'd be a top-seven team now.
“It's a bit like riding a bike to a certain extent. There's a falling off period between having stabilisers and being able to do it. Once you've done it, you wonder why you ever needed stabilisers.
“Because of the learning process that goes on and the new team shape we've put together, the group of players as a team haven't learnt to get over the last 10 minutes.
“But last Saturday against Reading was hopefully the first of many. The very fact that after 80 minutes we put ourselves into such great situations show we're a decent team.”
But with Rafael Benitez's team set to host Fulham in the Premier League today, the Merseyside club will be aiming to claim their first home league victory since a 6-0 thrashing of Derby on Sept 1.
In the four league games staged at Anfield since that emphatic victory, Liverpool have claimed just four points from a possible 12 after drawing with Chelsea, Birmingham, Tottenham and Arsenal.
And with Arsenal and Manchester United beginning to pull clear of the chasing pack at the top of the table, Benitez admits Liverpool can ill-afford to drop more points against Fulham.
Benitez said: “We cannot continue to draw games at home in the league. We must start winning now. If we want to get as close as possible to the top of the table, we have to win more often at Anfield.
“If you analyse the games we have drawn, the difference on each occasion has just been one goal and it could be the difference between where we are now and maybe being second in the table.
“We need to be as good at Anfield as we have been away from home and that needs to start against Fulham.”
Liverpool's Brazilian defender Fabio Aurelio has challenged his team-mates to forget about the record-breaking Champions League victory over Besiktas and focus on domestic priorities.
Aurelio said: “We did play very well against Besiktas and we can take a lot of confidence from that, but in football the most important game is the next one and for us that means Fulham, so we must now concentrate on that.
“When you have a result like the one on Tuesday night you have to take it in your stride and not get carried away because we have many important games coming up in the Premier League and in the Champions League and we cannot afford to be distracted.
“We have had a lot of draws in the Premier League and our form at home has not been as good as we would have liked.”
Fulham travel to Anfield still searching for their first away victory of the season and manager Lawrie Sanchez admits that the key for his team will be their ability to compete for the entire 90 minutes.
Sanchez said: “We're a top-seven team for 80 minutes and if we can lock off those last 10 minutes we'd be a top-seven team now.
“It's a bit like riding a bike to a certain extent. There's a falling off period between having stabilisers and being able to do it. Once you've done it, you wonder why you ever needed stabilisers.
“Because of the learning process that goes on and the new team shape we've put together, the group of players as a team haven't learnt to get over the last 10 minutes.
“But last Saturday against Reading was hopefully the first of many. The very fact that after 80 minutes we put ourselves into such great situations show we're a decent team.”
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