Johnson confident of Euro glory

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson is confident the Reds can progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Back to back defeats at the hands of Fiorentina and Lyon have left Liverpool's Champions League campaign hanging in the balance.

The Merseysiders sit third in Group E with three points, with an early exit a real possibility for the 2005 winners.

However, Johnson is confident Liverpool can turn things around - starting with a victory over Lyon in France on Wednesday night.

He said: "It would be a disaster for this club not qualifying for the knockout stages - but it's not something we are thinking about,

"We have still got to believe we can do it. We don't even want to start thinking about the Europa League.

"It will be no consolation at all. It's not the aim and it's not the plan because we want to be in the Champions. It is one of the main reasons why players want to play for a big side."

Johnson admits he would love to lift the Champions League with Liverpool and claims it is just as important to the Anfield side as the Premier League.

"The Champions League is the best club competition there is. I played in it a few times with Chelsea and playing in it again was something that I was looking forward to doing," he continued. "And I would love to go on and win it with Liverpool. But really I don't want to look too far ahead because we have made things very difficult for ourselves in the last two games.

"On paper we should be winning this group. The Champions League is just as important to us as the Premier League."

Punters may wish to use their free bet to back Liverpool to beat Lyon on Wednesday as Rafael Benitez's side will be eager to bounce back from their Premier League defeat to Fulham on Saturday. Johnson admits the trip to to France will not be easy, but believes his side have what it takes to beat the Ligue 1 outfit.

He added: "Any away game in the Champions League is hard. We must stick together and fight for each other. Hopefully we can keep a clean sheet and come back with three points."