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Lucas to get nod
Liverpool, 09:16, September 16, 2009 ,
Javier Mascherano may find himself on the bench for the Champions League opener against Debrecen tonight with Lucas Leiva playing.
Midfielder Mascherano has been suffering with a pelvic injury that kept him out of the win over Burnley at the weekend and although he has recovered he may still find himself on the bench due to the impressive performances of Leiva and Yossi Benayoun at the weekend.
Daniel Agger is close to a return after undergoing an operation on a niggling back problem but is unlikely to be risked in a game Liverpool are expected to win.
Rafa Benitez said: "Agger is training very hard.
"But because he's gone a long time without strength work, we are trying to protect him a little bit. He is fit, but we have enough people in the squad to use.
"We need to improve his match fitness, but first we have to increase his strength."