Two goals up from the first leg, Liverpool and Rafael Benitez know exactly what they need to do to knock out Serie A leaders Inter Milan and qualify for the quarter finals of the Champions League.
But, how would you line up if you were Benitez?
A strong defence is obviously going to be vital and, luckily for us, keeping cleansheets in Europe has become something of a forte in recent times (finals excluded).
Jamie Carragher has been the main reason for many of those shutouts and, with the in-form centre back on 99 European performances for the club, you have to say he's a shoo-in to start. Alongside him Martin Skrtel has grown in stature with every game since joining in Jaunary, but veteran Finn Sami Hyypia has more than enough experience to handle the big occasion.
At the time of writing Javier Mascherano can still be classified a doubt after missing Saturday's 3-0 win over Newcastle United. You'd have the Argentine as your midfield anchor if passed fit though, wouldn't you?
Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres have formed a mesmerising partnership in recent weeks and, again, they are dead certs to be in Rafa's XI. But who do play around them? And how would Gerrard best be deployed?
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A 2-0 victory is the very least Inter Milan need when Liverpool travel to the San Siro on Tuesday and the Serie A leaders prepared by getting that exact result against lowly Reggina on Saturday.
Roberto Mancini's side, who have suffered their first domestic blip in recent weeks - losing at Napoli and getting only two points from games against Sampdoria and closest rival Roma - had victory sewn up within 34 minutes.
It will seem a timely return to winning ways for the Italians with Rafael Benitez's Red Army set to descend upon the San Siro.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic opened the scoring 14 minutes in after Inter were awarded a penalty for a debatable foul on Esteban Cambiasso. The Swedish striker stepped up to confidently send goalkeeper Andrea Campagnolo the wrong way.
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Life for the once infallible Inter Milan hasn't been quite so smooth since suffering defeat at Anfield a fortnight ago.
As we told you last week day they needed a late Hernan Crespo equaliser to avoid defeat at Sampdoria and maintain their impressive unbeaten domestic record.
Then, on Wednesday night (see highlights above), they again needed a late intervention, this time from Javier Zanetti, to take a point against closest rivals Roma.
It was a stunning strike from the Argentine and one that seemingly ended any hopes of Roma catching Roberto Mancini's side. Surely Inter would celebrate with victory at Napoli on Sunday? Wrong.
After 25 Serie A games and countless cup matches Marcelo Zalayeta's third-minute strike, following a howler from goakeeper Julio Cesar, (see video below) was enough to see Nerazzurri finally beaten by a team from their own shores.
Furthermore, Roma threw themselves a lifeline by thrashing Parma 4-0 and cutting the gap at the top to just six points in the process.
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Bar a 94th-minute strike from Arsenal striker Niclas Bendtner Aston Villa would now be the first team this season to win at Emirates Stadium.
Ok, it means little in a game where Carling Cup winners can lose 4-1 to Birmingham and 10 men can win 4-0 at one of their 'fiercest' local rivals. After all West Ham won at the Gunners' new home last season and then came 90 minutes from relegation.
But the way Aston Villa have come to perform under Martin O'Neill this season means results like Saturday's simply cannot be overlooked as flukes.
Since narrowly suffering defeat at the feet of Steven Gerrard on the opening day Villa have gone from strength to strength, highlighted by the way they came from behind to almost steal victory at Anfield in January. On that occasion it was a late intervention from Peter Crouch which denied them. Manchester United too were contained until Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in the final 10 minutes.
Although two dropped points is a blow to Arsenal's title aspirations, they're not looking over their shoulder at Villa. Unfortunately we are, and, although the above evidence could on one hand see Villa labelled 'bottlers', they could also be more dangerous in the battle for fourth spot than Everton.
With Everton we get the chance to right some wrongs. David Moyes still has to march his troops across Stanley Park for what is sure to be one of the most important Merseyside derbies in years. O'Neill's side, to use a football manager's cliché, can only keep winning.
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Inter Milan's lead at the top of Serie A has been cut to nine points after Roberto Mancini's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Sampdoria on Sunday.
The Nerazzurri, who lost for only the second time this season at Anfield last Tuesday, came within 14 minutes of losing their 100 per cent domestic record before former Chelsea striker Herno Crespo's late intervention.
Antonio Cassano fired the hosts into the lead on 65 minutes but Crespo's fine header salvaged a point.
Second-placed Roma beat Fiorentina 1-0, and although the gap between the two sides looks unbridgable, the picture could be somewhat different after the two sides meet at the San Siro on Wednesday night.
An Inter victory would all but end the Serie A title race, but defeat would further derail the champions at a crucial stage of the campaign.
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1. Few distractions - With our title challenge over, not to mention our Carling and FA Cup campaigns, the only thing Rafa has to keep his eye on other than the Champions League is ensuring we qualify for the competition again.
2. The Anfield crowd - We've heard it before and we'll hear it again. The noise that rolls around Anfield on European nights is immense.
3. Colossal centre backs - When it comes to keeping out Europe's best attackers few have the experience - or the success rate - of Jamie Carragher and Sami Hyypia. Carragher's performance in Istanbul was a textbook defensive display and a key factor in Liverpool's triumph.
4. Defensively strong midfielders - Recent history suggests that teams with solid defensive midfielders do well in Europe. Look at Milan with Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo, us with Didi Hamann and Xabi Alonso, and Real Madrid when they had Claude Makelele. With Javier Mascherano, Lucas and Alonso to choose from solidity isn't an issue.
5. Steven Gerrard's knack of bagging match-winning goals - The examples are endless. Olympiakos was magic. West Ham was euphoric. Moscow?
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Here is the place for all those of you who reviled Rafa on Saturday and revered him on Tuesday to say:
"My name is [edit as applicable] and I am a hypocrite."
Of course, I'll have most respect for those who, like myself, pleaded with Rafa to be given time (see here). I will also have a morsel of respect for those who lambasted Rafa and still feel justified in doing so.
What I don't want to see are too many of the fickle type who saw the light only once Roberto Mancini and Inter Milan had been put to the sword.
Let's not get carried away here - one good result does not paper over the cracks of our crumbled season. Far from it. There are plenty of issues which need to be addressed over the summer.
However, it just seems to me - and seems unhelpful - that one moment the bandwagon is hurtling away in one direction towards AntiRafasville, and the next it's flying back past, towards thoughts of Moscow, a third final in four years and more 'In Rafa we trust' banners than you can shake a maraca at.
So which camp are you in following the ecstasy of Inter Milan? The forever faithfuls, the anti-Rafas, or the hypocrites?
[Image: Getty]
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