Fulham boosted their chances of staging a late, dramatic escape from the jaws of relegation at he weekend by earning their first away win in 34 attempts. But bthey remain in a perilous position, and Liverpudlian midfielder Danny Murphy hopes his former club Liverpool will do them a favour next week by resting some of their top players.
Danny Murphy and his Fulham team-mates will be fans of the notorious Rafa Benitez rotation system next week as the Cottagers - having given themselves a lifeline by beating Reading 2-0 away on Saturday - look to continue their survival bid against high-flying Liverpool.
Fulham’s win at the Madejski Stadium was their first away success since September 9th, 2006 at Newcastle, but to maintain the momentum Roy Hodgson’s side must overcome Liverpool at Craven Cottage next weekend.
But with the Reds facing Chelsea in the Champions League semi-final three days after their clash with Fulham, Murphy is hoping Rafa Benitez will rest in-form pair Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres.
By coincidence, Benitez controversialy fielded an under-strength Liverpool side against Fulham at the back-end of last season, and the West London club earned a vital win that helped them avoid relegation.
Murphy says he will be speaking to a few of his former Liverpool team-mates to see if Benitez is planning to rest anyone this time around.
“I will speak to the boys this week and hopefully Stevie, Torres and a few of the others will stay at home. They have got Chelsea next after our match,” Murphy told The Mirror.
“But we have to stop worrying about other teams and worry about ourselves, and our performance has to be at this level [that it was against Reading] if we are to give ourselves a chance.
“I think we have to win three of our last four - if not, then two wins and two draws. We have to look forward to the Liverpool match and play with confidence.”
Murphy’s manager, Roy Hodgson, is not allowing himself to be side-tracked by the idea that Liverpool might field a weakened team, because he recognoses that whatever team Benitez fields will be represent a tough challenge for the Cottagers.
“Even Liverpool’s reserve team doesn’t look too bad to me. There are one or two players in there that most managers would like to work with, so we might come down to earth with a bump,” warned Hodgson.
Mark Hinton, Goal.com
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