Reds face pitch battle

Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has claimed the pitch for his side’s UEFA Cup clash with Steaua Bucharest is the worst he has ever seen.

Houllier’s side take on Romanian side Steaua at the Ghencea Stadium in the first leg of their second round tie tomorrow night.

Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw on a poor pitch in the first round against Olimpija Ljubljana but Houllier believes tomorrow’s pitch is worse than the one they played on in Slovenia.

The Frenchman said: “The pitch is not poor, it is extremely poor, in fact terrible.

“It is even worse than the one in Ljubljana where we played in the first round of the competition.

“I said that was the worst pitch we ever played on but this pitch will undoubtedly affect the way we play.”

The last English visitors to the stadium, Southampton, were beaten by Steaua in the first round of the competition last month.