Gerrard to be rested

Liverpool will rest skipper Steven Gerrard for the final home game of the Barclays Premiership season against Aston Villa to give him plenty of time to recover from a slight thigh muscle strain in time for the Champions League final on May 25.

Boss Rafa Benitez will also be without Spanish midfielder Luis Garcia with a similar injury, and could even rest defender Jamie Carragher, who has played in every Premiership game so far this term – Mauricio Pellegrino, who is ineligible for the Istanbul final with AC Milan, stands by.

Benitez has confirmed that striker Djibril Cisse will start his first match since breaking his leg at Blackburn in October, giving him the chance to stake his claim for a place in the European final side.

Provisional squad: Dudek, Finnan, Hyypia, Carragher, Pellegrino, Traore, Kewell, Biscan, Hamann, Riise, Smicer, Alonso, Nunez, Cisse, Baros, Carson, Warnock, Welsh, Potter.