Reds duo set for Anfield farewell

Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler will say his last goodbye to the Kop on Sunday but Jerzy Dudek looks set to be consigned to a walk-on part.

A groin injury looks set to prevent the Polish goalkeeper, whose contract expires in the summer, playing his final game for the club against relegated Charlton as the Reds bring the curtain down on their league campaign.

Now the man who became a Liverpool legend for his penalty shoot-out heroics against AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final will, fittingly, hope his last act for the club will be to sit on the bench against the same side.

And Dudek, 34, insists the man who has forced him into the role of understudy, Jose Reina, is the ideal man for the job in Athens on May 23.

He said: “Everything Pepe Reina does he does well. He does things in a way that gives confidence to the rest of the team.

“He will come for crosses all the time in certain areas, which takes the pressure off the defence, and his distribution of the ball is better than some midfielders. He can launch the quickest counter-attacks in the Premiership. Since he has come here we have always done well – and the two things are not a coincidence.”

The Charlton match will also be the last time that Anfield sees Fowler in a red shirt but he could still yet play a significant part in the final.

Fowler was sent on in the dying minutes of the semi-final second leg against Chelsea, with boss Rafael Benitez admitting afterwards his penalty prowess was key to the substitution.

He said: “He was out there to take the fifth penalty if it got that far. I could rely on Robbie.”

That suggests Fowler may have a similar role in Athens, and many of his devoted fans would love to see him produce a penalty-spot winner if, as in Istanbul, the game goes to extra-time and penalties.

The Pole also believes that Benitez will soon bring the Premiership crown back to Anfield after 17 barren years.

He said: “We are all happy with the way we have played in the Premiership in the second half of the season, and I feel we are not too far away from winning it.

“Rafa knows what he has to do to take the club across the finishing line. If he is able to bring in quality players in the summer in one or two key positions, then we will be very close next season.

“If it doesn’t happen next year then the Premiership will be at Liverpool soon. It makes me a little sad that I won’t be here on the pitch to enjoy a title success but I will be watching from wherever I am. I will be as happy as any supporter from the Kop.”

Benitez is likely to field a much stronger side than the one that lost 1-0 at Fulham last weekend.

Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Daniel Agger, Javier Mascherano, Peter Crouch and Dirk Kuyt were all rested in that match, allowing Harry Kewell to make his first appearance of the season.

All are likely to face Charlton, particularly Kewell, who is now trying desperately to prove his fitness ahead of the Athens final.

But Benitez will again want to give run-outs to some of his younger players, and reserve defender Jack Hobbs – a substitute in the Portsmouth and Fulham matches – could well make his debut.