Kuyt upbeat ahead of Porto
Dirk Kuyt believes Liverpool can turn on the style and defeat FC Porto at Anfield tonight to keep their Champions League dream alive.

The Reds must beat Porto tonight and Marseille away in two weeks to qualify for the second round of this season’s competition.

After defeating Turkish outfit Besiktas 8-0 in their last match, setting a new Champions League record, Kuyt is full of confidence Rafa Benitez’s men can do the job.

“We have to take the confidence from the Besiktas game and our form in the Premier League into the game tonight,” reasoned Kuyt.

“If we do that then I am sure we will be okay because we have more quality and better players than we showed when we drew with Porto earlier this season.

“I think they will see the real Liverpool tonight. We had a lot of problems at the start of the Champions League campaign but the last game against Besiktas showed exactly what we can do.”

Weather for tonight
Expect a fast paced game tonight as Liverpool take on Porto in the Champions League. Liverpool has experience spells of torrential downpour this afternoon, though the temperature is fairly mild.

Kick-off at Anfield is 7.45pm and demonstrations by the fans supporting Rafa Benitez’s reign as Liverpool manager begin at 6.30pm in the car park of The Sandon Pub on Oakfield Road.

Thommo retires aged 30
And former Liverpool midfielder David Thompson was forced to announce his premature retirement from football today due to injury.

The 30-year-old playmaker left Anfield in 2003 to join Coventry City for £3million after failing to make it into Gerard Houllier’s first team on a regular basis.

After spells at Blackburn Rovers, Wigan Atheltic, Portsmouth and Bolton, he joined Sheffield United on trial this season but failed to impress enough to be offered a contract.

Thompson has been struggling with a knee injury for the last few years and has now hung up his boots for good.