Blackpool manager Ian Holloway will be leading out the Seasiders at Anfield for the first time in 39 years, and in a pre-match press conference the Tangerines’ boss was full of praise for the Liverpool number ‘9’. “He's one of the best centre forwards in the world. Okay he might not have had a great World Cup but Spain still won it. He's been an absolute sensation since joining Liverpool and I'm in awe of him. As a centre forward he has everything; blinding pace, he can finish with both feet and can head the ball too. He's a goal machine.”

Holloway rates Torres as one of the best in the game, but the Tangerine manager hopes that the Spaniard fails to live up to his reputation on Sunday. “They can go off the boil every now and then, but he's still class and like any cup of coffee you have, the cream rises to the top - I don't want him to do that on Sunday. Hopefully he will be out of form against us but I don't believe that for one minute.”