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Crouch & Keane out to pile the pressure on Rafa

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  • Crouch & Keane out to pile the pressure on Rafa

    UNDER-FIRE Rafa Benitez has been warned Robbie Keane and Peter Crouch are out to pile on the misery.

    Spurs boss Harry Redknapp is set to start at least one of his two former Liverpool strikers at Anfield tonight.
    And he admits they would love to prove a point and see Kop boss Benitez squirm.
    Redknapp said: "In a way they've got something to prove. Robbie and Crouchie going back to Liverpool, it's interesting.
    "I'm pleased to have them here instead of facing them."
    Benitez's job is hanging by a thread after falling out of the title race and suffering early exits from both the Champions League and FA Cup.
    Defeat against Tottenham would be the 13th for the Spanish boss this season and, worse still, it would leave Liverpool seven points behind their top-four rivals.
    Keane, in particular, will be desperate to show Benitez what he is missing after the way his dream move to Liverpool last season was ruined.
    The Irish striker, 29, joined for a massive £20million fee in the summer of 2008 but he was substituted in most games and ultimately dropped before being sold back to Spurs for an £8m loss.
    It was considered one of Benitez's biggest blunders and left Keane bewildered.
    Redknapp added: "I didn't see Robbie play there. It's a game of opinions and I wouldn't question Rafa's decision.
    "He obviously wasn't crazy about him but we've all done that with players.
    "You have players who other people think are great and you don't think they're so great and you let them go and everybody thinks 'Why did you let them go?'
    "He obviously wasn't in Rafa's plans and obviously he didn't fancy him that much.
    "But he played with Steven Gerrard in that hole off Fernando Torres, which certainly worked for them last season."
    England strike star Crouch, 28, was also not given a fair crack by Benitez, despite scoring 40 goals in a total of 142 appearances.


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    He eventually joined Redknapp at Portsmouth in July 2008 for £9m then followed his boss to White Hart Lane a year later for the same fee.
    Benitez's decision to offload the hitmen is all the more surprising as they have no credible alternative up front in the absence of Torres.
    Both Gerrard and Torres will miss tonight's clash and Redknapp insists Liverpool are no longer guaranteed a top-four finish.
    He said: "They are weaker without Gerrard and Torres, they are two world-class players.
    "If they're not playing they're not as strong and, no, Liverpool would not be favourites for fourth place now. I think Man City are."
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