Benitez cautious despite lead

8220;These kind of games are difficult. Sometimes teams say 8216;OK, the job is done8217; but we have to be careful,8221; Benitez said ahead of the Anfield return.

8220;We know there have been comebacks from 3-0 down in the Champions League 8212; we did it in Istanbul. We know if they score an early goal they will push forward and we could have problems so we have to approach the game the same as we did against Barcelona and try to win.8221;

In that knockout round tie, Liverpool led 2-1 from the away leg and although they eventually lost the Anfield return 1-0 to go through on the away goals rule, they played positively all night and never allowed Barcelona to feel that they were on top.

And for all Benitez8217;s warnings, history says that PSV have no chance. In more than half a century of European soccer 114 teams have lost a home first leg 3-0 and none of them have advanced.

Liverpool8217;s comeback against Milan was built on the forceful, inspirational presence of Steven Gerrard but PSV have nobody of that calibre in their line-up, while the England midfielder will ensure that nobody in his own team allows his individual contribution to fall off.

Gerrard scored the opener in the first leg as Liverpool produced another top-notch European performance, albeit against injury-hit opponents who seemed intent from the start only on trying to secure a goalless draw.

The only black mark on the night was the ruptured Achilles tendon suffered by Brazilian midfielder Fabio Aurelio which has ended his season and opened the door for a possible start for Mark Gonzalez.

Benitez8217;s other main selection issue is up front where Dirk Kuyt is suspended. Red-hot Peter Crouch looks a certain starter but Craig Bellamy looked off the pace alongside him before being substituted early in the second half of Saturday8217;s 2-1 Premier League win at Reading, and made sure his manager was aware of his displeasure at the decision.

PSV will travel to England with a 16-man squad as Alex, Ibrahim Afellay, Edison Mendes, Michael Reiziger, Alcides and Jan Kromkamp are all sidelined.

Coach Ronald Koeman, who said after the first leg that their Champions League campaign was over, is desperate to halt PSV8217;s slide. The Dutch league leaders, who lost at the weekend, have seen their 11-point advantage whittled down to two with three games to play.

A draw will do for Bayern

MUNICH: Bayern Munich have beaten AC Milan just once in nine matches. Luckily for Bayern, after their 2-2 draw in Milan last week, a 0-0 or 1-1 draw in the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals on Wednesday will allow the German club to advance on away goals. 8220;We haven8217;t won anything yet,8221; Bayern striker Roy Makaay said. 8220;There are still 90 minutes in which we have to go all out. It would be very dangerous to play for a draw against an Italian team,8221; Makaay said.

Defensive midfielder Martin Demichelis is likely to miss the Milan game after pulling a calf muscle, and Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger bruised his left knee. 8220;He would be a big loss, but we still hope he will play,8221; Hitzfeld said of Schweinsteiger.

Veteran midfielder Mehmet Scholl tore a muscle in his right thigh during training and is expected to be out for up to three weeks. Goalkeeper and captain Oliver Kahn and midfielder Mark van Bommel will be back after being suspended for the first leg.

Milan have included only two forwards for Wednesday8217;s game 8212; Filippo Inzaghi and Ricardo Oliveira. Alberto Gilardino will miss the match because of accumulated yellow cards, and Ronaldo is ineligible having played for Real Madrid in the early stages of the competition. AP