Benitez calls for goals to end Liverpool's away blues

A solitary goal, 12 against, and just two points away from home this season. It is scarcely believable that these statistics apply to Liverpool, many pundits' early-season pick to push Chelsea hardest for the title.

Today they play Wigan at the JJB stadium and unless the homesickness is cured, Rafael Benitez runs the risk of a season struggling to make the Champions' League - the title long-since gone - and fending off questions about their shortcomings on the road.

"It is really disappointing to still be talking about this record," he said yesterday. "It is bad and we know that. We have the best statistics, but you do not win games with statistics, only when you score more goals.

"What you must do when you have more chances is to take advantage. It is no good having the opportunities and not scoring."

Step forward Peter Crouch, Dirk Kuyt, Robbie Fowler and Craig Bellamy none of whom have been finding the net regularly. "OK, we have had 21 chances to one or two in some matches," Benitez says. "We are not conceding goals and we are creating openings. That means we are OK in defence and midfield, but we are not OK up front"

In a refrain that sounds similar to noises coming out of this season's other underachivers Arsenal, Benitez added as way of an excuse: "Teams do defend deep against us, that leaves us little space to create. But we have to overcome that. We know what we have to do. The opportunities must be taken, the strikers must do their job.

"I hope now to see goals from the strikers. Crouch, Fowler, Kuyt and Bellamy, all of them. It is important for the strikers to score the goals."

Benitez is without Mohamed Sissoko, Fabio Aurelio, Harry Kewell and Mark Gonzalez long term, although Xabi Alonso is back in the squad after a leg muscle injury. Bellamy is now available and fresh following his court ordeal this week which ended with him being acquitted of two assault charges in his home city of Cardiff.

"Bellamy is focused now, he has trained with us for two days and has been scoring a lot of goals," Benitez added. "You could see he was distracted, but now it is all over he can work only on his game. Maybe he was under more stress than he showed, but I was always happy with his effort. Goals will get him back in the right frame of mind."