Fernando Torres Key to Liverpool Hopes As Reds Prepare For Fulham Match

Liverpool face Fulham in an evening kick off at Anfield on Saturday, badly in need of a win to pick up their stuttering season.

The Reds currently lie in No. 9 position in the Premiership, level on points with all three newly promoted teams; Newcastle, West Brom and Blackpool. While the ultimate ambition for the Reds must be a return to the top four, it is looking increasingly likely that Liverpool's away form will cost them the chance at a Champions League place and so, realistically, it is rivals Tottenham, in fifth place, who Liverpool must target first to catch up with.

Spurs currently sit four places and five points above the Reds, but as the London outfit do not play until Sunday, away at Blackpool, Hodgson's men have a chance to close the gap somewhat with their home fixture against the boss's old side.

As usual, the burden of responsibility for goals to win the game for Liverpool will fall on the shoulders of Spanish striker Fernando Torres. His brace against Chelsea looked a sure sign that the Madrileño was getting back to his best, but 42 days will have passed since then by the time Liverpool take to the hallowed turf of Anfield against Fulham and in that time, Torres has scored just once in the four games he has started in.

His usual deadly finishing has deserted him somewhat this season—a golden opportunity, one-on-one with 'keeper Tim Krul against Newcastle last week, providing ample testimony to this.

In the absence of his name on the score sheet, Kuyt, Maxi, Babel and Ngog have all stepped up in recent weeks—but the fact remains that Torres is Liverpool's finest and most reliable attacking weapon.

Injury and loss of form have severely hampered his goalscoring tally this season, not to mention a vast difference in tactical deployment compared to previous seasons.

Hodgson's insistence on a far deeper team line means that Torres is, more often that not, starting his attacking runs more than 20 metres further away from goal than at previous times during his Liverpool career. Inevitably, this is impacting on the quality of chances being created for him.

Statistically, Torres is not actually having fewer shots than in previous seasons, but he is converting them with less frequency than would be expected—alluding to both a drop in that great unmeasurable, confidence, as well as a greater degree of difficulty in positioning himself in dangerous areas at the right time.

To this point, whether you agree with Hodgson being in charge or not, or agree with his tactics or not, is moot. It will always take time for players, great or average, to come to terms with a change in system and tactics. This lack of goals from Torres is, partly, a symptom of this fact.

But one other fact remains: Fernando Torres is a great striker.

He may not be in the form of his life at the moment, the form which earned him cult status on the Kop and enabled him to score the trophy-winning goal at the 2008 European Championships, but he is indeed a wonderful talent and a magnificent striker.

Torres should—if Liverpool's past two home matches are anything to go by—get chances on Saturday against Fulham.

And I certainly wouldn't bet against him getting back amongst the goals in style, perhaps even repeating his feat against Chelsea and netting yet another Anfield brace.

Trust in Torres—he's the best we have.