 FERNANDO Morientes will undergo a fitness test today to determine if he's fit enough to travel to Birmingham. Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is hoping his striking options will improve with the return to health of another forward. Morientes hasn't played since injuring his hamstring while scoring on international duty with Spain. The 28-year-old was given an outside chance of making the trip earlier this week, but a decision wasn't expected until after a final training session today. Benitez is desperate for Morientes to prove his fitness with three vital games coming up, including the doubleheader against Chelsea. The Reds boss is concerned about overworking Peter Crouch, who has only recently been thrust into action following his own hamstring problems. Birmingham beat Liverpool 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season in what was one of the poorer away displays of the campaign. Defender Djimi Traore has spoken of the bad memories of the match, and believes tomorrow's game already carries 'must win' status following three draws in four games. "We didn't play well there last year," said Traore. "But I think we need to win this weekend otherwise we could be a long way behind the top three. "We've had a couple of good draws away from home but we need to start winning games now. If we can win away then teams could start becoming a bit scared about playing Liverpool. "It's not enough to pick up points at home if you want to do well in the league. "I'm sure we'll be better at Birmingham this year. We have a stronger team and the new players understand our style of play better. It will be a tough game but we have to be confident." Traore faces a battle with the impressive Steve Warnock to get back into the side, although there is sure to be some rotation over the next three games. | 
HAVE your say on our Reds Messageboard - click 
RSS News Feed