Eyjafjallajokull -The name is almost as befuddling as the chaos it has left in its wake; not just in Western and Northern Europe, where the plume of chilled lava, ash particles and steam proudly emanates, but all over the World. Businesses, families, governments, have all felt the brunt of this ‘act of God’ and so have Liverpool, England’s most successful club. In the ‘pre- Eyjafjallajokull’ era, a Monday night fixture for the Reds would ordinarily have been followed by hopping on a plane enroute to some European destination for a Champions league clash the following Wednesday or in this case, Thursday’s Europa League semi-final clash with Spain’s Atletico Madrid. A Fernando-Torres less Liverpool have instead, suffered the ‘indignity’ of starting a 1,300 hundred-mile journey on Tuesday, first by train from Anfield to London, followed by a less-than glamorous trip on the Eurostar to Paris. Another train will be boarded to Bordeaux on Wednesday before finally emplaning to Madrid for their Europa league semi-final tie. It is certainly not the ideal preparation for Rafa Benitez’s men but he, more than anyone else, knows that their arduous journey, is hardly an excuse for a negative result in Madrid. Liverpool head to Spain coming off a morale boosting 3-0 over West Ham, without the injured Torres in their ranks. Liverpool also held Atletico Madrid to two 1-1 draws between the Reds and Atletico in last season’s UEFA Champion’s League group stage. Liverpool also has an excellent record against Spanish teams; they defeated FC Barcelona in 1975/76 and 2000/01 in the UEFA Cup, winning the tournament in the latter edition by beating Alaves 5-4 in an enthralling final. Additionally the Chelsea bound Atletico ace striker, Sergio Aguero will be missing through suspension. Atletico Madrid on the other hand, is winless in seven games against English sides, bar a lone goal victory versus Aston Villa FC in the 1997/98 UEFA Cup quarter-finals. Atletico, like their English counterparts, are having a forgettable domestic season; they have lost four of their last five matches and lie 10th in the La Liga, some nine points off a European place and eight above the dreaded relegation zone. Atletico have however impressed in domestic and European cup competitions. They face Sevilla in the final of next month’s Copa del Rey final. The Madrid side also came through a testing tie against Valencia and their stat of having won only one game on their way to this semi-final is proof that they are a stubborn result-oriented side, willing to grind out results in an ugly fashion if necessary. The Reds will undoubtedly have their hands full in Madrid. Benitez claims to have siphoned useful information about the opposition from former players, Torres and Maxi Rodriguez. Should the Reds slip, up the solitary consolation will be the fact that by kick-off, the beast that is Eyjafjallajokull, would have ceased activity long enough for a private two hour, first class return flight from Madrid to London with all of Liverpool’s pampered stars on board. Liverpool vs. Atletico Madrid kicks off at 7:05pm on Joy Sports and Adom TV on Multi-TV, more TV for free. Source: Joseph K.b. Hanson Multi-TV Sports Department