Not a chance. After squeezing into the lucrative group phase of the Champions League thanks to an 118th-minute winner by Dirk Kuyt on Wednesday, the Reds are without captain Steven Gerrard who needs groin surgery and now face a player they have been trying to buy all summer.

Although the Tom Hicks-George Gillett Jr. boardroom conflict has quieted down, Liverpool is still running into problems and one of them will be facing the Reds on Sunday.

By now, Reds fans had hoped Gareth Barry would be wearing their own team's colours instead of the claret and blue of Aston Villa.

Instead of boosting Liverpool's bid to win the league title for first time since 1990, the England midfielder will set out on Sunday (11 a.m. ET) to halt the Reds' winning start of two victories in two games.

Villa manager Martin O'Neill had expected Barry to move to Anfield weeks ago but the two clubs could not agree on a transfer fee.

"If Gareth stays with us for the foreseeable future, I will be really delighted," he said. "It will be a really big bonus for us. If Gareth is here this time next week, I will be relieved.

"I would have said only a few weeks ago that I was resigned to the fact Gareth would no longer be here. He didn't come with us to (the pre-season tour of) Malaga because I assumed everything would be done that week."

Although the transfer window doesn't close until Monday, it looks as if Barry will be in the Villa lineup against Liverpool and won't be facing Gerrard.

Liverpool announced after Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Standard Liege that Gerrard would be out of action for at least two weeks. The captain has been troubled by the injury for a few days and the club had decided to take advantage of a gap in the club schedule to let him have the surgery to cure it.

"We talked with the doctor yesterday and today, and it was decided that Steven would play in this match with the pain," Benitez said. "But now we will have to get the situation solved."

Gerrard will miss England's first two World Cup qualifying games but that doesn't affect Benitez, who is doubtful he may be back to face Manchester United at Anfield Sept. 13.

Benitez, whose team is winning games without playing well, has been able to welcome back the three Liverpool players who took part in the Olympics, which finished last weekend. With Argentina's Javier Mascherano, the Netherlands' Ryan Babel and Brazil's Lucas now back at Anfield, Benitez can compensate for the absence of Gerrard.

Although the Reds have qualified again for the group phase of the Champions League, they have been well out of domestic league title contention for years and seen the championship go to their three main rivals - Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea - on a regular basis.

A victory at Villa Park on Sunday, however, would revive hopes that the Reds will be a contender this season, especially with United already two points behind and not in league action because of the European Super Cup game against Zenit St. Petersburg in Monte Carlo on Friday.

Chelsea, which has a maximum six points from two games, hosts struggling Tottenham on Sunday ( 8:30 a.m. ET) and Arsenal hopes to bounce back after a 1-0 loss at Fulham by beating Newcastle at home.

Newcomer Hull, playing top-flight soccer for the first time in its 104-year history, hopes to maintain an impressive start with a home victory over Wigan, which has lost its first two matches.

The Tigers, who gained promotion through the playoffs, are fourth with four points from a victory over Fulham and a draw at Blackburn.

Saturday's other games are: Bolton vs. West Bromwich Albion, Everton vs. Portsmouth (9:45 a.m. ET), Middlesbrough vs. Stoke and West Ham vs. Blackburn ( 10 a.m. ET). On Sunday, Sunderland welcomes Manchester City (12:30 p.m. ET).

Relegated last season, Birmingham hopes to bounce straight back to the Premier League and has started with three straight victories to top the Championship standings with a two-point advantage already. Alex McLeish's team will try to maintain that run with a victory at struggling Norwich.