Gerrard's injury provides an opportunity for Lucas

The news Liverpool fans will have been dreading – that captain and talisman Steven Gerard will be out for around a month following an operation on a troublesome groin injury – has been met with vast disappointment by their fans. Liverpool's supporters have had a mixed season with highs such as last week's 3-1 victory over rivals Manchester United being diluted by some poor results such as away defeats at Blackpool and Newcastle – and a contributing factor to this inconsistent showing has been Gerrard's availability for selection.

This is not the first spell on the sidelines for the England midfielder this term, and following a groin injury earlier this season as well as suspension following his straight red card in their FA Cup third round tie exit, and in his absence, the Reds tend to look a far less imposing prospect. But one man who tends to sit in Gerrard's shadow is fellow midfielder Lucas, so often restrained to playing in a withdrawn holding midfield role when alongside him despite some promising shows in the past when deployed in a more attacking role.

With the lack of natural width in the Liverpool side at the moment, creativity in midfield is absolutely essential if they want to break sides down, and although Carroll and Suarez are already showing promising signs of being able to keep a defence occupied all on their own, someone is needed to pull the strings behind them and to take advantage of any space created by the movement of the strikers and the Betfair specialists will have realised this.

Lucas has already shown with his thunderbolt strike against Steaua Bucharest that he is capable of filling that role given the chance, and Kenny Dalglish may well be tempted to play him alongside Poulsen with the Dane providing him cover to rampage forward without the fear of what might be happening behind. The UEFA Europa League betting certainly suggests he will need to step up if they are to go all the way.

Whilst Gerrard is nearly impossible to replace, having Lucas just behind him in the pecking order may mean that rather than losing their way for the three Premiership matches the England vice-captain is expected to miss, the Reds can continue their march up the table and keep pressure on the top five sides.