Downing: I know how they feel

Stewart Downing knows from personal experience how difficult it will be facing a team scrapping for their top-flight future tonight. The Reds travel to Ewood Park for an encounter with a Blackburn Rovers side who sit in the relegation zone on 28 points. Downing was part of the Middlesbrough outfit relegated from the Premier League in 2008-09 and knows how the prospect of dropping a division can inspire players to perform above their usual level. He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It will be a difficult game. They are fighting for their lives, but we've got to keep concentrating on our game, keep creating chances and we need to start scoring goals and winning games. It can be difficult playing teams fighting against relegation. They are playing for their futures - they don't want to drop down a division. I've been in that situation with Middlesbrough before and it's not good. "We saw with Villa, they were fighting like hell for the team and made it difficult for us at times. "Nevertheless, we still should have won the game. We had the quality to win it and with a little bit more luck, or their 'keeper not pulling off some great saves, we would have won."