The England midfielder has been the driving force behind Liverpool's march to the quarter-finals, but the Reds will be without their talented skipper for Wednesday's crunch second leg here against Juventus.

Inspirational in Liverpool's 2-1 first leg win last week and a menace whenever he plays, Gerrard has failed to recover from the groin strain he suffered in last Saturday's league defeat at Manchester City.

Last week's clash at Anfield was the first time the two sides had met since the 1985 European Cup final at the Heysel stadium, where 39 Juve fans died on the terraces after being trapped against a wall following a charge by Liverpool supporters.

The return leg at the Delle Alpi stadium will be another emotionally-charged affair and fears of reprisals by Juve fans have forced Turin police to beef up security for the match with more than 1,000 officers on duty.

The loss of Gerrard is a major blow to Liverpool's chances of reaching the semi-finals, but Baros is confident the English Premiership side can surprise La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady).

"When you beat a team like Juventus your confidence grows," said the Czech Republic international. "Everyone spoke about Juventus and how they would go through easily, but we just got on with what we had to do and played our football.

"We are in the last eight and we are determined to make it to the semi-finals.

"I think we can score a goal at Juventus. We thought 2-0 was a good result, but they scored a goal and now we have to go there and do the same.

"It's going to be difficult, but while 2-1 is not the best result, it's not the worst."

Gerrard's absence gives Liverpool coach Rafael Benitez another selection headache with his squad already down to the bare bones.

Fernando Morientes and Mauricio Pellegrino are cup-tied, while midfielders Dietmar Hamann and Harry Kewell are injured.

Benitez could be forced to throw Spaniard Xabi Alonso into his starting line-up. The former Real Sociedad midfielder has not played since breaking an ankle on Boxing Day.

Fabio Cannavaro, scorer of Juve's priceless away goal, said his team would have to improve their defending at set-pieces, which was cruelly exposed in last Saturday's 3-3 draw away to Fiorentina.

"Against Liverpool we will have to play at the same level as them and without any fear," said the Italy captain.

"We have to pay particular attention when defending free-kicks, because that cost us dear against Fiorentina."

French striker David Trezeguet and Brazilian midfielder Emerson, who both missed that match in Florence, have recovered from minor injuries and will start for the Italian side.

Experienced defender Antonio Birindelli is expected to replace Frenchman Jonathan Zebina, who pulled his right hamstring in the first leg.

A point for Juve at the weekend kept them level with AC Milan at the top of Serie A, while Liverpool's 1-0 loss at Manchester City left them in fifth place in the Premiership, four points behind city rivals Everton.