Jamie Carragher insists Liverpool can beat Real Madrid tonight even if Steven Gerrard fails a late fitness test.

Rafael Benitez will run the rule over his skipper today before deciding whether the midfielder is ready to return after three weeks out with a hamstring injury.

In Gerrard's absence Liverpool's Premier League title bid suffered a blow as they laboured to a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City on Sunday.

But Carragher does not think that Liverpool's hopes in the first leg of this last-16 Champions League tie hinge on Gerrard.

"We can get a good result without Steven," said the centre-half. "We have done it in the past, he is a great player - one of the best in the world - and we hope he will be fit. But when we won the trophy in 2005 there were plenty of games when Steven didn't play."

That season Gerrard missed the 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen and was also absent as Liverpool booked their place in the semi-finals with a goalless draw away to Juventus.

While Liverpool have stuttered since the turn of the year, Real are on a roll under former Spurs boss Juande Ramos.

The Spaniards have won their last nine League games, scoring 22 goals and conceding only two since Ramos replaced Bernd Schuster as coach in December.

Although the omens are not good for Liverpool Carragher is still relishing the Bernabeu clash.

He said: "It is fantastic to be here, I get very excited about ties like this because you want to experience playing in the big stadiums. We have never played here so a lot of us were really pleased with the draw.

"This is against the team who are probably the biggest in European football, and Liverpool are proud that we are up there alongside AC Milan and Real as the three most successful teams in Europe.

"For two of those teams to be pitted against each other in the Champions League, shows now how big this game is."

Real Madrid interim president Vicente Boluda is confident his side will beat Liverpool.

"In Madrid we're going to win 30, and at Anfield we'll also win 21 because they'll open up and we'll overrun them," he said.

But Benitez hit back at Boluda and said: "Maybe he should have a talk with his chairman and decide what should be said."

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