Liverpool aims to overturn Atletico Madrid's 1-0 first-leg lead and Fulham bids to oust a Hamburg side that just fired its coach as the two sides try to make the first Europa League final an all-English confrontation. If that happens, it will be five-time European champion Liverpool with a record-equaling 18 English league titles against a club which has never won a major domestic trophy. But Atletico is out to reach its first European final since 1986 and Hamburg is striving to reach a final which will be at its own ground. Although Liverpool was disappointed to be eliminated from the more prestigious Champions League, it was confident it can beat Atletico at Anfield Wednesday and reach the final of what used to be known as the UEFA Cup. “We are all aware of what is at stake,” said Dutch forward Ryan Babel. “After the first leg, nobody in the dressing room had their heads down because we knew we had the second leg to put it right. “Luckily enough, we have to play it at Anfield. That is an advantage because on European evenings we can always make them special and we certainly have confidence now. I would be so proud to finish my career with a European medal. If we can go that far, at the end of the season we will be able to look back and see things a little better.” With Fernando Torres sidelined for the rest of the season and Dirk Kuyt and David Ngog struggling to shake off injuries, Babel has a good chance of starting against an Atletico side which squandered several chances to build a bigger first-leg advantage. That was without suspended striker Sergio Aguero. But the Argentina star will team up with regular attacking partner Diego Forlan, who scored the only goal of the first leg in Madrid. Despite having such talent in the lineup, Atletico has struggled throughout its domestic league campaign although it has reached the Copa del Rey final against Sevilla. “It's been difficult, what's happened with us this year. But we've come back well, got out of the bottom of the standings and now here we are with a chance for two trophies,” Aguero said. “Everything will depend on ourselves.” Fulham has had a remarkable route to the semifinal, knocking out UEFA Cup champion Shakhtar Donetsk, overturning Juventus' 4-1 lead to oust the Italian club, and eliminating German champion Wolfsburg. Guided by former Inter Milan coach Roy Hodgson, the west London team then restricted Hamburg to 0-0 at the Hamburg Arena where the final is to be played on May 12. “Just to get to the final of the Europa League would be a phenomenal achievement,” said defender Paul Konchesky. “Obviously one or two of our players have been there before, but there are not a lot of us that know what it means, so hopefully we can get there. “We got the result we wanted in Hamburg and hopefully we can get an early goal Thursday night at the Cottage. We just need to concentrate on what we're good at. We've got a great chance and we're playing at home. They've (Hamburg) got two attacking forwards who are always a threat and can score goals.” Fulham is on the brink of reaching its first European final and faces a club which fired Bruno Labbadia on Monday after a 5-1 Bundesliga loss at Hoffenheim the day before. Hamburg has put assistant coach Ricardo Moniz in charge and his job is to restore confidence for Thursday's game at Craven Cottage.
