Benitez is unhappy that for the second time on the trot, his side are facing a Saturday lunchtime away game immediately after an international week.

Last time, the Merseyside giants were forced to hit the road for Sunderland, this time around they are heading to Portsmouth, a trip so long Liverpool will go into the game without a single decent training session under their belts.

A quick glance through the fixture list shows Liverpool will travel again after the two remaining international breaks in 2007, initially to Everton, then Newcastle, both of which have been moved to Saturday lunchtime to meet TV demands.

In contrast, championship rivals Arsenal have three home fixtures in the corresponding weekends, Chelsea two and Manchester United one.

It is a situation Benitez is clearly unhappy with and he wants something doing to correct it.

"We will be talking to the Premier League about this because it is not fair," he said.

"I don't know if it is possible to change these fixtures in the new year but I hope so because in the last few years, we have played more games on a Saturday than anyone and more away games (after internationals and Champions League matches) than anyone.

"There are too many early kick-offs and I am not pleased about the situation at all."

Benitez is unlikely to be very happy when he discovers immediately after the first international fixture of 2008, a friendly date on February 6, Liverpool are away to Chelsea.

A home meeting with Everton follows the final international break during the domestic campaign, although by then, Liverpool's fate might have been determined.

Having spent two years carving out a squad that finally looks capable of mounting a forceful challenge to Chelsea and Manchester United, Benitez does not want to lose out because of the way his teams matches have been scheduled.

And while the fixture planners may throw their hands up in the air and challenge Benitez to come up with something better, the former Valencia coach admits he does have a couple of alternative suggestions

"After an international game, or a Champions League game, we should play on a Sunday," he said.

"People might say we have a Champions League game this Tuesday so it couldn't work, but why could we not play that match - against FC Porto - on Wednesday instead?

"Another solution would be for the international teams to play on Saturday and Tuesday, rather than Wednesday, which would give the clubs an extra day to prepare.

"We all have e-mails and mobiles. We can talk through the situation and analyse the various problems. I don't think it would be too difficult to get an agreement."

After giving his players a short running session today, Benitez will put them through a light session tomorrow before embarking on their trip to Portsmouth.

"It is impossible to prepare the team properly," he said.

"It is important that we change the schedule for the top sides."

Benitez's observations are open to accusations of elitism and are hardly likely to go down well with world governing body FIFA, especially when he explained his radical proposal for the international game.

"If you talk about a national team you could have a squad of 22 players," he said.

"You could use some of them on a Saturday and the rest could be used on Tuesday. That would be a better solution for the clubs."