Steven Gerrard: Andy's form is scintillating

Steven Gerrard hailed Andy Carroll's end of season form as 'scintillating' and declared he is relishing the prospect of watching his Liverpool teammate shine for England at the forthcoming European Championships. Carroll netted crucial goals for the Reds against Blackburn in the Barclays Premier League and then Everton in the FA Cup at Wembley before turning in two stand-out performances against Chelsea in the space of three days. Yesterday manager Roy Hodgson confirmed that the forward will start in England's friendly against Norway this evening and Gerrard wants Carroll to replicate his recent form in a red shirt when he takes to the turf at the Ullevaal Stadium in a white one tonight. "I think he's finished the season in scintillating form,' said Gerrard. "He was unplayable and for us it's fantastic to see, especially because Andy's a Liverpool player. "I'm hoping he can continue that form for England and if he does, he'll be a big bonus to this squad. Opposition defences will find it very difficult to play against Andy Carroll in the current form he's in." The friendly will pit Gerrard against former Liverpool teammate and Norwegian international John Arne Riise and the skipper is looking forward to lining up against his old pal, who left the Reds for AS Roma in 2008. "I can't wait to face him," said Gerrard. "I really can't wait. We're very close. I'm still in touch with John even though we haven't played together for a long time. He's already texting me now, so the banters already started and I'm really looking forward to the challenge. "Norway are a difficult team to play against. I still haven't beaten them. They're a well organised team but our manager knows a lot about them and hopefully he can be the difference."