Match Preview: West Bromwich Albion vs. Liverpool

Liverpool will travel to West Bromwich on Saturday to face their former manager’s team, whilst Luis Suarez faces a late fitness test for the game.

Luis Suarez, the man of the moment, faces a late fitness test for Saturday.

The build up to this game has centred largely around one man who has been capturing the headlines in one way or another. Luis Suarez, Liverpool’s star signing from Ajax, has taken the Premier League by storm since joining in January. As he continues to impress with his footballing ability, controversy looms over the Uruguayan’s shoulders.

Two weeks ago, when Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United, Patrice Evra made claims after the game, that Suarez has racially abused him. Liverpool boss, Kenny Dalglish, has this week called for a swift end to the allegations, as he does not want his number seven distracted from the game. It is not the first time Evra has accused somebody of racism, after he pointed the finger at a Chelsea groundsman in 2008 after United lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was eventually settled when nothing could have been, or was proven. It seems whenever a fixture with great significance doesn’t go his way, it is all to easy for Evra to bring out the race card.

Luis Suarez’s abilities have been earning him the back pages since his first game for Liverpool. The tricky striker earned heaps of praise from his teammates and the media, when he scored twice to bring his team back from a goal down at the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday in the League Cup.

Defenders in the Premier League are finding Suarez a handful to play against and become easily wound up by his mind games, which works to his advantage. ‘El Pistolero’, as he is also referred to, has also recently received stick from Alex Ferguson for diving. He is a modern day striker and will dive if the opportunity is there to win a free-kick or a penalty, just as the majority of Premier League footballers do. He is no different to any of Alex Ferguson’s players who like to throw themselves around in spectacular fashion.

As Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson both return to the squad for Saturday’s 3 O’clock kick off, West Brom will be hoping that the knock Suarez picked up in Liverpool’s win against Stoke, will keep him out of this fixture. The home side are themselves without their new star man, with striker Shane Long out for six weeks with a knee injury sustained against Aston Villa, in their 2-1 away win last Saturday.

The Baggies are currently in 12^th position and the last time the two teams met in April, Roy Hodgson got one over on the team that sacked him after just four months on the job. Both teams are unbeaten in four Premier League matches and if it hadn’t of been for the woodwork in recent games, Liverpool would be a lot higher in the league. Dalglish will be expecting a lot more clinical finishing from his team, as they try and prevent themselves from slipping too far away from the top four.

Predicted Line-ups:

WBA: 1 Foster, 3 Olsson, 23 McAuley, 28 Jones, 11 Brunt, 12 Reid, 14 Thomas, 21 Mulumbu, 33 Scharner, 5 Tchoyi, 24 Odemwingie

Subs: 13 Fulop, 20 Shorey, 25 Dawson, 7 Morrison, 22 Gera, 31 Cox, 17 Dorrans

Liverpool: 25 Reina, 2 Johnson, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 3 Enrique, 26 Adam, 21 Lucas, 19 Downing, 18 Kuyt, 8 Gerrard, 9 Carroll

Subs: 32 Doni, 34 Kelly, 5 Agger, 14 Henderson, 11 Maxi, 39 Bellamy, 7 Suarez

This article is also published on www.whatculture.com

League Cup Fourth Round Preview: Stoke City vs. Liverpool

Liverpool have the chance to get their own back on Stoke City tonight in the League Cup Fourth Round, for September’s 1-0 defeat in the league.

Crouchy Sandwich

The two Premier League clubs will meet for the second time at the Britannia Stadium in less than two months, where the home side scraped a narrow victory, courtesy of a Jonathan Walters penalty. Many would too easily label this game as an away win, however, the stats would say otherwise. The Potters have lost only one of seven of their last League Cup home games and have found themselves featuring in the fourth round for the fourth season running. Their more high profile opponents have a very different story to tell, as the team from Merseyside are aiming to reach the last eight for the first time in four seasons and have kept only two clean sheets in their last 12 games.

Stoke have made the Britannia somewhat of a fortress in recent times and it has proved difficult for even the biggest of teams to leave with any points. Tonight, they welcome the team who have won the League Cup the most times, with a record of seven victories in the final of this competition. The Red’s last triumph was in 2003 and Kenny Dalglish has already expressed his desire to win silverware for the club. Liverpool striker, Dirk Kuyt, could overtake Roger Hunt’s club record of spending the longest time at Anfield without winning anything, so progressing in this competition is a high priority.

Liverpool will face a familiar face in Peter Crouch, just one of Stoke’s summer signings that was brought in to help deal with the club’s busy fixture list this season. The home side will be playing their third game in six days tonight, so the mental advantage could be with the visitors, who will be looking for their first win since winning 2-0 away at Everton in the league. Since then, two 1-1 draws have been played out with Manchester United and Norwich respectively.

Stoke’s Jermaine Pennant, who has a hamstring injury, is a doubt to face his old club, but Danny Higginbotham and Jonathan Woodgate may both return to the squad. Liverpool have their busy midfielder Lucas Leiva back after suspension and Daniel Agger, who featured in Saturday’s draw at home to Norwich, may start.

Predicted Line-ups:

Stoke City: 29 Sorensen, 4 Huth, 17 Shawcross, 20 Upson, 30 Shotton, 12 Wilson, 24 Delap, 18 Whitehead, 26 Etherington, 19 Walters, 25 Crouch

Subs: 27 Nash, 28 Wilkinson, 6 Whelan, 15 Diao, 40 Palacios, 33 Jerome, 9 Jones

Liverpool: 25 Reina, 2 Johnson, 3 Enrique, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 8 Gerrard, 19 Downing, 26 Adam, 14 Henderson, 7 Suarez, 9 Carroll

Subs: 32 Doni, 5 Agger, 38 Flanagan, 11 Maxi, 21 Lucas, 18 Kuyt, 39 Bellamy

Match Preview: Liverpool vs. Norwich City

Dalglish is fully behind his star striker

Liverpool play hosts to newly promoted Norwich City on Saturday afternoon, as both teams look to continue on good runs of form.

Kenny Dalglish’s men were unlucky not to have taken all three points from Manchester United last Sunday in the 1-1 draw at Anfield. Having picked up three wins on the bounce in all competitions, there were plenty of positives to take away from a draw against the current champions. The Reds continue to look more threatening and are starting to pose a realistic threat to challenge for a top four position as their new-look team begin to gel together.

The home side’s opponents on Saturday will be no pushover. Norwich, who finished second in the Championship last season, are currently only three points behind Liverpool in the Premier League and Paul Lambert will be hoping his team can cause an upset at Anfield. The Canaries have played well in recent games, beating the also newly promoted Swansea City 3-1 in their last game at Carrow Road and picked up successive wins against Bolton and Sunderland.

Liverpool have their captain Steven Gerrard back and firing on all cylinders, when last weekend he picked up the man of the match award and sealed and impressive performance with a goal against United. The Red’s tricky attacker, Luis Suarez, continues to impress and cause problems for defences in the Premier League. Kenny Dalglish showed support for his star striker in mid-week, amid claims the Uruguayan made racist comments to Manchester United’s Patrice Evra and was ‘diving all over the place’ in the game. Suarez, however, is used to criticism, after being sent off for handling the ball on the line in a crucial World Cup game for Uruguay against Ghana and celebrating when Asamoah Gyan missed the resulting penalty. Suarez is a player who answers critics by showing his magic on the pitch and the positives far outweigh the negatives with this talented player, who insists there is more to come.

Liverpool only have two injuries for the forthcoming tie on Saturday, with backup goalkeeper Alexander Doni expected to be out with a finger injury and youngster Jack Robinson will also be unavailable with a sprain. Lucas picked up his fifth yellow card of the season last Sunday against United, so will miss Saturday’s tie. Dalglish insists despite Lucas’s fantastic services to the team, they have enough depth to manage without him. Jordan Henderson might benefit from the Brazilian’s absence and will be hoping for a return to the starting eleven. Andy Carroll may also be in with a chance of making the starting eleven after not featuring against United.

Paul Lambert’s Norwich City have no new injury worries, but remain without defenders Daniel Ayala, Elliot Ward and Zak Whitbread. The likes of Bradley Johnson, Steve Morison and Russell Martin have been in superb form so far this season and will be doing everything they can at Anfield to help their team claim something from the fixture. It certainly won’t be a walkover for Liverpool, who are currently fifth in the league, just one place off their targeted finishing position.

Predicted starting line-ups:

Liverpool: Reina, Kelly, Carragher, Skrtel, Enrique, Kuyt, Henderson, Adam, Downing, Gerrard, Suarez.
Subs: Jones, Coates, Agger, Johnson, Spearing, Bellamy, Carroll

Norwich: Ruddy, Naughton, Martin, Barnett, Tierney, Bennett, Hoolahan, Fox, Pilkington, Morison, Johnson.
Subs: Rudd, De Laet, Crofts, Surman, Holt, Jackson, Wilbraham

Match Report: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester United

Honours even in the North West Derby as United strike late on to rescue a point at Anfield.

Henderson had two late chances to win the game.

Manchester United’s unbeaten start remains intact thanks to a headed equaliser from Javier Hernandez, who came off the bench to salvage a point against Liverpool.

United were trailing thanks to Steven Gerrard’s 68^th minute free-kick, that squeezed through a gap in the wall left by the experienced Ryan Giggs. It was the perfect way to mark a come back for the Liverpool skipper, after coming back from a groin injury, it was his first start since playing United at Anfield in March.

Liverpool may be left feeling disappointed after creating more chances to win the game than the visiting champions and one player in particular, Jordan Henderson, will have felt he could have won the game for the Reds on two occasions, but for expert goalkeeping by David De Gea.

Hernandez was left out of the starting line-up, along with Wayne Rooney who according to his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, was “devastated” at the news of his three match ban, which rules him out of the Euro 2013 group games.

In a highly anticipated game, the atmosphere could not have been more tense as the game got underway and it was probably the fact that the fixture is built up so much that we were all so underwhelmed by the slow starting first half. The current champions were second best for the majority of the game and laboured to adapt to their defensive formation, somewhat of a surprise selection from Ferguson, but it was evident come the end of the game which team was happier with a point. Phil Jones occupied a midfield role, seemingly trying to keep Charlie Adam quiet and Chris Smalling and Rio Ferdinand both returned to the starting line-up. It was Jones who got on the end of the game’s first real chance as he headed wide from the back post. The 19 year old will have felt he could have done better with United’s only real opening of the half.

When the home team begun to create chances, it was their captain who was at the centre of it. A whipped in cross from Gerrard only needed a touch to take it into the back of the net, causing panic in the United box, but it was a shot from Charlie Adam that bounced into Luis Suarez’s path in the 33^rd minute that found the best chance of the half. Suarez typically teased the last defender, in this case Jonny Evans, with a twist and turn but fired straight at De Gea who kept the score at 0-0 at the break.

Liverpool came out for the second half with a spring in their step and after bookings for both Ferdinand and Patrice Evra it was evident United were growing frustrated. It was time for Ferguson to introduce his fire power from an extremely talented bench, with two attacking players coming on in Luis Nani and Rooney, or the “scouser with a wig” as the home fans chanted.

However, it was whilst the United substitutes were jogging on the spot on the touchline waiting to come on, that their team fell a goal behind to a well placed free kick. Anfield erupted, as the long awaited return to a starting place for Steven Gerrard, was marked in terrific fashion by bursting the United net. Charlie Adam deserves credit for winning the free-kick after a surging run towards the penalty area where he was tripped by Ferdinand’s outstretched leg. Having already been on a yellow card, Ferdinand can count himself lucky that he wasn’t sent for an early bath.

Gerrard himself admitted in a post match interview that there was a degree of luck involved in squeezing the ball through the wall from 20 yards, however it will be the experienced figure of Ryan Giggs that will be losing a few hours sleep, as he broke away from the wall, to the dismay of Danny Welbeck.

As Liverpool edged closer to all three points and ending the champion’s unbeaten run, Ferguson made yet another attacking change, bringing on Javier Hernandez as added threat up front. It didn’t take long for the Mexican goal poacher to poach a goal for his team and level the game. A fizzed in corner was flicked on from Welbeck and after shaking off Martin Skrtel in the box, ‘the little pea’ crashed the loose ball past an outstretched Pepe Reina.

For a couple of minutes you could sense the nerves amongst the home crowd, however, after a pinpoint cross from Stewart Downing, met by the right boot of Dirk Kuyt, Liverpool were almost back in front, albeit for the gloves of David De Gea.

It was Liverpool who finished the game trying to take the points and you could tell they weren’t prepared to share. The Red’s only substitute of the game, Jordan Henderson on for Lucas, made a couple of late efforts that could have won the game. The first, was a long range lob that if it was a couple of inches higher, would have made him an instant Kop hero. Again, De Gea was equal to it and did enough in this game to keep his critics at bay for at least a week. Henderson’s second chance to win the game was a header that glanced over the bar and he’ll feel he should have hit the target after finding himself unmarked in the box.

The final chance of the game perhaps fell to the last man on the pitch that you would want in a match winning position. After last-ditch goalmouth action, the ball fell kindly to Martin Skrtel of all people and he proved why he’s a defender, after lashing the ball high into the Kop. An electric finish to a game that only seemed to get going in the second half and United undoubtedly go away the happier. 

Match Preview: Liverpool vs. Manchester United

The two most successful clubs in English football will go head to head at Anfield on Saturday, in one of the most anticipated fixtures of the season.

The North West Derby is always a fiery affair.

The inter-city rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester dates back to the industrial times. Liverpool was famous for its thriving port, whilst Manchester was a renowned manufacturing city. The completion of the Manchester Ship Canal meant that ships could now bypass Liverpool and go straight into Manchester, causing job losses for the merchants in Liverpool and sparking a long lasting resentment.

Both cities have grown since a decline in the industries in the 70’s and found new successes; Manchester is now recognized as a world-class city and Liverpool was awarded the European Capital of Culture in 2008. Nowadays, it is the football that keeps the fierce rivalry alive, in what is referred to as the North West Derby, or ‘the most famous fixture in English football’, according to Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs.

The rivalry between the two clubs has intensified recently as United overtook Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles when they won the Premier League last season, making it 19 for the Red Devils. However, Liverpool still owns the bragging rights for the most successful English team in Europe, with five European Cups to United’s three. I’m sure there will be a few number 19’s in the away section at Anfield on Saturday, but having lost their last three visits to the fortress, United will be cautious in their approach.

Kenny Dalglish has seen his team bounce back from two successive defeats in a row to three wins on the trot in all competitions, however, the Red’s form is no match for the league leaders. Alex Ferguson’s men remain unbeaten and their only slip up in the league has been an away draw to Stoke. It was United’s away form that let them down in the league last season and a trip on the M62 to Liverpool could be their first real away test this season.

The home side have little injury concerns as they prepare for Saturday’s fixture. Daniel Agger, Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson all face a late battle to be fit, however, Steven Gerrard looks set to start in what will be his first game back since playing in Liverpool’s 3-1 over United in March last season. Gerrard provides his team with another dimension of football and an added belief. The skipper has enjoyed numerous successes against United over the years and will be chomping at the bit for a start and to make a solid impact once again. Luis Suarez is almost certain to start following his recent form, however the Uruguayan flew back from South America midweek, so Dalglish will have to assess his striker’s mental fitness for the encounter.

The visitors still have a few injury problems in defence, however Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans should be available for Saturday. Another bonus for Ferguson is that his steely Serbian defender, Nemanja Vidic, could also be in contention for a start, having performed in international duty on Tuesday. Vidic, however, has been sent off in two of his last three visits to Anfield. Chris Smalling is unlikely to make his return to first team action, whilst David De Gea is likely to take the place of Anders Lindegaard in goal. Following his red card due to his display of petulance when playing for England, United’s token scouser Wayne Rooney, will be looking to get one over on his rivals and also get his name in the papers for the right reasons this week.

Liverpool have shown a greater level of desire in this fixture in recent years and Dalglish will have his men fired up and raring to go from the off and no doubt will be told to test the ability of De Gea in between the United sticks. With their new attacking prowess in Suarez, Carroll, Bellamy and Downing, it’ll certainly give the visitor’s defence something to think about. Both teams have brought in new faces over the transfer window and they have both undoubtedly become stronger as a result. The bragging rights are up for grabs once again, in what will be a fiercely contested game.

Predicted Lineups:

Liverpool: 25 Reina, 34 Kelly, 23 Carragher, 37 Skrtel, 3 Enrique, 21 Lucas, 26 Adam, 19 Downing, 18 Kuyt, 8 Gerrard, 7 Suarez

Subs: 32 Doni, 16 Coates, 38 Flanagan, 14 Henderson, 20 Spearing, 9 Carroll, 39 Bellamy

Manchester United: 1 De Gea, 4 Jones, 5 Ferdinand, 15 Vidic, 3 Evra, 13 Park Ji-Sung, 17 Nani, 24 Fletcher, 25 Valencia, 10 Rooney, 14 Hernandez

Subs: 34 Lindegaard, 6 Evans, 11 Giggs, 16 Carrick, 7 Owen, 8 Anderson, 19 Welbeck

Liverpool vs. Manchester United, Saturday 15^th October 2011, Live on Sky Sports 2 and HD2 from 12:00pm.


This article was also published on www.whatculture.com