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Five Flops For The Anfield Exit
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| Charlie Adam was uninspiring for Liverpool in the 2011/12 season. |
The arrival of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool marks another
new era for the club, so who needs to be shown the door at Anfield to make way
for new talent? Here is a list of five players who should hang up their red
shirts:
Charlie Adam
The former Blackpool star arrived at Liverpool last year
after impressing in his first season in the Premier League with the Seasiders.
Liverpool were quick to snap up the midfielder for a fee of £7million, one of
their cheaper acquisitions from the summer of 2011, however, the Scotsman
failed to live up to even that price tag.
Ever since Xabi Alonso parted company with the Reds in 2009,
there has been a lack of creativity coming from midfield and many thought Adam
would be the man to fill Alonso’s boots. The Scot managed just two goals and
six assists in 31 appearances in the 2011/12 season and failed to make an
impact in midfield as Kenny Dalglish had hoped. Adam has a tendency to give
away unnecessary fouls in dangerous positions and appeared to look off the pace
of the Premier League. He didn't
stand out in a red shirt and Brendan Rodgers will do well to replace him with a
more talented creative midfielder. Perhaps he is better suited to Championship
football.
Verdict: Sell
Jay Spearing
Jay Spearing, a product of the Liverpool academy, certainly
plays for the shirt and has all the right motives when playing for his club,
however, he just doesn't cut the mustard. The miniature bulldog like player is
exactly what the club needs in terms of coming up from the ranks and being a home-grown
product, but unfortunately he is not a player that will help the club challenge
for the Premier League and a Champions League position. His passion and energy
is his best asset, perhaps best suiting him to a position on the bench, at
best. At 23, Spearing could still develop as a player, so a season playing
first team football at a smaller Premier League team could do wonders for the
midfielder. It will provide Liverpool a chance to monitor any progression made
and give them another year to decide on his future at the club.
Verdict: Loan.
Jamie Carragher
As much as it would pain any Liverpool supporter to admit
it, our steely and ever reliable centre back is getting on and the cracks are showing
in this old rock. If the club are going to pose any real threat of becoming a
top four side again, they need to find a long term replacement for one of the
best defenders they have ever produced.
Carragher has created a legacy for himself and will always
be remembered as a hero by the Kop for his services to the club. The
experienced centre back may only have a season left in him at best and it is
hard to say whether Brendan Rodgers will consider him for a place in his
starting 11. Carragher may have to get used to life on the bench, as the
touchline is where he should be when his playing career comes to an end. He can
become a great asset to the coaching staff and his claxon like voice would be
sorely missed otherwise.
Verdict: Retire and become a coach.
Stewart Downing
Stewart Downing was another of Kenny Dalglish’s signings
that failed to make an impact in the 2011/12 season. The winger, who signed
from Aston Villa for a hefty fee of around £20million, managed just two goals
and two assists in 46 games for the club. Perhaps if the strikers converted his
crosses and passes, he might have had much better statistics from the season
just gone. At times, the England winger looked threatening, but most of the
time you couldn't help but think this is a player that at 27, isn’t going to
get any better. Is this someone that is going to help the club push forward and
get back into the Champions League? Brendan Rodgers will have to answer that
one for us, but there are plenty of wingers out there that could offer more
than Downing did last season.
Verdict: Sell
Jon Flanagan
Jon Flanagan is not a player that Liverpool should consider
getting rid of completely, but one that would greatly benefit from a season out
on loan. With England defenders Glen Johnson and Martin Kelly both in front of
him in the pecking order, young Jon Flanagan will be a bench warmer at best
next season. Two seasons ago the Liverpool youth product showed his potential,
but when called upon last season he showed he isn’t quite ready to mix it with
the big boys in crucial games. A chance to develop as a player and gain as much
playing time as possible next season would be a blessing for both Flanagan and
Liverpool, because this is a player for the future.
Verdict: Loan
Liverpool Looking To The Future With Rodgers
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| Managing Director Ian Ayre, Manager Brendan Rodgers and Chairman Tom Werner |
After a dismal league campaign in the 2011/12 season, which
saw controversy, cup finals and the dethroning of a king, Liverpool are looking
to the future after appointing Brendan Rodgers as the right man to take them
forward.
Kenny Dalglish’s second spell as Liverpool manager lasted just one and a half seasons and in that time the Scotsman took his beloved team to two Wembley finals, winning the club’s first trophy since 2006. Despite giving the Anfield faithful a taste of the glory days, success in the Carling Cup proved to be too little for the club’s American owners, Fenway Sports Group (FSG). A defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup final dashed Liverpool’s hopes of completing a domestic cup double and a string of poor results and an 8th place finish in the league proved to be the deciding factor in FSG’s decision to bring in a new manager.
The virtues of Liverpool’s ideal candidate for the vacant
managerial job were made clear immediately. The owners wanted to bring in a
talented, young manager and Swansea’s Brendan Rodgers was seen as the ideal
candidate. The 39 year old, who has worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, took
Swansea from the Championship to an 11th place finish in the Premier
League last season. Rodgers signed a three year deal with Liverpool and was
promised time to build his own team, implementing his personal fashion of
tactics. The Northern Irishman’s impressive strategies and modern style of
play, were enough to land him one of the most prestigious jobs in football.
Rodgers travelled to Holland and Spain, two of the world’s most attractive
footballing nations, to study their tactics and train as a coach. He is now
known for favouring the ‘Tiki-Taka’ pass and move style of play that the Spanish
national team is famous for and was able to input those tactics on his Swansea
side last season. The Welsh team impressed in their debut season in the Premier
League and as a result, Rodgers was snapped up in a shrewd appointment by the
Anfield owners.
Liverpool fans have been longing for attractive football to be played at Anfield and after a clear out of the dead wood and a rebuild of the current squad, Rodgers is the man to bring such a change. Players such as Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll, who flopped in their first season on Merseyside, could be in for a nervy summer transfer window, as Rodgers will be looking to bring in creative midfielders and speedy wingers to help creative his style of play.
Critics would say the choice to make Rodgers manager of Liverpool is a risk, but sometimes risks need to be taken in order to progress. The employment of ‘B-Rod’, or ‘King Brenny’ as some Kopites are wittily referring to Rodgers by, is certainly part of FSG’s long term vision for the club and time is undoubtedly needed as a key ingredient for this recipe of the future.
Home Nations United
Why Great Britain entering a football team in the Olympics for the first time in 52 years is a good thing.
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| Jack Rodwell modeling the Team GB football shirt. |
The Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh FA’s put their foot down and refused their players to be involved in the Olympic team, however, they have no objections to England making up the team with their own players.
England fans have always found it bitterly disappointing and somewhat unfair that Ryan Giggs is Welsh and unable to play for England, and then when Gareth Bale emerged as one of the brightest young talents in the Premier League, the frustration escalated. What might have been if those two had been English?
Unfortunately for the Welsh FA, the lure of being involved in the Olympics has proved irresistible to Wales’ finest talent, including Bale, their captain Aaron Ramsey and the experienced Craig Bellamy. Giggs, having retired from international football, is on Team GB manager Stuart Pearce’s radar to link up with his former Manchester United teammate, David Beckham.
It would be a great shame if Bale and Ramsey were denied the chance to represent Great Britain in the Olympics. It is every sportsman’s dream to be involved in the pinnacle of sporting events and have the chance to win a gold medal and for the Welsh FA to stand firm and not allow their players to participate would be a huge blow to their professional careers.
The Olympic rules state the football teams must feature players below the age of 23, with the exception of three experienced heads. It is essentially a youth tournament with the luxury of adding accomplished players into the mix, Giggs, Becks and Rooney perhaps? The new wave of young English talent in the Premier League, combined with the possibility of adding the best young players from the home nations, means Team GB will have a squad worthy of a podium finish. As a collective, this is our big chance to win a tournament.
Going For Gold
The top Team GB athletes to look out for in London
It has been 64 years since the Olympics last turned up in London and after bidding for the games for the last 20 years, it is back for its third showing. In 1948, Great Britain managed a total of 23 medals, finishing in a miserable 12th place in the overall standings. Team GB’s hopefuls will aim to prevent history from repeating itself in front of the home crowd.
The African dominance in Olympic long distance running is under threat, as Mo Farrah has been causing a stir in Europe. The man who was born in Somalia, but now a Londoner, will be hoping to impress his home fans when the Olympic games arrives on his doorstep. Farrah impressed in the European Championships when he took it by storm, winning the 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres event. We’ll all be hoping he can take his current form into the Olympics and bag Great Britain some golds.
Just like Team GB’s football team, the dynamic duo of Pete Waterfield and Tom Daley combines experience and youth. With his old partner, Leon Taylor, Waterfield won silver in the 10-metre event at the Athens Olympics and his decision to pair up with the extremely talented Daley has already proven to be a success. The second event they competed in together saw them defeat the lethal partnership of Cao Yuan and Zhang Yanquang. Finishing in front of the Chinese pair doesn’t happen often and when competing against them, most divers think of silver as gold. Waterfield and Daley have a natural synchronization and when it usually takes years to perfect timings, the British hopefuls look a real contender for a podium finish already.
Liverpool vs. Everton - Match Preview
Everton will travel across Stanley Park to play out of form Liverpool in the rescheduled Merseyside Derby.
This meeting at Anfield will be the 217th between the local rivals and carries with it a few more pub facts, for the keen statistician. Everton boss David Moyes will have officially been at the club for a decade come Wednesday and what better way to celebrate such a landmark than to win the derby and go one point clear of strugglers Liverpool. The Reds slumped to their third straight league defeat on Saturday, away to Sunderland, who along with Everton, are now only two points below Kenny Dalglish’s team. The loss against the Black Cats meant Liverpool are now on their worst league run since 2003 and ironically, the last time they lost four on the bounce was ten years ago, in 2002.
Continuing the stat theme, Liverpool’s skipper, Steven Gerrard, will make his 400th Premier League appearance against the Toffees, if selected. Gerrard, who limped off with a hamstring injury whilst playing for England against Holland, made a substitute comeback in the defeat against Sunderland on Saturday. The Liverpool captain has labelled his team’s consistency as ‘not good enough’, which is an understatement considering their recent form. Dalglish will be hoping the Merseyside Derby will bring some fight and passion back out of his players, who have not been pulling their weight recently.
Liverpool’s League Cup success and their Quarter-Final FA Cup fixture against Stoke on Sunday, may highlight how they have built a team for competing in the domestic cup competitions and one that is lacking the quality to qualify and even play in the Champions League. Dalglish is working with a newly constructed team, who are showing signs that they have not yet jelled and are in need of some extra fire-power up front.
Everton will be going into the crunch derby fixture high in morale after defeating high-flying Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Saturday. An added incentive for Moyes’s men is to go a point clear of their rivals and to give the red half of the city a run for their money as the season approaches it’s final stages. The last time Everton finished above Liverpool in the league was seven years ago and if they can achieve a victory at Anfield and hold them off for ten more games, history may well repeat itself.
Predicted Line-ups
Liverpool (from): Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Carragher, Enrique, Adam, Spearing, Downing, Gerrard, Bellamy, Suarez, Doni, Kelly, Coates, Shelvey, Henderson, Rodriguez, Kuyt, Carroll.
Everton (from): Howard, Heitinga, Baines, Distin, Hibbert, Neville, Cahill, Drenthe, Osman, Fellaini, Stracqualursi, Jelavic, Coleman, Barkley, Jagielka, Anichebe, Gueye, Mucha, Rodwell, Pienaar, Vellios.
Cardiff City FC vs. Liverpool FC – League Cup Final
Seven times winners of the League Cup, Liverpool, will take on the Championship high-flyers Cardiff, at Wembley.
A sea of red and blue will transform the home of English football as the Merseysiders look to add to their famous trophy cabinet against the Bluebirds. Kenny Dalglish’s men will be making their first visit to the new Wembley and haven’t featured in a final since beating West Ham United in the FA Cup in 2006, ironically, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Liverpool have had a tough run so far in the cup, seeing off Brighton, Stoke, Chelsea and Manchester City to get through to the final. Their Championship counterparts, Cardiff, have overcome the likes of Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers and Crystal Palace and will face their toughest test yet when they square up to one of the giants of the Premier League.
Having not tasted the sweet taste of success for over six years now, Liverpool will be hoping that the return of the King brings fortunes in the form of silverware. Malky Mackay’s Cardiff are no strangers to the big stage, having last visited Wembley in 2011, losing out to Reading in the Playoff Semi-Finals, after being runners up to Blackpool in the 2010 Playoffs.
The Underdogs, Cardiff, will have their work cut out against a Liverpool team who crave success under the new regime. A place in the Europa League awaits the winner and you can watch all the action live, on Sky Sports 1 and HD1 from 3.30 on Sunday 26th February.
Life has no limits for Mario
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| Why always him? Well..he loves it! |
Have you ever been relaxing in the bath, unwinding to some soulful music, whilst submerging yourself neck deep into bubbles? In that same moment, did you think it would be a good idea to set the room on fire? Presumably, that, or something similar, is what went through Mario Balotelli’s mind at some point, when he decided to let fireworks off in his own bathroom.
That was just a normal day for Mario and his mates, in a life where there are no boundaries and nothing is impossible. Love him or hate him, Mario Balotelli is a born entertainer, whether it be scoring goals on the football pitch, or driving round Manchester high fiving City fans after beating United. The 21-year old Italian is a reporter’s dream. There are constant rumours being thrown around regarding new ‘Mario antics’ and the likelihood of them being true in Mario’s case is very high, as he’s never too far away from controversy.
In some instances, you’ve just got to say fair play to the lad, who potentially sees himself as a modern day Robin Hood. It was reported that the City striker handed a tramp £10,000 outside a Manchester restaurant, an overwhelming gesture of goodwill. His generosity doesn’t stop there, he has also been rumoured to have driven round dressed as Santa, handing £50 notes to the homeless around Christmas time. His latest kind stint came at a petrol station where he told everyone to fill their tanks on him. If only more wealthy footballers were like Super Mario.
Match Preview: League Cup Semi Final, First Leg - Manchester City vs. Liverpool
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| Both teams will be hoping to reach the final, where a Championship team awaits. |
Manchester City and Liverpool met just over a week ago in the league at the Etihad Stadium, with the home side coming out 3-0 victors. The two teams will meet again tonight for the first leg of the League Cup Semi-Final.
The winner of the tie after both legs have been played will have booked their place at Wembley for the final against a Championship side, a mouth-watering prospect of silverware for both teams. Crystal Palace hold a 1-0 advantage over Cardiff City as they prepare for the second leg next week, after narrowly winning the first leg last night.
It has been somewhat of a tough week for both teams. Manchester City were dumped out of their second competition of the season at the first hurdle and on the way lost their captain, Vincent Kompany, to a four game suspension. City have also lost the Toure brothers to the African Cup of nations and may feel hard-done-by after Kompany’s straight red against Manchester United in the FA Cup Third Round. The Belgian lost his appeal against the suspension and now misses both legs of the semi-final against Liverpool.
Although the Reds eased past their opponents, Oldham Athletic and are through to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, their 5-1 victory against the Latics was marred by a petty incident. One Liverpool fan was involved in an alleged racial exchange with Oldham player, Tom Adeyemi. This was the last thing that the once pristine, but now tarnished reputation of Liverpool Football Club needed, especially as they were trying to put the ‘Luis Suarez racial slur’ incident to bed.
If a police investigation on the fan wasn’t enough bad press for the club, then the news that Stewart Downing being arrested for allegedly attacking his ex-girlfriend, might just be. Downing scored his first Liverpool goal in the last minute of the game against Oldham, but now faces his confidence and mentality on the pitch being knocked.
Roberto Mancini takes what will be an under strength starting eleven, on his books, into tonight’s fixture. Kompany and Yaya Toure, the core of the City team are both missing and Yaya’s brother Kolo Toure is also absent. The news that David Silva may be a doubt for the game will boost Liverpool’s confidence going into the match and to add to Mancini’s woes, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli are also a doubt. The only positive for the Citizens is the return of Gareth Barry to their starting eleven.
Liverpool had the luxury of resting some of their players against Oldham on Friday and their solid back four of Johnson, Skrtel, Agger and Enrique, will be restored. Steven Gerrard is also likely to start, as Luis Suarez sits out his third game out of eight.
City have to prove tonight that they can cope without some of their key players, but their challenge won’t be easy against the most successful side in League Cup history, Liverpool.
Liverpool marred by controversy after cup win
Last Friday saw the first FA Cup fixture of 2012 being played out between Liverpool and Oldham Athletic at Anfield. The home team understandably the favourites of the tie, expected to ease past their League One counterparts, and that they did, eventually. It was a match where the football and achievements of the game itself were completely overshadowed by one petty incident involving a 20-year-old fan and a 20-year-old player.
The Reds went into the fixture with the news of Luis Suarez being banned for 8 games, for allegedly racially abusing Patrice Evra, still fresh on their minds. Three days before the third round cup tie, Liverpool played Manchester City away in the Premier League, losing 3-0. The Anfield outfit had decided not to appeal against Suarez’s ban, choosing to put the case to bed and to move on. This decision meant the ban would be carried out forthwith and the Uruguayan would return to football in February after missing 8 fixtures. The choice not to appeal was probably the correct one and the timing was tactically thought out by the Liverpool hierarchy, with Suarez returning to action in time for crunch games against Tottenham and Manchester United in the League.
Even though the FA stated that Suarez, who is from Uruguay, didn’t use the Uruguayan word ‘Negro’ as a deliberate form of racism towards Evra in their report, there is still an overwhelming amount of bad press given to Liverpool’s number seven. It is the bad press from journalists that is whipping up a frenzy of Suarez and Liverpool hating football fans and, in turn, the churnalism regarding the situation is also whipping Liverpool fans up to support their man. A Liverpool fan wearing a Suarez t-shirt to show support to one of their players, is now cheaply and wrongly accused of ‘supporting a racist’, or even more critically, being a racist.
“The FA made clear that it did not contend that Mr Suarez acted as he did because he is a racist. Mr Evra said in his evidence that he did not think Mr Suarez is a racist. Mr Suarez said in evidence that he will not use the word ‘negro’ on a football pitch in England in the future, and we believe that is his genuine and firm intention.”
Throughout the ground on Friday night, there were visible amounts of Suarez t-shirts being worn by passionate Liverpool supporters. The now famous ‘Just can’t get enough’ Suarez song was a favourite for the Kopites to belt out and the song became even more heartfelt in the second half when Oldham player Tom Adeyemi had an altercation with a fan in the Kop. It was clear from the moment the player kicked up a fuss what the problem might have been, and in the current sensitive subject of racism, Adeyemi was not going to let it rest.
Having seen the Oldham player walk over to the Kop and seemingly argue with a fan and then being held back by his own players and Liverpool players, Anfield erupted with a chorus of “I just can’t seem to get enough Suarez”, almost ironically trying to deflect the incident away. Rumours and statements have since been released, saying that the 20-year-old fan used the words ‘ You Manc B**tard’ and not ‘Black’ towards the Oldham player, who is adjudged to have misheard amongst the boisterous atmosphere. This was at a point in the game when Oldham had been overturned and didn’t look like getting back into it, their cup dreams fading away fast. With such an ambience around Anfield and the game not going his way, it is little surprise that the inexperienced and youthful Adeyemi reacted the way he did, as the adrenaline took over.
This sort of incident and more unnecessary media attention was hardly what Kenny Dalglish or Liverpool needed, as the club try and clear their star striker’s name from racism. The incident also seemed to completely deflect all attention away from a game of football where Craig Bellamy flourished, Steven Gerrard scored a penalty and Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing both scored after coming on as substitutes.
Dalglish played down his team’s 5-1 home victory, saying the score-line flattered them. Liverpool went a goal down to a Robbie Simpson wonder striker from 30-yards, but the home side were soon level through Bellamy’s deflected effort. Captain Fantastic, Steven Gerrard, then fired home from the spot bang on half time to put the Reds 2-1 up at the break.
Liverpool came out for the second half having been given a kick up the backsides from Dalglish and their domination finally paid off when Jonjo Shelvey netted his maiden goal for the Reds. After that, Oldham, who had made a good account of themselves in the first half, looked a beaten team and Liverpool turned up the pressure. Carroll had been on the pitch a matter of minutes and when John Flanagan found him in space outside the area, the man that needed a goal more than anyone on that pitch, almost broke the net with a thumping effort.
Downing’s last minute goal was his first in Liverpool colours and had he not have been arrested on suspicion of assaulting his ex-girlfriend a few days ago, the goal might have given him the confidence boost he well needed. Liverpool learnt from the FA Cup Fourth Round draw that they will be playing none other than Manchester United, in what will be a fiercely contested game at Anfield. Now, it seems, that Liverpool unwittingly find themselves surrounded by yet more controversial allegations, with their next match being away, again, to Manchester City.
Match Preview: FA Cup Third Round - Liverpool vs. Oldham Athletic
Liverpool play hosts to League One side and former Premier League club, Oldham Athletic, in the first FA Cup game of the new year.
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| Liverpool last won the FA Cup in 2006, they will be hoping for similar success in this year's competition. |
Oldham were one of the 22 inaugural founding members of the Premier League in 1992, but their top-flight status lasted just two seasons and the club have since slumped to 14th in the third tier of English football.
It will provide little shock if the Premier League outfit rotate their squad for their meeting with the Latics, with a Carling Cup Semi-Final against Manchester City only four days away. The Reds have two more fixtures against City, who they lost 3-0 to in the league on Tuesday, in what will be a busy January for the club, especially with the absence of their star striker, Luis Suarez, whose eight-match ban is underway.
Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is taking the cup fixtures extremely seriously, with the aim of getting to a Wembley final high up on his list of priorities. With the fight to finish in a European spot in the league proving more difficult by the season, success in the cups is also another route into European football. With a distinct lack of silverware and their last trophy being the FA Cup in 2006, Liverpool will be striving to reach the final and win in the domestic cup competitions.
The Premier League leaders, Manchester City and just 180 minutes is all that separates Liverpool from reaching the final of the Carling Cup. Their FA Cup journey begins on Friday night and Paul Dickov’s Oldham Athletic will be their first hurdle. Losing is not an option for Dalglish’s men and no matter which team the Kop legend fields, it will certainly be a strong one.
The Reds have fielded a strong team throughout their Carling Cup adventure and their ambitions of reaching the final and how seriously the club are taking the competitions, is clear for all to see.
Steven Gerrard is likely to feature in the cup tie after completing three substitute appearances since returning from his ankle infection. The club captain impressed with a vintage display against Newcastle, lifting the whole team and scoring a sublime left-footed goal. A run-out for Gerrard wouldn't be surprising, as it would provide an ideal opportunity for him to gain match fitness ahead of a period in time when the whole team needs a boost, following Suarez’s ban.
Dalglish could also rest his steely defenders Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, bringing back Jamie Carragher to the starting eleven and giving Sebastian Coates a run out. Youngsters Martin Kelly, John Flanagan, Jonjo Shelvey and Jay Spearing could all be in contention for a place in the starting line-up and the tie also presents Andy Carroll an opportunity to get off the mark and gain some much needed confidence for the new year.
The majority of Oldham’s fire power has come from Shefki Kuqi, who has scored 13 goals this season, however, he has failed to find the net since the 19th November 2011. A positive for the underdogs is that Liverpool have won only four of their 10 home games this season, drawing the other six. It might be a different story, as FA Cup fever takes a hold of Anfield on Friday night.
Match Preview: Manchester City vs. Liverpool
League leaders Manchester City welcome Liverpool to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night, in what will be the first of three fixtures to be played between the two clubs in January.
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| Balotelli was sent off in the 1-1 draw at Anfield in November 2011 |
The two Premier League outfits will first battle it out in their second Premier League fixture of the season, the first of which was a 1-1 draw at Anfield at the end of November. Two legs of the League Cup Semi-Final then await the Citizens and the Reds, with a Wembley final the prize.
Liverpool travel the short distance to Manchester having just defeated Alan Pardew’s Newcastle convincingly at Anfield last Friday. Kenny Dalglish’s men were without the banned Luis Suarezin their last league run out, however, another positive to take from their last game besides the win, was the triumphant return of the club captain Steven Gerrard. The skipper came on in the second half to change the flow of the game and bag himself a long awaited goal and lead his team to victory. Suarez will be eligible for the game against City and the prospect of Gerrard and the tricky Uruguayan linking up once again is daunting for any team to face.
Roberto Mancini’s rant about the congestion of fixtures was supported by Dalglish, however, one can’t help but feel the Liverpool boss will be feeling slightly more comfortable going into this fixture, having had three whole days rest, compared to City’s one. Mancini’s men missed the opportunity to gain a three-point advantage on their neighbours Manchester United at the top of the table, when they lost in dramatic fashion to a late Sunderland winner on New Year’s day. City still sit on top of the table, level on points with United and will be hoping that their previous one victory in 13 games against the Reds can be joined by another.
The Etihad Stadium has become something of a fortress in recent times, with City picking up 52 points out of a possible 54 in 2011, Fulham being the last team to leave with a point in February. Liverpool have been struggling at home this season, but fortunes have favoured them on the road, having taken 16 points from nine away games. The Merseyside team have only lost once in 14 games, a 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage at the beginning of December, but have since notched up an unbeaten run of five games throughout the festive period.
Manchester City have no injury troubles to worry about going into this crunch fixture, with Mario Balotelli set to return after missing the Sunderland defeat with an ankle problem. As for Liverpool, Gerrard could be in contention for a league start after completing two substitute appearances and impressing in his last run out, showing signs of his previous match-winning form. Suarez is also likely to feature in Dalglish’s starting line-up in a game where Jose Enrique is the last outfield player left in the Liverpool team to have played every minute of their league games this season.
Possible starting XIs:
Man City: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Clichy, Barry, Y.Toure, Milner, Silva, Aguero, Balotelli.
Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique, Adam, Gerrard, Downing, Spearing, Bellamy, Suarez.
Manchester City vs Liverpool is live on Sky Sports 1/HD1 on Tuesday 3rd January 2012. KO 20:00
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