The last thing Rodgers and his squad need at the moment is a Capital One Cup fixture bang in between two Premier League fixtures. I would be slightly more optimistic entering this match if Liverpool were sat comfortably in first place whilst carrying no injury concerns within the squad. That is not the case however, as Liverpool appear to be showing similar symptoms to a few seasons back, under King Kenny, where Liverpool lacked the killer instinct required to put the ball in the back of the net. Last Sunday's match seemed to carry on with the same story, as an exasperated Kop looked on in despair as Liverpool and Hull played out a stalemate.
Most of you will be aware of my deep admiration of the Capital One Cup and all the glory it brings. Seriously, who needs the Champions League when you can lift a trophy as prestigious and as tiny as the C1C? Jokes aside, we could sit here all day chatting on about the significance of this cup competition, however, since Liverpool are a part of it Brendan will need to stick out a starting eleven which he thinks will get the job done and progress his team into the quarters. Although I would rather we focus on winning the FA Cup rather than the 'Mickey Mouse Cup', I will support the red men as fondly as ever nonetheless.
Previous Meetings
We do not have to delve too far in the past to remember the last of meetings between the two in this competition. The then Carling Cup holders were knocked out of this competition two years to the month ago by the Swans. A last minute tap in by De Guzman cancelled out any hope of a Liverpool comeback as Swansea cruised to a 3-1 win at Anfield. Jordan Henderson played at right back that night, whilst the reds' attack consisted of Oussama Assaidi and Samed Yesil. Quite the contrasting line up is expected this time round, although Colin Pascoe has come out and said that the reds are looking to give one or two youngsters a run out.
Liverpool have endured quite a nervy few battles against the Welsh team since their promotion in 2011, most notably our 0-0 draw a couple of seasons back, where Michel Vorm produced an inhuman goalkeeping display to keep the red men at bay, thus proving a frustrating night at the office.
Team News - Trio to Get Given the Nod?
Jordan Rossiter, Williams and Kevin Stewart, three of Liverpool's current crop of promising academy starlets where all missing from the under 21's squad that recently lost to Fulham, which has sparked reports suggesting the trio will be in and around the starting line up come Tuesday night. Pascoe himself has stated in his press conference that both Williams and Rossiter did brilliantly when given the chance against Middlesbrough in the last round. Swansea is a step-up from Boro' obviously, however I am confident that we will see many of the so called 'fringe' players on show. Rossiter himself has the determination and attitude to turn into a world class midfielder in the upcoming years, and he definitely showed glimpses of that with his 'Man Of The Match' display in the last round.
Whereas other team news is concerned, Sakho still faces a number of weeks on the sidelines, and Pascoe has revealed that Enrique has a minor injury, which may hinder on him featuring on Tuesday. (We seem to be mentioning Enrique and injuries far too often for my liking). Apart from Sturridge's injury occurrences, Rodgers is faced with no other fresh concerns and will have to ponder deeply on how to approach a match like this.
Balotelli or Borini?
Oh, Balotelli ! (And I am not singing a long to Mario's chant). Now, although I will be writing a brief blog on the Italian in the near future, one thing that is concrete and does not require a blog to understand, is the fact that our enigma of a striker has endured an extremely frustrating two months in a red shirt thus far. This has sparked many a Liverpool fan calling for an abrupt shape-up from Rodgers, one that could include giving Balo's Italian counterpart Fabio Borini a run for his money. (Yes, Borini is still a Liverpool player, if you are wondering).
Although lacking the experience and physique of Super Mario, Borini will give us something that his counterpart lacks in abundance, and that is energy and the sheer will to play. You know what you are going to get from Fabio Borini, and that is 90 minutes of running, whereas Balotelli seems to strut around the pitch for large portions of matches he plays in. (Which ordinarily ends up with a yellow card and a moan or two at the ref). If I were Rodgers I would opt for the latter in Borini, especially for a cup match like this where Rodgers can afford to experience with his squad of players. IF, and it is a massive IF, Borini finally begins to show us his worth and produce the goods for Brendan, added on to that the soon-to-be returning Sturridge to yet enter the fray, Mario may find himself on the cusp of the reds' starting line up and amongst Liverpool's substitutes.
The Return of Jonjo Shelvey. How Has he Fared?
Liverpool Football Club sold Jonjo Shelvey to Swansea City in the Summer of 2013 for a fee of five million pounds. Let that one sink in for a moment. What most reds fans were calling a 'great deal' has come back and bit us in the behind. Shelvey has made incredible strides in his career ever since making the move to Wales and is now considered one of Garry Monk's first names on his team sheet, something Jonjo found extremely difficult in achieving during his time in a red shirt. Why is that? Quite simply, in my opinion, Shelvey has been shown great faith by Monk, unlike his foregoing manager Rodgers. It was inevitable to all that the youngster was destined for a massive career, as long as he is given the game time to show his worth. Selling the midfielder was a crucial mistake done by the current reds boss.
Should we have kept the 22 year old play maker? Without a doubt, and goals like this have gotten us reds fans holding our heads in deep resentment of the player we once had in our firm grasp.
A Look At the Opposition
After starting the league season on fire, which saw them root to the summit of the table after the first few matches, Garry Monk's team seem to have let their feet off the gas somewhat of late, winning just one game from their last six. (2D, 3L). Having said that, the Swans currently sit comfortably in sixth place, one place above Liverpool. (Which shows how closely packed the middle of the table is, where one win could lift any team up five or six places). Obviously, being a cup game means form goes out of the window, as we witnessed in the second round, where League one 'minnows' MK Dons thrashed Premier League 'minnows' Manchester United 4-0.
Regarding Swansea's cup bearings thus far, a 3-0 thrashing of reds' rivals Everton in the previous round was the pick of the bunch for Monk's side. Swansea seem to be taking the Capital One Cup extremely seriously this year and Rodgers' team will need to be firing on all cylinders if they do not want a repetition of their last meeting in this competition.
My Prediction and Probable Starting Line Up
Perceiving a slightly higher optimistic view in contrast to the bulk of other previews out there, I am predicting a 2-1 win for the reds, with the winning goal arriving in extra-time. (Hopefully from our enigmatic Italian forward).
As for my starting line up, it differentiates from the one I put out for the Hull tie, as I expect Rodgers to ring in the changes for this cup tie :
Mignolet
Johnson Toure Skrtel Moreno
Lucas
Allen Can
Coutinho
Lambert Markovic
Subs: Mignolet. Lovren, Manquillo. Gerrard, Henderson. Borini, Balotelli.
My picking may cause a few concerns amongst viewers out there. One of the main questions being; Where is Sterling? Lallana? Simply, both the youngsters need a rest in my opinion. Rodgers strained his ongoing concerns regarding Raheem and the 'burn-out factor'. Here is your answer. Although Brendan will no doubt put out a team that he thinks will win him the game, I reckon that resting the two, amongst other key players, and having them fresh and ready to go come our visit to Newcastle on Saturday should be the way forward.
I happened across a joke on Twitter the other day, which said that Rodgers has been 'working night shifts until 4:30 am' in an effort to recreate last season's winning formula. Well Brendan, I'm afraid that unless you possess an exact replica of our ex-icon Luis Suarez your efforts are going to come to no prevail. Is Luis Suarez the reason Liverpool are playing so characterless this season, in contrast to the outstanding football we witnessed last year? I would say 70 % YES, 30 % NO.
Whilst I sat in total resentment watching 'EL Pistolero' make his debut for Barcelona last Saturday evening, I comprehended that even with Suarez in our team, we still lacked that cutting edge on occasions, and this is where I question Brendan's summer expenditure. Should the boss have forked out the whole of the Suarez money for the purchase of a world class striker, rather than pay 15/20 million pound fees for a couple of 'less talented' unproven stars? It is easy to criticize when everything goes pear-shaped however, and I do not blame Rodgers for the disappointing start the majority of his signings have made. He is not the one who produces the football on the pitch after all.
Now, here is something for Rodgers to ponder ; Does the Northern Irishman pick a 'fringe' starting eleven, withholding the risk that it comes to fail, which could accumulate into further criticism from the reds faithful? Or does he put out a strong side to ensure the red men progress into the quarters, and risk one or two of his stars suffering an injury or not being as fresh come the must-win match on Saturday? Should the boss use this fixture as a test for a few of his fringe players and youngsters, or should he opt to show this competition more respect? The former, in my opinion.
Whichever the outcome, and who-ever the boss picks, they knows they will have to give 110 % whilst wearing the red of Liverpool, especially amongst these somewhat 'troubled times' we are facing. Let us hope that come 10 o'clock on Tuesday night, the red men are amidst the teams in the hat for the quarter final draw, whilst possessing no further injury concerns. (That will be extremely demanding looking at our luck this season, however we will cheers on the reds nevertheless).
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YNWA
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