"How Will the Reds React to Cup Exit?"
A couple of days have now gone by since that night at Stamford Bridge. From Liverpool's frustrating missed chances up-front, to Diego Costa's sadistic behaviour, Tuesday's tie is not one that will live long in the memory of us reds fans. It is of essence that Rodgers gets his squad of players fully focused as this weekend's fixture, alongside the flurry of league and cup fixtures to follow in February will undoubtedly make or break our season.
An in-form West Ham United may not be the ideal of opposition for Brendan and his men, however Liverpool will enter this weekend's match-up as firm favourites nonetheless.
Important Information & Statistics
Date: Saturday, 31st January Liverpool League Position: 8th
Time: 3:00 pm (UK time) West Ham League Position: 7th
Venue: Anfield Liverpool Current Form: DWWDWW
Referee: Andre Marriner West Ham Current Form: WLLDDW
Is it on TV?: No
Chelsea Battle Proves We Are On the Up
It took Chelsea 210 minutes, a penalty, and two savage-like stamps from Diego Costa for Chelsea to overturn us over two legs. (Not to forget the extremely poor man-marking for the free-kick that led to the winning goal). No, Mourinho's ever-dominating Chelsea found it extremely difficult to defeat a seemingly haphazard looking Liverpool side, and if it had not been for the number of chances missed by Brendan's men, it would have clearly been game over after the first leg.
Reverberating one of Brendan's most famous of phrases, Liverpool showed great character and determination throughout both legs, something that has been missing ever since last season. We where only a Daniel Sturridge away from destroying Mourinho's Chelsea and securing a place in the final. The numerous missed chances throughout echo that thought perfectly. Liverpool NEED a striker, however with a day or two of the window remaining, that request is looking the more likely to be unanswered.
He is Finally Back!
After five months and a staggering 32 matches without a decent striker up-front, we can finally speak the words "Daniel is Back!" After suffering an agonizing injury which was prolonged further than supposedly, Sturridge has finally returned to full training and has been deemed fit to play by Rodgers. The training pictures of Melwood in the snow published on Thursday afternoon brought a broad smile across each and every fans' faces out there, as we witnessed Sturridge in a joyous mood prior to his return.
Now, to the dying few questions that remain out there: Who will he replace? Who will he partner up-front? Will the disheartened Mario Balotelli transform into an entirely new player once placed alongside Daniel? One thing is for certain, the 'false number nine' system will be abolished for good, as we finally get to welcome a decent 'out and out' centre forward back to the side.
Ghosts of the Ex-Liverpool FLOPS to Return to Haunt Us?
Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll define the word karma to a T. The ex-red flops, who where sold for petty fees because they did not "fit in our style of play" have revelled under Big Sam, who must be sat on his couch this very moment, portraying a wide grin across his face. Downing in particular, a player we spent 20 million pounds, and sold for 5 has been one of the League's players of the season thus far, yet we sit here having just forked out 25 million on a Serb who has one goal to his name. In Carroll, we possessed a player who apparently did not "fit in our style of play", yet Rodgers opted in buying an older version in Rickie Lambert a mere two seasons later.
Should we have kept the duo, or is their current scintillating form an expression of the type of players they truly are, which is strong 'mid-table team' individuals? Have your say in the comment section below!
Should have kept both Should have kept one (Name who) Brendan made right decision
Team News - Mignolet to Retain Place After MOTM Display?
Leaving to one side our promising performances throughout both legs, we have our Belgian number one to thank for a string of world-class saves to keep the scores level. Mignolet was unbeatable on Tuesday night, in contrast to the many shaky displays we had come to witness of late. As Jones is still out on the sidelines, I fully expect Simon to get given the green light come Saturday afternoon. "In the next couple of days, I'll analyse the game and take the positives and negatives out of it, like I've always done." Let us all hope that is true, as a tricky West Ham outfit make the trip to Merseyside.
In other team news, Brendan has confirmed that Sakho has knocked off a slight niggle and is fit to start this weekend, which comes as a relief to us fans fearing the return of Dejan Lovren to the starting eleven.
A Quick Glance at the Opposition
This season in particular, Sam Allardyce has shown each and every one of us that the "long ball over the top" method is, more times than not, one of the best options going forward. (If not, I doubt they would find themselves one point above Rodgers' 'Tiki-Taka gone wrong' style of play). With that being said, they have endured a slight dent in form of late, and this will give the reds further cause to attack the game from the outset and win convincingly.
In contrast to Liverpool, who are faced with no fresh injury worries, West Ham have four doubts for the weekend's match, each one being a defensive player. Allardyce is sweating over the fitness of Jenkinson, Song, Tomkins, and Collins, four omissions that will no doubt bolster the reds' chances of obtaining a positive result.
Top Scorer: Diafra Sakho, 8 goals. Red Cards: 1
Goals Scored: 35 Most YC's: Winston Reid, 8
Goals Conceded: 25 Play-maker: Stewart Downing, 7 assists
Clean Sheets: 5 Biggest Victory: 3-0, vs Hull City
My Prediction and Probable Starting Line-Up
With Dan the man returning, and added to that Allardyce's injury woes at the back, I am going for a convincing 2-0 win, hopefully with a clean sheet as the cherry on top of the cake. As for the predicted line-up, I reckon Sturridge's return will alter the formation slightly.
I am foreseeing an omission from Mario Balotelli's side due to an "illness" of some kind, thus I have opted in omitting the Italian from my predicted line-up.
Entering the month of March, Brendan's Liverpool may find themselves still in the mix to win two trophies and claim that much coveted top four spot, or if worse comes to worst, the Northern Irishman may find himself jobless, with the reds knocked out of both cup competitions and the gap between us and fourth place proving too substantial an amount to recover from.
All eyes will be on Daniel Sturridge come Saturday afternoon. How will the Englishman react to the considerable amount of pressure heaped upon him to perform and begin to bang in the goals with immediate effect? Will Rodgers stick with his beloved "three at the back" or alter it to accommodate Sturridge? Liverpool need a response following their cup exit on Tuesday night, and a win that would take us above West ham into sixth place is essential. January has been a month of ups and downs thus far, let us hope we end it on high spirits against the East London club.
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YNWA !!
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