Liverpool FC Forum

[Red Dotty]

This is a must 3 pointer and i feel we will get the result.

With the midield players they have i'm not to sure they are able to sit back and defend and absorb pressure in the hope to get something on the counter attack.

Although Gerrard is missing i feel this game will be down to Alonso pulling the strings and finding his passing range early on.

I'll go for 3-0 

With a Torres hatrick, he the man

[Koptite]

i was right to go with a 2-0 win at Bolton and i will say the same again.... 2-0 to Liverpool. My only concern is with the international games before hand......im dreading the injuries that our players could come back with:angry:

[Koptite]

i was right to go with a 2-0 win at Bolton and i will say the same again.... 2-0 to Liverpool. My only concern is with the international games before hand......im dreading the injuries that our players could come back with

[tubby]

http://sport.setanta.com/en/Sport/News/Football/2008/11/18/Prem-Gerrard-doubtful-for-MarseilleRafa-on-Keane-and-Torres/

Seems like Gerrard is out of this match and even the Marseille game. His fecking groin is always playing up.

[Ace Ventura]

I hate being over confident as it is a dangerous thing and always seems to come back and make us look stupid, having said that Fulham at home is one of those games that we should be winning comfortably. Also the fact that Fulham have been doing ok lately should hopefuly mean that they come and actually try and have a go. If that happens it should definately be a routine 3 points.

Seems like Gerrard is definately out so would pick the obvious 4-4-2 with Torres in for him and Arbeloa back at right back with Hyypia back on the bench.

I never predict scores but hope we win by 2 clear goals, any win by the way will have the mancs fretting as they have Villa which is by no means easy.

[Reg]

Alonso and Masher to dominate midfield with Kuyt sneaking another goal, Torres on 80 mins and Babel coming on at 89 minutes openly crying in front of the Kop.

[DanAn]

2 nil win to Liverpool. Kuyt to open the scoring again and the 2nd to Riera, it's about time he knocked one in.

[hello_red]

Well my opinion is if we do not win this game (not arsed about the score line) we will not be winning the prem this year. Fulham is a team we must beat at Anfiled no questions asked.

[tubby]

Hmmm well you could have said that about Stoke as well but look what happened there. And Fulham are a much better organised outfit than Stoke. Could be tough but as long as we score early then we should be fine. Our problem tends to be if we dont score against the lesser sides early on then they gain confidence than really go for it and we end up scraping a draw. Even without Gerrard we should be able to do them though. Im going for 4-0. Torres hatrick. And they say I slag of the team.

[Greavesie]

I remember Nando saving us in this game near the end last season (Niemi put in a great performance that night)

I hope its not as frustrating as the last time but if we win im not bothered in all honesty.

I'm going to agree with St Mick and back Torres to get on the scoresheet and Kuyt to get another. Just want to see us be clinical in front of goal more than anything, we should have killed Bolton

[Greavesie]

Hmmm well you could have said that about Stoke as well but look what happened there. And Fulham are a much better organised outfit than Stoke. Could be tough but as long as we score early then we should be fine. Our problem tends to be if we dont score against the lesser sides early on then they gain confidence than really go for it and we end up scraping a draw. Even without Gerrard we should be able to do them though. Im going for 4-0. Torres hatrick. And they say I slag of the team.

 

[GOAT_2.0]

Fulham are historically diabolical away, no excuse for not winning

[aCe']

Torres and Keane upfront and Arbeloa and Aurelio as fullbacks...
Not too bothered about the other positions and as long as Lucas, N'gog and the other kids dont start i think we'll be fine for this one..
3-1 with 2 late on.... Keane, Bullard, Torres, Babel.

[Bam]

I'd be quite happy to see this formation (below) although I've always had reservations in the Mascha/Alonso pairing. Also Kuyt in the past has looked ordinary on the right side of a four man midfield, I dont care what the likes of Stu said in the past about players positions not being that different on paper from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-4-2. The main reason Kuyt has been scoring recently is because he is pushed on more in the 4-2-3-1 formation and is given more room to roam, thus the possibilities of him hitting the onion bag are increased IMO. But in the past in a 4-4-2 he's just looked a stop gap, simply because he's been asked to play as a  midfielder as opposed to an attacking midfielder. So he is pinned back more in the 4-4-2 and then ontop of that he doesnt have the pace or ability to beat a man from a deep counter attack, he doesnt carry the ball well enough and usually looks for an option in passing it back to a teamate. Sometimes by playing the easy option the momentum to an attack has gone, where as when he is playing as an attacking midfielder 80% of the time his starting positon is well inside the oppositions half and even though he doesnt have that "ability to beat a man" his movement in the final third and his recent instinct in scoring is a much added/needed bonus. I think we generally get the better out of him in the 4-2-3-1 formation.

Then we have central midfield where Alonso and Mascha dont really hurt or penatrate the oppositions defence. We maybe fortunate to be playing a side like Fulham this weekend in the hope they'll come to open up a bit and play a bit of football themselves, like WBA did. If they turn up and do a "Stoke" I can see Alonso and Mashca struggling for creativity and string pulling in the final third aswell as Kuyt.

It will be interesting to see whether Torres and Keane can work something out uptop, as they (although they havent had the game time really) havent really worked it off as a partnership just yet.

Thats why I made the comment earlier on about " I hope it wont be a disjointed performance", I dont know whether that midfield will tick.

This is of course presuming we do go with a 4-4-2, but Rafa may have other ideas.

------------------------------------ Reina

                          Arbeloa      Carra      Agger        Aurelio

                          Kuyt         Alonso     Mascha        Riera

                                          Torres     Keane

[JoeTerp]

I was of the thinking that if you go 4-4-2 with ALonso and Masch at home against a team like Fulham, maybe Pennant should play out wide on the right.  But now, Kuyt is one of our most reliable goal scorers (still not sure how, but he is) and the idea of Pennant and Riera playing together sounds like to wingers staying out wide, beating a man, and crossing it back and forth to each other.  With no Stevie G, there is going to be extra pressure on Kuyt, Keane, and Torres to be the ones to find the goal and more pressure to score is the opposite of what Keane needs, Torres hasn't looked back to his old self yet, and I am still not anywhere near being in a position where I can say that its ok for our offensive hopes to lay at the foot (or back, or hip) of Kuyt.