Liverpool FC Forum

                         V                                   

  MANCHESTER UNITED                                                            LIVERPOOL          SUNDAY 13TH JANUARY  2013           1.30PM

reina

                           wisdom                skrtel            agger         jonno

                                               allen/lucas           gerrard

                                                             hendo

                                   sturridge             suarez           downing


i think going by form/injuries this is our best XI at the moment.
with enrique and kelly both being injured i think the back 4 picks itself.
in midfield gerrard is playing great so it`s a toss of a coin between lucas and allen for the other sitting role, in the advanced position i`d give hendo a run out again, he`s got the energy and athleticism to get up and down and support the strikers/defensive midfielders and we actually press teams high up the pitch when he plays.
i think united`s midfield can be rushed and harried into mistakes (as can ours tbh) so i think it`s important that we get about them and i think hendersons mobility will be crucial in trying to do that.
up front i`d deffo play luis and sturridge and i think downings recent performances earn him the nod over sterling who gets knocked off the ball to easily for me at the moment.
united have won an impressive 17 of their 21 games but they have conceded goals and they have made heavy weather of a lot of those wins, often coming from behind and scoring late winners.
i think we are more than capable of beating them.
i think rodgers could do with a big win as well, most of our better results have come against teams in the bottom half of the table so to beat the league leaders on their own patch would give everyone a lift.

Howard Webb is going to be the ref.

damjan193 » Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:17 pm wrote:Howard Webb is going to be the ref.

  I thought you were kidding.  WTF.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:16 pm wrote:reina

                           wisdom                skrtel            agger         jonno

                                               allen/lucas           gerrard

                                                             hendo

                                   sturridge             suarez           downing


i think going by form/injuries this is our best XI at the moment.
with enrique and kelly both being injured i think the back 4 picks itself.
in midfield gerrard is playing great so it`s a toss of a coin between lucas and allen for the other sitting role, in the advanced position i`d give hendo a run out again, he`s got the energy and athleticism to get up and down and support the strikers/defensive midfielders and we actually press teams high up the pitch when he plays.
i think united`s midfield can be rushed and harried into mistakes (as can ours tbh) so i think it`s important that we get about them and i think hendersons mobility will be crucial in trying to do that.
up front i`d deffo play luis and sturridge and i think downings recent performances earn him the nod over sterling who gets knocked off the ball to easily for me at the moment.
united have won an impressive 17 of their 21 games but they have conceded goals and they have made heavy weather of a lot of those wins, often coming from behind and scoring late winners.
i think we are more than capable of beating them.
i think rodgers could do with a big win as well, most of our better results have come against teams in the bottom half of the table so to beat the league leaders on their own patch would give everyone a lift.

really looking forward to this one and i think we can get a result.
i expect the usual sh1testorm that comes with this fixture and fergie to have a pop at luis over the mansfield game in his pre match interview.
i reckon sturridge will be central but like he showed on sunday he can drift either side comfortably so im not pushed who gets it as long as both are on the pitch from the off.
i agree that hendo probably has earned a start but id honestly fancy gerrard and lucas to sit and put allen in the hole behind the front 3. i thought he looked decent when he came on against sunderland in a forward role. he had a couple of shots that came close to going in and he took the goal with a sweet finish only for it to be ruled out. hendo is strong but allen's composure could give us the edge in that final 3rd but i wouldnt be disapointed to see hendo there though as i agree he has deserved it lately.
i would also drop sterling for this because he will get shoved off it too easy and he'd be better used in the last 20 when we tire the togs off them through ultimate domination .
i hope webb is strong in this and isnt influenced in anyway by purple nose.

The Good Yank » Tue Jan 08, 2013 7:35 am wrote:

damjan193 » Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:17 pm wrote:Howard Webb is going to be the ref.

  I thought you were kidding.  WTF.

They're playing him in the hole between RVP and Rooney.

He symbolises all thats wrong about the FA's relationship with Fergason.  Suarez better watch out......

The Good Yank » Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:35 pm wrote:

damjan193 » Mon Jan 07, 2013 3:17 pm wrote:Howard Webb is going to be the ref.

  I thought you were kidding.  WTF.

Saw that earlier when the names were released. Can't say I'm surprised, after the Mansfield game.  A win against us is exactly what United need after drawing Swans and West ham, and if we were to beat them at OT if would become a title race again.  FA can't let that happen tho!

In fairness, Webb has been the only ref to give us a pen this season.

I bet Fergie's over the proverbial moon that Howard Webb is the Ref !

2 years ago he gave the softest penalty you are likely to see within 40 seconds and then sent Stevie G off when Carrick and Stevie both went in studs high.

Its hard enough there as it is with their 96% Home support (against the rules by the way but they get around it by citing crowd safety and extra stewarding so unfortunately can't give us our correct allocation ) without giving them a goal start !

We have received 2,986 tickets out of 75,000 ! (3.98%)

We have enough quality to win this game but I would take a draw now !

damjan193 » Mon Jan 07, 2013 8:17 pm wrote:Howard Webb is going to be the ref.

Upon hearing that Webb is reffing this one, bookies have made Liverpool 'even more' outsiders. 

@paddypower: We've shortened Man Utd into 4/5 to beat Liverpool on Sunday after Howard Webb was appointed referee: http://t.co/ecqMI7os

I'm not that confident. For too long now, when our lads turn up at castle greyskull they turn into shrinking violets (IMO), scared to get among it, as though they're intimidated by home support.

That's one of the reasons I'm not too confident. The other is, Rodgers. I don't want to sound overly critical of the man because by and large he has done a good job. However, I don't think him or this Liverpool team know how to keep teams out. There is more emphasis on possession and attack (which is good to an extent) but when your playing teams of Salford's caliber you cannot be found wanting defensively (like we were against Stoke). I know Salford don't have the best defense and we can exploit that - but knowing us, we'll do exactly that, get a couple of goals but on the flip side we'll concede three. I reckon we need to become a much tighter unit when we haven't got possession and pack the midfield and defense when Salford have the ball, sit off them a bit, instead of pressing them. If we give them the opportunity to exploit the room (especially on a counter attack) then they'll punish us. I hope Rodgers will work on this throughout the week as it seems most likely to be our achillies heel. Skertel and Agger cannot repeat the Stoke showing and must be up for the challenge of RVP and Hernandez. Lucas also needs to be ready for this.

I think if we're able to contain them, frustrate them we'll get our rewards up the other end. Trouble is, Rodger's Liverpool side aren't a 'containing' side, like Rafa's or Houllier's were - it's a much more expansive set-up and this is one of the reasons we've conceded or failed to hold onto leads this season. We haven't mastered the balance between defense and attack.

I think we should start Sturridge and perhaps leave Sterling on the bench for impact. If we play the 'S-express' of Sterling-Sturridge-Suarez we'll have nobody that can come off the bench to inspire us going forward. So, for all his uselessness  I'd start our very own shrinking violet Stewart Downing. He'll run all day long and do nothing else really but he can drop back into midfield and become an extra number and help out Wisdom defensively. I think Henderson should start over Shelvey or Allen for reasons ywyycycyceyvbeyvyvbv stated.


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

----------------Wisdom------Skertel----Agger-------Johnson

---------------------------Lucas----------Gerrard

---------------------------------Henderson

------------------Downing-------Suarez-------Sturridge

Not real confident of getting a result here tbh although that is actually a postive.

Usually when I expect a loss against MANCs  Im pleasantly surprised

Mind you I take a point right now before we end up in Fergie's Web

Not at all confident about this one.

I like the way Rodgers is trying to get us to play football and keep possession etc.  While we have improved a lot we're still nowhere near the standard of going to OT and dominating possession and winning the game.  (Unless we raise our game a LOT)

Im worried that we'll try to play our game, misplace some passes and the Mancs will terrorise our defence.

Hopefully we ***** them 4 - 0 though.

I'm not confident either, however Liverpool to win odds represent great value if you do feel confident

Ladbrokes -
1-0 Liverpool - 14/1
2-0 Liverpool - 20/1
2-1 Liverpool - 12/1

In fact the result odds for Liverpool to win are good - 7/2

Man Utd are shabite at the back. Suarez is world class up front. Put the 2 together and BANG!

Man Utd 0 - 3 LFC (Suarez 2, Sturridge)

I am worryingly confident going into this.

Up front we can be and have been unplayable at times, especially Luis, so I have no doubt we can hurt them.  The trepidation of going to OT is based on years of seemingly one sided ref displays, dodgy pens, last minute winners and general Fergie inspired cheatery.

Player vs player there are few that I'd swap, so on paper this is winnable.  However, factor in Fergie's control of the media, refs and the FA, the odds are always stacked against.  I predict twenty minutes coverage pre match of Suarez's cheating just to set the scene.

Still, 1-3  (Suarez, Sturridge, Gerrard)

                    Reina
Wisdom  Skrtel  Agger   Johnson

             Lucas     Gerrard
                    Allen

    Downing   Sturridge   Suarez