Liverpool FC Forum

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An ugly fixture this. I feel compelled to start this match thread as the 3 prior match threads I started have all resulted in wins, and by Christ we could do with a change in fortunes at Stoke.

The moaner Vs The philosopher
Rugby Vs football

Who will come out on top? Well, for me it looks as though a draw here is on the cards. Stoke not only have one of the best defensive records in the Prem but they also have one of the best defensive records in Europe, with only a handful of clubs bettering their defensive record. They're also unbeaten at home and recently we have struggled with this is fixture.

By all accounts Adam has been granted compassionate leave by Pulis after the passing of his father (RIP), but the medal grabber is hoping for a return against his former club after overcoming a hamstring injury.

My team selection, or the team I'd like to see would be one with Allen continuing on the sidelines, he's lightweight and will get brushed and bruised to the sides quite a bit. We need to steel up the midfield, probably the same as before with Shelvey in, while he's no game breaker he'll at least have the physical attributes to wrestle in midfield.

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

-------------- Johnson-----Sketel----Agger-----Enrique

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

--------------------------------Shelvey

------------Downing--------Suarez--------Sterling

Downing ONLY gets the nod due to form of his last game (I'll always advocate playing a player who shows a bit of form earning him his place) but it has to be equally as good to retain his position in the team/club.

1-0 Liverpool

This game will be 0-0

I think we will win this one.

2-0

never a pretty fixture by any account. Hopefully we'll get the win and march on

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

-------------- Johnson-----Sketel----Agger-----Enrique

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

--------------------------------Shelvey

------------Downing--------Suarez--------Sterling

Downing ONLY gets the nod due to form of his last game (I'll always advocate playing a player who shows a bit of form earning him his place) but it has to be equally as good to retain his position in the team/club.

1-0 Liverpool

I'd go with that team.

If we win this I'll forget what happened with Aston Villa. Heck, I'll be happy if we actually score and go back home without any injuries.

I hope we don't play with Allen, we obviously play better without him. Shelvey or even Henderson for me. Too physical for Sahin I'm afraid.

we havent beat stoke at their place in over a decade (in the league) which is terrible form for a club of our stature.
granted we`ve been a bit unlucky once or twice (like last year and in 08/09) but at the end of the day we are talking about a team that are perennial mid table finishers here and our record against them should be better than that.
when you go to stoke you know that you are going to have to roll your sleeves up, put a shift in and match fire with fire, and in the past i think we`ve had teams that werent prepared to do that, infact i think we`ve had players that dreaded this fixture.

we`ve been flaky as f**k so far this season but a win here at a ground that has traditionally been our nemesis would be a great way to end 2012 and help draw a line through the worst year (in terms of results) that liverpool fc has had in my lifetime.
2012 saw both our worst league finish in 60 years and our worst start to a season in over a century.
this year we also saw a club legend lose his job, LFC embroiled in the biggest media storm regarding race in this country since the early 80`s (which was so big even the prime minister and the president of uruguay commented on it) and we also found ourselves in the middle of the biggest storm about diving since jurgen klinnsmann signed for tottenham 20 years ago. 
2012 was definately not our year but there`s no reason 2013 shouldnt be, a win tonight would be a great way to wave goodbye to 2012 and give us great momentum going into 2013.

Unchanged team to the one who beat Fulham:

Reine, Johnson, Skertel, Agger, Enriqure, Gerrard, Lucas, Shelvey, Suso, Suarez, Downing.

Kenny Kan » Wed Dec 26, 2012 7:23 pm wrote:Unchanged team to the one who beat Fulham:

Reine, Johnson, Skertel, Agger, Enriqure, Gerrard, Lucas, Shelvey, Suso, Suarez, Downing.

Stoke is another band of thugs not sure how good will little Suso be against them...

its always a tough game for us there but we can get the points if we are clinical.
it will come down to set pieces and whether or not we can defend them.
il go for a 2.0 win to us

theatric fall but definitely a foul and a pen

Thank you Howard Webb.

another good start

nice to see stokes thugs getting the yellows they normally escape

unlucky slip and they are in to equalise - had this down as a nil nil