Liverpool FC Forum

If Skrtel is fit then BR may have a selection problem after we kept our first clean sheet this season with a Lovren/Sakho Partnership.

Not sure if Sturridges absence from the Switzerland game is a precaution but wouldnt have thought so as its a qualifier.

Hopefully Gerrard will be well rested after not playing for Enlgand so can comman that midfield.

I would keep the back 4 the same and give them some confidence. I would give Hendo a rest as well so we c an see Can from the start plus Hendo will probably play alot Vs swiss

                                                                         Mignolet
Manquillo                                        Lovren                           Sakho                    Moreno

                                                         Gerrard                Can

                              Sterling                                                              Markovic       

                                                                     Coutinho
                                                                         
                                                                       Balotelli

I think we should comfortab;ly beat them especially if Vlaar is a doubt

If Sturridge is not available then I'd play Lambert and keep the shape of the side. If Sturridge is available then I wouldnt change a thing.
I suspect Sturridge will sit this one out regardless of whether hes able to start or not as a precaution. I also think that we'll change the shape of the side for this one to try and minimize the danger of Villa hitting us on the break. I'd expect one upfront and 3 behind him all pressing Villa from deeper positions. We'll probably look to score early and then play more of a possession game than what we have been accustomed to towards the end of last season and the beginning of this one.

If Daniel and Jordan are out then i would start with Mario as the only striker and pack the MF (we have tons of talent their) i would be tempted to play Marco and Lallana and keep coutinho on the bench ,if we want to protect Gerrad then i'll go for Allen before Can.

Gerrard is a crab these days so you need real athleticism beside him, don't get me wrong Emre Can is no slouch but you really need a Henderson type who can do the work of two men to partner Gerrard.
And although we kept a clean sheet last week I think that was more down to luck than particularly good defending, I'd put Skrtel back in there myself, we looked a bit steadier when he was next to Lovren.
I'd love to see Brendan give Gerrard a rest and go with something like this -

                                             Mingolet

             Manquillo         Skrtel              Lovren               Moreno

                                 Henderson           Lallana

                  Sterling               Coutinho                Markovic

                                             Balotelli

Villa have actually started the season quite well, they are third in the table and haven't lost a game yet. They won away at Stoke first game of the season, drew against Newcastle and then beat Hull at home.
They have got a decent record against us as well, in fact our record at Anfield against them over the last 5 years reads - P5 W1 L2 D2

2009/10   Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
2010/11   Liverpool 3 - 0 Aston Villa
2011/12   Liverpool 1 - 1 Aston Villa
2012/13   Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
2013/14   Liverpool 2 - 2 Aston Villa

Hope the lads aren't complacent about this one, this lot have probably got as good a record at Anfield as anyone else in recent years. Bit of a bogey team on the sly.

ycsatbjywtbiastkamb » Mon Sep 08, 2014 5:16 pm wrote:Villa have actually started the season quite well, they are third in the table and haven't lost a game yet. They won away at Stoke first game of the season, drew against Newcastle and then beat Hull at home.
They have got a decent record against us as well, in fact our record at Anfield against them over the last 5 years reads - P5 W1 L2 D2

2009/10   Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
2010/11   Liverpool 3 - 0 Aston Villa
2011/12   Liverpool 1 - 1 Aston Villa
2012/13   Liverpool 1 - 3 Aston Villa
2013/14   Liverpool 2 - 2 Aston Villa

Hope the lads aren't complacent about this one, this lot have probably got as good a record at Anfield as anyone else in recent years. Bit of a bogey team on the sly.

So even with Suarez we could not beat them?  ... that's a worry..

we seem far better away v villa then at home.

They won't have Benteke on Saturday which is a bit of a relief, he always seems to play well at Anfield. I remember one particular goal he scored where our defence just parted like the Red Sea in front of him. I hope we don't see any repeats of that type of defending the weekend.
I hope Hendo hasn't suffered any ill effects from that knock he picked up on England duty as well, with the likes of Delph and Westwood in the middle this crowd are grafters themselves and we'll need to put a shift in to beat them.

Villa are always tough for us, we struggled against them even last season in both fixtures. It won't be a walk in the park that's for sure.

However, Brendan admitted last time that it was his fault that we didn't win, that he was too arrogant and underestimated them, so I doubt that he'll do the same mistake twice. Infact, I expect him to fire up the boys for this one.

From BR's pre match new conference

Sturridge out for up to 3 weeks. Emre Can out for up to 6 weeks. Allen has a knee issue, no time frame....

Skrtel still out but will rejoin training on Sunday. Johnson and Flanagan still out. Lallana fit.

why is can out

LFC1990 » Thu Sep 11, 2014 4:32 pm wrote:why is can out

he did is ankle in germany u21 match, BR was not happy about it in his press conference, he commented that the germans were 6 nil up at the time and Can stayed on

Sh*t, if Hendo got injured that would have been the end of us. Brendan has every right to be angry about all these injuries. Thankfully, Lallana is 100% fit so hopefully he can replace Allen if needed.

with all those missing we potentially have a very technical lineup ready to play ,Marco/Lallana/Coutino pretty interesting.

damjan193 » Thu Sep 11, 2014 5:32 pm wrote:Sh*t, if Hendo got injured that would have been the end of us. Brendan has every right to be angry about all these injuries. Thankfully, Lallana is 100% fit so hopefully he can replace Allen if needed.

It also shows how shrewd out transfer policy was this summer.

Opting to invest in adding strength and depth to the squad as a whole instead of signing two big name players for the same money.