LIVERPOOL vs MAN UTD - All the build up and discussion
Posted: Wed Sep 14, 2005 10:56 amAnfield, Sunday
Liverpool vs Man Utd
Arguably the biggest game of the season is coming early, and it would be massive for us to boost our, as of yet quiet, start to the campaign with a win over the old enemy, and send out a message to Chelsea and the rest of the league at the same time.
Roy Keane is already missing for 6 weeks, and with the trio of Gerrard, Sissoko and Alonso surely set to start we could take a very tight grip on their midfield infront of the anfield crowd.
The biggest threats are Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo as we already know, Ronaldo will probably operate down the right so it remains to be seen whether Traore, Warnock or Riise will be playing there? I'd fancy Riise against him most, Traore was starting to look uncomfortable against Joaquin last night, but there is still a need to decide whether Riise or Zenden will take the left wing spot.
Rooney will drift in from the left so Finnan and Carragher will need to be at the top of their game to close him down and make sure he doesn't get a shot away from his kind of range like last year. Van Nistelrooy has good movement and needs little space to make a goal, so there is a possibility he will be tracked by Hyypia or Carragher for a lot of the game, or we will treat him as any other striker and use our zonal marking system.
The last thing to decide is the forwards, it's very tempting to play Pongolle after his touches last night, his ability to get back and the delightful goal he scored. He could be competing for a place with Luis Garcia, but I'd expect the Spaniard to win it.
If we go with a midfield 5 as expected it's most likely Peter Crouch will play upfront with Garcia/Pongolle drifting in to support him. Rafa could change this and pick a 442 with Cisse and Crouch both upfront probably causing Sissoko to miss out, so we'll have to wait on that one.
Lastly, lets pray there are no goalkeeper errors such as those that have haunted this fixture in the past. I have a lot of faith in Reina he looked top class last night, so we hope he can continue his impressive form.
Liverpool vs Man Utd
Arguably the biggest game of the season is coming early, and it would be massive for us to boost our, as of yet quiet, start to the campaign with a win over the old enemy, and send out a message to Chelsea and the rest of the league at the same time.
Roy Keane is already missing for 6 weeks, and with the trio of Gerrard, Sissoko and Alonso surely set to start we could take a very tight grip on their midfield infront of the anfield crowd.
The biggest threats are Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo as we already know, Ronaldo will probably operate down the right so it remains to be seen whether Traore, Warnock or Riise will be playing there? I'd fancy Riise against him most, Traore was starting to look uncomfortable against Joaquin last night, but there is still a need to decide whether Riise or Zenden will take the left wing spot.
Rooney will drift in from the left so Finnan and Carragher will need to be at the top of their game to close him down and make sure he doesn't get a shot away from his kind of range like last year. Van Nistelrooy has good movement and needs little space to make a goal, so there is a possibility he will be tracked by Hyypia or Carragher for a lot of the game, or we will treat him as any other striker and use our zonal marking system.
The last thing to decide is the forwards, it's very tempting to play Pongolle after his touches last night, his ability to get back and the delightful goal he scored. He could be competing for a place with Luis Garcia, but I'd expect the Spaniard to win it.
If we go with a midfield 5 as expected it's most likely Peter Crouch will play upfront with Garcia/Pongolle drifting in to support him. Rafa could change this and pick a 442 with Cisse and Crouch both upfront probably causing Sissoko to miss out, so we'll have to wait on that one.
Lastly, lets pray there are no goalkeeper errors such as those that have haunted this fixture in the past. I have a lot of faith in Reina he looked top class last night, so we hope he can continue his impressive form.
