Liverpool FC v Manchester City FC Preview
Date: Sunday 27th November 2011
KO: 1600 hrs
Venue: Anfield
Who’d have thought it? Here we are going into our game this weekend knowing that we’ll still have a 4 point gap, win or lose. Our cross-town dwellers made a bit of a mess of a game that they thought would take them within 2 points of us, but to be truthful, they’ve not been playing that well anyway. Three consecutive unconvincing 1-0 wins after we annihilated them 6-1 saw many in the media papering over the cracks by telling us it was a ‘Wake-Up’ and that it’s ‘The Win’ that counts. Seems those words are now coming back to bite them on the bum as they now can’t even beat a team down to 10 men. That penalty though, how it wasn’t a Red Card for Ferdinand I’ll never know (insert very Smiley face).
Looking over Saturday’s results though, it’s clear that Spurs, with our very own Adebayor, are becoming the form team in the league and after their fine 3-1 win at the Hawthorns they do look like they can mount a challenge going into the December period. Chelsea take the spoils against an awful Wolves team whilst Arsenal’s van Persie couldn’t save them from a unceremonious draw at home to Fulham. So, the league starts to open up with the real contenders looking to be us and Spurs, and although it is still early days, the quality squads seem to be coming to the fore.
‘Are they really good enough to mount a challenge!’
A Bit of Histree
Lately, and to be more precise, since we’ve proved to be contenders, we’ve heard a lot of this ‘Histree’ talk that the likes of Man United and Liverpool have and how we can never match their ‘Histree’. Well, instead of looking into Liverpool’s historical past, which we all know because they’ve rammed it down everybody’s throats for so long, I thought I’d take a look at, and compare a few stats in regard to when they were formed and when they first won the various cups. One thing that stands out is that they were formed out of the embers of none other than their cross-town rivals Everton after the Toffee’s relocated from Anfield to Goodison in 1892, a good 5 years after us. Then there’s the silverware, and although Liverpool won the league well before us in 1901 (and won it many times since) that’s where the ‘Historee’ lesson ends. City won our first FA Cup in 1904 while Liverpool waited until 1965. We then won the League Cup in 1970 while the Scousers had to wait for over decade for theirs in 1981. And what about European success, who was the first to come away with the spoils there? Well, you guessed it, it was us when we picked up the Cup Winners back in 1970, our one and only European Cup, with Liverpool sliding behind us winning the UEFA Cup in 1973.
Now, I could go into other stats but I think there’s enough there to put any Scouser down the next time he tries to push that ‘Histree’ rubbish down your throat. History looks at the full value of the past, not just a selected era, and I’m sure you’ll agree, we’ve got plenty of history of our own.
‘Let’s not forget, who was it who won the last Cup?’
The Game
Onto the game. Today we’re off across the M62 for our visit to Anfield, a place that we’ve not got too much from in recent times. But times have changed, it used to be that when we played Liverpool, home or away, I used to get that feeling of inevitability, you know the one, that ‘Here we go again’ inevitability. Not now though, in recent years we’ve been relatively equal. Last years 3-0 home win was followed by a reverse score at theirs. The year before seen us draw both games and the year before that saw us beaten only by some strange decisions by then manager Mark Hughes, bringing on Gelson Fernandez to cover at right-back after the unfortunate dismissal of ‘Mad Frank’ Zabaleta; a 1-1 draw was then secured at Anfield, a game I thought we should have gone on to win.
Every game seems to be a big game lately whether it be Wolverhampton Wanderers or Manchester United. This must be what it’s like to be at the top and wanting to ensure maximum points to keep us there, but now it’s not a hope of winning, the reality of us getting maximum points at places like Anfield has now dawned on most Blues and even though we are still a little sceptical about going to Liverpool, games such as at United and Spurs prove that the team has got what it takes to come away victors.
‘Will we see Gaz Baz celebrating with his team mates, again?’
Form
Well, what is there to say about our form? Impressive, stupendous, unbelievable, all words that can be attributed to the way we play and the wins we’ve had. Winning all but one of our opening games, losing a 2-0 lead in the one against Fulham, shows just how good this side is. 42 goals for and 11 against have set my heart racing on game day and given me so much to be happy and proud about. Averaging nearly 3 goals a game is an unbelievable achievement that cannot be understated with records being broken every time we play. Currently we have 5 players in the top 10 of goal assist stats and 3 in the top 10 of goal scorers, a real credit to Mancini and the players for their new and refreshing style of play.
As for Liverpool, they’re not doing too bad themselves. They are currently on an unbeaten run of 7 games since being beaten convincingly by Tottenham 4-0. Winning away to Chelsea will have given them a massive boost but it’s their home form that’s really been a stumbling block this season. They’ve only won 2 out of their 6 games at home beating bottom teams Bolton and Wolves. Three 1-1 draws against the likes of Sunderland, United and Norwich, with a scoreless draw to Swansea have seen them 12 points away from the lead; they’ve actually earned more points away from home, 12 points in total. And when you consider that we’ve got a goal difference of plus 15 away from home and they’ve got a goal difference of plus 3 at home then this could be an insight into how the game goes, but you never know, games like these are so hard to call.
‘You like the big ones, don’t you Roberto’.
Tactics
So, what tactics will we adopt? Quite simple really, the same as we’ve done all season. Our fluid keep-ball play wears teams down which is proven by the half-time/full-time league. The half-time league has us winning 7 and drawing 5, 11 for and 2 against. Compare that with the full-time league where we’ve stepped it up and scored 31 goals with 9 against; an impressive stat in anybody’s world and one that goes to prove that we have the mentality to be patient and take our chances when the time arises.
Liverpool, on the other hand, will probably want to counter our strategy by making sure they keep players behind the ball and break with pace. They have some excellent forward players in Bellamy, Suarez and Kuyt who can burst forward quickly and put our defence under real pressure. Combined with Charlie Adam’s pin-point passing it will be a bit of a challenge for the likes of Vince and Joleon to keep them out.
‘Will Bellamy get a chance to avenge his early departure from City?’
Key Players
City
We’ve got the usual suspects such as ‘Big Dave’ Silva and Sergio ’Kun’ Aguero but today I’m going to go for Gareth Barry. He was sorely missed in our midweek away defeat at Napoli and his ever-present role in midfield has ensured we get the ball back-to-front with ease. Although not the fastest of footballers, his movement, and acceptance and distribution of the ball is vital to our free-flowing play. He gets himself all around the pitch and will often be seen covering for the full-backs who, if it’s Richards and Clichy, will be often bombing up-field leaving holes at the back. Barry plays an enormous role in the way we play and he’ll have to be at the top of his game to combat the likes of Charlie Adam who will try to dictate Liverpool’s play.
‘Sorely missed midweek and it will be a welcome return.’
Liverpool
After all the furore surrounding Suarez’ alleged racist comments against Patrice Evra I think he’s the one to watch. This isn’t because I think he’ll be the big game player but because of how much attention he’s getting lately, not only in the wrong sense with regard to the charges but more in the way he’s been hyped so much as the best thing since sliced bread. From what I’ve seen I cannot for the life of me understand why he’s being classed as one of the best forward players in the world. A compulsive diver who falls at the sign of a challenge should not be given such status especially when he’s only scored a mere 4 goals in the league so far. It will be interesting to see how our defence will deal with this unadulterated cheat and how he reacts when the odd leg is thrown his way.
‘Is he really one of the best in the world?’
My Dream Team
Joe Hart
Micah Richards,
Vince Kompany,
Joleon Lescott,
Gael Clichy
Gareth Barry,
Yaya Toure,
James Milner
Dave Silva,
Sergio Aguero
Edin Dzeko
Prediction
All week I’ve been a quiver over this game and even though I have confidence in the team I did have doubts that we could beat them. I’m not sure if it was the media hype after the Chelsea game but I was on the opposite side of us winning. However, after doing a bit of research and delving into their games my apprehensions dissipated. Now, although still a bit tetchy, I’m going for an away City win. I’m not sure if it’s borne from our impressive away performances against our title rivals or because I don’t rate what Liverpool have done so far, probably a mix of both, but something inside says we’re going to get back to winning ways and the team are going to put in a performance and half to ensure our title credentials are held intact.
Dippers 1 – 3 Mighty Blues
David Silva
Micah Richards
Mario Balotelli (from the bench)
COME ON CITY!!!
The Future’s Bright, The Future’s Blue!