Anfield, Liverpool
Sunday 13 April 2014
Kickoff: 1337 BST
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Assistants: G Beswick & D Cann
Fourth Official: Lee Mason
TV Coverage in UK: Sky Sports 1 HD (Sky 401), Sky Sports 1 (Sky 407) and Sky 3D (Sky 170)
Coverage starts at 1230 BST
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I was worried about this game ... but then I read Pelligrini's quotes this morning ...
“Maybe I am wrong but I always think in the same way as a manager – if you play to draw you will lose. So we are going to play to win.”
“Of course after the game if we couldn't win the game and we draw it's a good result, but we are not going to play against Liverpool thinking we must draw. We don’t know how to play in that way.”
Oh, how these two lines have calmed me down ... I was worried about this exactly ... it's a must win for Liverpool, but for us even a draw is enough ... but we must not go with that mentality as if we play for a draw and they go for a win, we all know only one result is possible but if we take it to them I am fairly certain we'll come back with all three points and leave heartache for them (and the world at large) ...
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Opposition
Opposition is not a team this time around ... it's going to be the refs, the bent Premier League, the FA, the media, all conspiring against us and cheering FOR what they are now calling would be best for English football ... (and I couldn't stop laughing at the Sunday Supplement this week) as they called them an English team at heart, playing for the England captain and what not ...
So I am not worried about a team playing football this game but what the cheating diving cunts would do to get free kicks and pens and trying to get a player or two of ours sent off ... and the refs, who can't seem to stop themselves for obliging this season ...
Worst case scenario is we lose there, then what? ... Well, in the bigger picture, nothing! ... Yes, nothing ... as all it would take is for them to lose (or even draw) one of their remaining fixtures and we could win all our others and still win the league ... they are on a run of 9 wins in a row ... maximum they have ever gone is 11, so expecting them to win 14 on the trot to win the league ... well, it will only happen if the refs help all along ... even Arsenal at their peak ever won 13 in a row so 14 will be a totally new thing ... but let's not go there, that's the worst case scenario ... (more heartbreak for them though, should they win from us, only to draw another game later and then losing to us on the last day by a single point) ...
PS. Yup, it's that weekend when everyone starts off 7 mins later than normal kick-off time ... thus our game starting at 1:37pm ... enough has already been written in other threads earlier on this so I'll just leave it there ...
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Team Selection
A part of me wants to go all out and the other part wants to play it safe ... I think Pelligrini will take the second option, despite his claims of going all out to win and not wanting a draw ... we've seen how he's set up against big teams, especially away from home ... so here are two line ups:
Starting XI Wish
Hart
Zaba - Komps - Lescott - Kola
Milner - Yaya - Ferdy
Nasri - Aguero - Silva
Starting XI Prediction
Hart
Zaba - Komps - Demi - Clichy
Yaya - Ferdy
Navas - Silva - Nasri
Dzeko
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Score Prediction
Liverpool 2 - 4 Manchester City
Well, they'll score ... and they'll score more than one ... but we'll score more than them ... only caveat being the ref does't score those for them, gives us as many decisions as them, and keeps 11 v 11 on the field ...
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Other Games
No big games this weekend except ours really ... Chelsea go to Swansea after ours on Sunday, and then there is the FA Cup semi-finals ... so Go Uwe against Arsenal on Saturday.
This is what I'd ideally like from the remaining big games ... for Uwe's Wigan to win against Arsenal and kick them out of the FA Cup, us to thrash Liverpool on Sunday and put some cold water on everyone's fantasies ... a draw between Chelsea and Liverpool game later ... and then I won't mind us dropping some points at Goodison (as long as it doesn't effect our title bid, but instead helps Everton to finish 4th ahead of Arsenal).
PS. I think we'll win the league at Villa game at home mid-week, with a game to spare ...