I’m really looking forward to this game. Since we have to attack and score at least 3 goals it will be interesting to see Rafa’s tactic. I don’t expect Chel$ea to play that well again, but it’s gonna be very hard to crack them.

Having Mascherano back will be great, he already showed against Blackburn how hungry he is. His energy will help make life for Gerrard and Alonso easier. Lucas was too weak last Wednesday, and Chel$ea closed them all the time. With Monster-Masch back in the team we’ll see how much on-fire Essien really is.

I’m concern with our left side. Insua is illegible for CL and Aurelio was one of our the weakest links in the first game. Dossena wasn’t better either. Rieira is still not as good as he gave as hope he will in the first part of season.

I would like to see Agger in first team. He may not be as tough as Skrtel (although before his long-term injury he was) but he showed against Blackburn he can be very good in attack. Not only can he score from the distance but he starts our attacks well. We’re not going to defend at Stamford Bridge.

If we score early (first 30mins) everything is possible. I don’t expect we can score 3 goals in 10 minutes like Bolton did, unless they will get some red cards.

I still believe, although it’s more Chel$ea’s to loose than our to get. What I expect is for LFC to show that they are not as weak and Chel$ea not as good as previous game wouls suggest.

It all has started very well with briliant passing and great Torres goal. A goal we’ve got probably too easy. To be fair after that Chelsea played very well and did not allowed us to play our game. On the other day it could end up with a draw but this time our defense was unusually shaky. And having Lucas instead of Mascherano to protect it was causing us problems every minute. I think he finally proved his not good enough for this team. He looked like excellent prospect when he join us. But then when expectation were up he kept failing. If Rafa will still chase Barry then Lucas may be sold to get the money. And since Villa’s captain is much more versatile he’ll be good addition to the squad. Not as Xabi Alonso’s replacement (or anyones for that matter), but as solid squad player who can fill in both domestically and in Europe.

Even though we still fighting for the Premiership crown (and we have strong chance to claim it) and in CL we’re not done yet (although it would require amazing performance from practicaly everyone who failed on Wednesday) – we need stronger squad. Rafa over those 5 years made a lot of purchases and sold a lot as well. This summer some players might go (Pennant, Voronin, Lucas… Babel?) and with reported 30mln to spend there will be few new faces. There will be time to think who we need, but as Chelsea game shows we definitly need more quality and depth in the squad.

Next up is Blackburn. It will be most likely another hard-fougth game, hopefully won earlier than the one against Fulham. I wish we could score more from set pieces to kill those kind of games. Maybe a solid set pieces taker and more flair should be Rafa’s summer transfer priority. I hope Stevie G will get better (not only for my Fantasy Football team’s sake). This game can be great cure after CL hangover. If we can score early and control the game I’ll have more hair in the end.

I hope for 2:0 with Stevie and Fernando scoring.

C’mon Reds!

The mission impossible looks very much possible now. Of course it still require a perfect 9 wins from Liverpool and for ManU to drop 4 more points but it’s not just a fool’s dream any more. If we can keep Steven and Fernando fit and will get Xabi back soon we can hit winning streak. Rafa’s Liverpool used play very well at the end of the season – but it was partially thanks to no pressure cause we were off title race by this stage.

Today’s Villa game is crucial. We have to win it and do it comfortably. If we want to be champions we need to show that we’re worth this title. It’s still United’s to loose by they’re much more vulnerable now. Their next game at Villa can put even bigger smile on our faces. They will be without Rooney, Cristina, Vidic and Scholes. And by that time Liverpool can be top of the league again (although they’ll have 2 games more).

Fergie feels he and his team are drowning. He starts talking absolute rubbish. About Liverpool spending more then ManU (every calculations I’ve seen so far have shown that ManU spent more either gross (the difference is not that big here) or net (huge difference – Rafa had to sell to be able to buy). About Rafa not being one of the best managers in the league (childish even for that arrogant bastard). About ManU being the better team against LFC (yeah, and Fulham didn’t deserve to win as well? Sleep well Alex ).

All those factors make this season even more interesting. There is plenty to play for – both Europe (why Chelsea? again!?) and domestically. And if we can (with a little help of the teams still in FA Cup) crunch ManU quintuple into double of lesser trophies (Carling Cup & Sepp Blatter’s No-one cares of Trophy) that would be even sweeter.

But the first step is today. We need that win and I’m sure we can take it!

C’mon Reds!

The tactic will be different. Ferguson is arrogant but not stupid. He won’t try to attack us cause he knows we can hurt him. On the other side Benitez knows well how the games in the previous seasons went – with Liverpool attacking and then Manchs finding a goal with one shot on the goal in the whole game. If this game will be any like those against Real – it will be like the game at Bernabeu. Hopefully with the same result.

Rafa and whole team did great job again Madrid and I think it shows why Benitez should get full support from the board to finish his project. This season has shown he build good team and with a little bit more luck and deeper squad we could get the title. Heck, we still have it. But as Ian Rush said – “Title is Man United’s to lose”. However we can help him do that )

I predict hard game, with Liverpool attacking and ManU playing for a draw. We will need a moment of magic from Fernando or Steve to be the winners tonight. The goal can came from completely different player but we will still need those two (and maybe Xabi) to play at their best and inspire the team. Let’s face it. We got great team but Torres, Gerrard and Alonso weren’t in it we had huge problems. That’s one of the reasons we’re not on top of the table. And to fix that we need Rafa to get full support from the board and funds to bring more word class players to Liverpool.

In less then 2 hours the game will start. Liverpool playing ManU at Old Trafford and winning – you can’t get better than that!

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edit:

The Reds starting line-up  is: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Skrtel, Aurelio, Mascherano, Lucas, Kuyt, Riera, Gerrard, Torres.

Subs: Cavalieri, Hyypia, Babel, El Zhar, Dossena, Insua, Ngog.

Injury to Xabi Alonso is a huge blow in my opinion. Hopefully we can have super-sub in one of Babel, El Zhar or Ngog.

C’mon Reds!

… it looks even worse… we’ve lost Arbeloa…

David N’Gog – it was nice to watch how this young lad is gaining confidence with every minute. He scored in front of the Kop and then set up another. Hopefully he can develop into great player for us. We should not expect from him, but if he could learn as much as possible from Torres he can be first squad player in the future.

Javier Mascherano - very solid at right back. I don’t expect him to switch to that position but it was good experience for him. To be honest he hadn’t much to do defensively but linked well with Liverpool’s attacks.

Teams response - after last Sunday’s disaster it was good for the club’s morale to win comfortably. They’ve kept clean sheet and played well.

Young Reds – Insua, N’Gog, El Zhar – those players should have more chances in remaining games and hopefully develop into great assets for next season.

Bitter-sweet victory - if only we could lay like that in those drawn games against Stoke, West Ham, Fulham and Wigan…

Liverpoolfc.tv channel announces starting lineup: Reina Mascherano, Carragher, Skrtel, Insua – Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Riera – Ngog, Kuyt. Subs: Cavalieri, Dossena, Hyypia, Aurelio, Babel, Lucas, El Zhar.
Rafa wants to experiment at right back position again… but Masche? I think it will be 3 in defence and Javier and Xabi in front of them… but we will see.
In previous game we needed some Fernando’s magic to win 1:0. Hopefully this time we’ll be able to win more comfortably. We need this win, and I’m sure we can get it.
C’mon Reds!

Looks like Rafa’s position is getting stronger. Those rumors before the Real game seemed premature or maybe they were part of some kind of game. I really hope that all that strugling in the background will finaly end. It’s not easy to compete with ManU and we need strong and united staff at the club for that.

Last Sunday’s result was a huge blow for our title hopes. It made winning the title this season virtually impossible. Even if we win every game till the end of the season (all 12 of them), which is judging from our current form, not very probable. But even success at Old Trafford on March 14th and in all other games could mean that we end up 4 points behind ManU. Close, but not enough. Huge improvement over the last season but still far away from the 19th title. And in the end it’s all that matters.

For the last couple of seasons when Liverpool was loosing their title chances around Christmas I had this feeling in my guts. This unpleasant, depressing, dull feel that another season was wasted. I’m starting to feel this again. And looks like there is more people willing to admit that the season is over. Paul Tomkins in his latest article is again trying to explain Benitez failure to land a title and makes point that Rafa created a good team with insufficient funds. A team that made huge progress in the last 5 seasons. His right, but still we haven’t won anything in the last 2 seasons and this one doesn’t look to good either.

But should we make this dark predictions already? No! There is still lots to play for. First of all we have to get back to winning ways. Make it few wins in a row, rebuild confidence. Sting ManU at their own stadium. Make it a double over them. Put some pressure on their gelled heads. A good run in Champions League will be great too. I know we’re all waiting for the title, but winning the Europe’s would be very good consolation prize, wouldn’t it?

I hope the players will quickly forget about last game and focus on winning and bringing sniles back on our faces. I still believe it could be a great season for us.

It was good to see Torres taking his goals. I’m sure it will be a huge confidence boost for him and the team. We’ve missed his clinical finish badly through the whole season. Hopefully he will stay out of injuries and keep scoring for us. We’ll need a very good run of victories if we are to overcome ManU until the end of the season.

Benayoun impressed in a second game in a row. That’s good news. We’ll need strength in depth. Since Robbie is gone (I’ll write about it in separate post) other playes need to stand up for the challenge.

So as I wrote earlier – we made it to the final. Now on March 14th we need to break another series and make it a double over United. But first we have to beat Everton in F.A. cup and Portsmouth away.