Europa League Preview: Benfica vs Liverpool FC

Rumors have come that the Estadio Da Luz has over the past few seasons has proven to be a really tough nut to crack. One team from Liverpool went there and succumbed so bad, that the topic is best left alone.

Benfica have a formidable team, more particularly a strike-force to reckon with, spearheaded by one Angel Di Maria who is rated by the biggest clubs all over the world at a good 30m quid. Not bad for a 22 year old, eh?

And if Angel Di Maria’s youth and exuberance isn’t a handful there is the hefty experience of Argentine attackers Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola. So basically, Benfica aren’t a team to be sneezed at.

And neither are Liverpool FC, ladies and gentlemen who orchestrated a delightful victory over Sunderland dotted with beautiful attacking play all through the game. Liverpool seem to finally be getting their attacking form back, aided by the stark absence of midfield stifle-boy Lucas Leiva and the spike in the form of one Maxi Rodriguez.

Pity he’s cup-tied for this one.

And pity Alberto Aquilani in injured again.

Which means that Lucas will most certainly be back into the heart of the midfield alongside Javier Mascherano in Rafael Benitez’ utterly boring 4-2-3-1 formation, which is increasingly becoming hard on the eye of the average football viewer.

But perhaps a need exists to exercise caution, particularly for the away leg against a team which can be so threatening going forward.

But with Gerrard apparently back in form and Torres running around like a spring chicken, in the spring no less, Benfica have much to fear from Liverpool, unlike whatever Javier Saviola might suggest.

It will be an interesting match should Benitez go with the ‘offense is the best form of defence’ school of thought.

Probable Team: Reina; Johnson, Agger, Carragher, Insua; Lucas, Mascherano; Babel, Gerrard, Kuyt; Torres.

YNWA.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Defeat to Wigan. Terrible, terrible stuff. Comically inept to put it brutally. Some ‘pundit’ even went so far as to call it Wigan Athletic vs Liverpool pathetic. And being the rather… ahem… realistic Liverpool fan that I am, I can’t help but agree.

Now I was never a big fan of math, especially that dammit permutations chapter, but one look at the premier league table is enough to tell you that we’re not really where we’re supposed to be. In fact, the way I see it, we’re 16 points short of where I’d like Liverpool to be.

But the Premier League has been well and truly ruled out this year, since that embarrassing display at Portsmouth in December. And Liverpool are really going to have to be content with fighting for the scraps, the dregs, or otherwise the last Champions League spot, which to the penurious manager and the miserly owners and the disillusioned players will seem as good as ‘silverware’.

The problem here is unfortunately that the rather empty, cobwebbed trophy cabinet at Anfield might just drive out players, or even the manager. The owners will remain, the financial worries will remain, the quest for new investment will remain the unfinished bit of business on Stanley Park will still remain.

It is a bleak future which faces Liverpool really and is terrible stuff from the point of view of a fan. Its almost like Karma coming to haunt us after the luck we rode on at Istanbul in 2005 and Cardiff in 2006. AC Milan and West Ham will, for certain feel that justice has now well and truly been done.

But this pessimistic outlook aside, what can Liverpool do to avoid the impending exodus of players out of Anfield?

Well tying our best players down to lucrative contracts would be a good start. So if, God forbid, tomorrow Torres or Mascherano choose to jump ship, at least we’ll get a good price for the two. There is a positive, of course even if we lose these once in a lifetime signings. We’ll get a substantial amount for each player which, if used prudently (a big IF there) can buy our way out of trouble and mount a good enough challenge next season. If they don’t leave and stay loyal to the club, well they deserve a raise and a round of applause for that.

Second thing we need to do is play Aquilani more often. He may still be a little unused, but he’s been on the bench for 2 months now and he better be fit. Plus he’s a fairly good player and great fun to watch. He’s intelligent, a point proven by his positioning and he’s a good, smooth passer, something which I love to watch. He will be match fit soon. Perhaps we need to tweak our 4-2-3-1 formation to accommodate Aquilani, but I sure feel it is worth it.

Continuing the part about the formation, Rafa Benitez has been using this formation a lot hasn’t he? Am I the only one who finds this formation too rigid for Liverpool’s game? I sure feel that this formation ridiculously restricts our play and the two holding midfielders make it far too defensive. I feel Mascherano is quite adept at doing the holding midfielder role by himself. So why not try a 4-4-2 with him and Gerrard in the center? Or even a 4-1-3-2 with Gerrard in the center and Mascherano holding? We need goals and we need strikers up front if we are to score them.

Fourth, it’s good to know that this ‘highly rated’ Simon Kjaer would like a move to Liverpool, so why not seal the deal? He’s 20 and has quite a few years ahead of him. Carragher will be on his way out soon and we need a good young defender. Sure Skrtel is there, but it would be nice to have a backup.

And lastly, I trust Benitez. I don’t know why. He’s signed terrible players, he’s not used some well enough and overall not taken the team ahead as such. But somehow, somewhere I feel that he still enjoys the trust of the players, even the youth players and there are really not too many managers who would relish to take up this job to be honest. So the fuckallness of this season aside, we need to retain Benitez.

Barclays Premier League Preview: Wigan Athletic vs Liverpool FC

Another must win game at hand folks. Wigan away, a game against a team that we should ideally steamroller, and under Roberto Martinez has shown erratic form all through this season. Winless in the last 6, there is no reason why we shouldn’t extend their hapless record further.

Roberto Martinez started the week smarting and saying stuff like we would be at fault if we can’t make it to fourth place and that some young Irish chap named James Mcarthy did the right thing shunning Liverpool and joining Wigan Athletic, which has seemingly given him a better platform. Yawn.

Liverpool FC on the other hand have been handed a rare fitness boost, a boon really in these troubled times as Glen Johnson looks set to make his first premier league start in 2010. Which basically means that should Daniel Agger not be fit to play, Carragher will be drafted into the center of the defense and we still won’t be short of a right back. Phew. Insua will continue his plying himself at left-back as Fabio Aurelio is out injured. Again.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez also issued a statement today, saying that he hopes Alberto Aquilani will not mind being relegated to the bench this season. Benitez admits that Liverpool’s bad fortune all through this season means that he has not been able to give his big money signing a chance to get used to the Premier League and will hope that perhaps he won’t mind missing the World Cup should he not be selected on the grounds of poor form. Or maybe Aquilani hasn’t realized that already. Hmmmm.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard too will return bouncing on both his feet after captaining England to a friendly victory over Egypt.

That them wily French decided to let Torres be and let him return to Merseyside in one piece by not making a snide tackle on him means that he too has no reason to not be on the team sheet tonight. And with Benayoun back, and Babel continuing to be impressive, Rafa Benitez now feels must be getting that nice, happy feeling that one might get after signing a new player. Talk about penury at the ‘Pool.

Expected team? (Let’s hope I get it right this time 😐 ) 4-2-3-1. Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Kygriakos, Insua; Lucas, Mascherano; Babel, Gerrard, Kuyt, Torres.

Bench: Maxi, Aquilani, Pacheco, Cavilieri, N’Gog.

P.S. Kinda hope Pacheco and Aquilani get a run-in today. But for that we’ll need to be like 3-0 up or something.

YNWA.

Barclays Premier League: Liverpool FC vs Blackburn Rovers

Liverpool welcome Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers which is often a pretty tricky fixture to have, especially at this time of the year.

And with Manchester City giving a stellar performance last time around, beating Chelsea at home, we need to step up our Premier League performances, if we are to play in the Champions League next season.

So with these things in mind, Liverpool will be a bundle of nervous welcoming Blackburn Rovers at home.

This is a team which we should ideally make mince-meat out of, having one just the one game away from home and currently lie 12 in the Premier League table, with 34 points.

The cause of concern for all those associated with Liverpool is that their current form in the league has been exceptional with only the one defeat in the last six games and their last result was a 3-0 victory over Big Sam’s old club, Bolton Wanderers.

Rafa Benitez has a lot to worry as usual. Martin Skrtel was stretchered off in Liverpool’s last game against Unirea Urziceni with a Metarsal injury which will keep him out quite a few games. Which is a pity, since him and Agger were forming a great partnership at the back in recent games. Which also means that we will, for once and hopefully, ditch the zonal marking system we very much suck at. And with Kyrgiakos still suspended, Rafa Benitez will be scratching his already balding head, worrying about the defense yet again. Chances are-and Carragher most certainly will be a tad bit happy with it-Carra will be playing in the heart of the defense next to Agger with one out of Degen and Kelly plying their trade at right-back. Johnson, if we are lucky enough, will start on the bench, which is quite useless, but still a heartening sight for Liverpool fans.

The midfield ought to remain unchanged, Lucas and Mascherano tackled superbly in the last game and Liverpool will need all their hard tacklers intact for this game. IMO Aquilani should be given a start, as his artistry will be able to dazzle the thug-like Blackburn players.

In other disturbing news, former Liverpool flop and serial spitter, El Hadji Diouf now of Blackburn Rovers confirmed that he will most definitely diss off Liverpool fans as he disses of fans of all clubs, including his own, with his stark ugliness and misbehavior.

Watch out for Pedersen who will definitely attack us from the wings given Insua’s lack of height and Liverpool’s lack of right backs. He’s good with corners as well and hence someone to look out for.

Torres on the bench for me. Let’s not rush him into this game unless absolutely necessary. Babel to start.

Line up? (4-2-3-1): Reina; Degen, Carragher, Agger, Insua; Mascherano, Lucas; Gerrard, Babel, Kuyt; N’Gog.

YNWA

Europa League: Unirea Urziceni 1-3 Liverpool FC

My only regret is that my rather modest prediction last time around was beaten by leaps and bounds.

And as the newspapers are abuzz smirking with the fact that this is apparently the first time Liverpool have scored more than 2 in one game since September or something, I’m not going to let the negativity affect me and will most certainly be carrying my upbeat mood into the weekend.

It was a bittersweet game for a Liverpool fan. The Europa League, despite its merits, still reminds you of how we were unceremoniously kicked out of the Champions League. A different anthem, and a not-so-glamorous sounding opponent and a home stadium which wasn’t exactly there.  Sigh. Let’s not go there again.

Due to Unirea’s lack of a good enough stadium, which conforms to the UEFA standards, the game was played in the UEFA-certified stadium of another Romanian club, Steaua Bucharest. What UEFA saw in it to certify it, I cannot say, because it was hardly half-way into the match that the stadium started looking quite like the stadium we have here in Pune, India. Absolute rubbish. And here again, I’ll take a moment to sigh.

Unirea had a good attacking gameplan in mind. Started of with a positive looking 4-3-3 from what I could make of it. The intention was clear. We defended last time around, now we attack and get the 2 goals we need to complete yet another bit of giant-killing.

Liverpool on the other hand started with some funny looking pyramidal formation, with N’Gog as the lone striker. Babel started too, which means that fortunately for Liverpool, we still have 2 fit strikers to call upon, should the need arise.

The intent of both the teams was fairly clear. Unirea wanted to attack, Liverpool wanted to make another flawless shutout and protect that one precious goal we scored last time out.

And so Liverpool seemed to start pretty slowly, doing that aimless Carragher-Agger, Agger-Carragher passing, intermittently involving Skrtel, who’d promptly push the ball back to Reina. Same old, fearful and tearfully pointless football which Liverpool have had to adopt since September last year.

Unirea who, on the other hand, were pretty lively had players all over the pitch, trying assiduously to try breaking the absolute monotony and monopoly of possession that Liverpool were enjoying thus far. A couple of challenges flew, the odd Gerrard shot on goal was well saved by the Unirean keeper, who by the way had a great game.

The turning point of the game though was, when after a series of very well taken corners, Unirea caught Liverpool short and scored the first goal of the game. Some Bruno Fernandes rose highest to the corner and slammed the ball into the goal. 1-0 to Unirea Urziceni.

At this point here I would like to blame Rafa Benitez’s continued adherence to the zonal marking policy. Either it is a outright ridiculous defensive tactic, or Liverpool defenders just can’t wrap their heads around what’s to be done. 8 players in the box + Reina. And who goes to tackle hulking Bruno Almighty? Little Insua. Ridiculous in the extreme. Which again furthers the case for at delicate balancing act which Benitez needs to learn between zonal and man-to-man marking strategies.

But either way, the goal had a galvanizing impact on Liverpool. Or atleast Babel in particular. The whole attack suddenly came to life, realizing that the little glimmer of hope, the goal they had labored to score last time around over a sustained pressure of 81 minutes was all undone over the first half hour itself.

The attack showed a lot more intent. Even the normally defensive-minded Carragher at right back, was running and overlapping the midfielders, crossing into the box. Arsenal stuff truly. Babel was mightily impressive. Gerrard took a couple of shots himself. Yossi Benayoun made some flashy runs which unfortunately were successfully tackled each time. N’Gog ran all over the final third, but unfortunately just kept getting fouled. Mascherano and Lucas showed purposeful tackling and passing respectively. The whole gameplan had changed. We needed a goal. The game suddenly got a lot more interesting.

And then just as one Unirea player cleared the ball out of their box which had caused a dangerous scrapheap in the area, Mascherano came running and smacked the ball to the back of the net. What a goal that was. No deflections either. This goal was Mascherano’s and his alone. 1-1.

But the moment of the match for me was Babel’s goal. What a piece of work. Gerrard lobbed a freekick in exquisitely as he alone can and Babel took a first touch which was worth every penny in the 12 mil pounds we paid for him and smartly kicked it in at the near post. He was coming closer and closer and this was it. It was his moment. 2-1.

The game was then rounded off in the second half when Steven Gerrard grabbed what would be the winner. The goal made him, and fittingly so, the highest British goal scorer in all European competitions, beating Alan Shearer’s record of 32 in the process. Not bad for a midfielder.

Unfortunately the game ended with some bad news as Martin Skrtel was stretchered off in the second half with an injury which is now confirmed to be metatarsal related. But with Johnson coming back and Martin Kelly ready for action, Carragher will be able to slot back into his favorite center-back position, which gives Rafa Benitez the luxury to be able to play 2 fully fit center-backs at Blackburn on Sunday.

MOM for me was, despite some other very good performances, Ryan Babel for the remarkable turnaround and work rate he’s shown since THAT bust-up where he twittered Benitez’ bile upwards with rage. Babel has now featured in three consecutive matches, a Liverpool record for him certainly, and has put in some fairly good performances on the left side of the midfield. I always thought he was more talented and physically a stronger player than N’Gog and is complimenting his talents with his strengthened character as well.

So on to Blackburn now.

YNWA.

Europa League: Unirea Urziceni vs Liverpool FC Preview

Liverpool travel tonight to face off with a team which quite frankly I’ve heard of for the first time only this year.

The first problem is that this team, who call themselves Unirea Urziceni, have had above average results in the Champions League group stage, especially for a club I’ve never heard of before and had put up quite a good fight with a resilient Cantenaccio defence last time around.

The Unirieans have also showed their rather direct, menacing side by asking our coach, Rafa Benitez, why he is so fat.

The second problem is that i don’t quite know how to say Unirea Urziceni without making a joke or two about it!

The good news is that our star striker Fernando Torres will most probably make the bench and make at least a 5 minute appearance which will hopefully go injury-free. Wily Yossi Benayoun could also make a start while the manager continues to be coy over the fitness of Glen Johnson. But IMO if Johnson was indeed fit, Rafa would rather bask in the glory of it rather than be coy. Which means Jamie Carragher will most probably be playing in his least favorite Right-Back position. Kyrgriakos, I assume will start the match unless his suspension for trying to murder Fellaini covers UEFA games too. If it doesn’t he ought to start and give one of either Agger or Skrtel a bit of a break. But then again I can’t help but marvel at the spectacular job these two have done over the past few games and hope that they continue the good work.

Alberto Aquilani too seems to be fit for a change and is most certain to cheer Liverpool on from the bench. Babel too ought to be allowed to continue his efforts at inching closer and closer to the goal from 30 yards out. I also see no reason to not include Insua,  Mascherano and Lucas as they seem to be first on the team sheets for each game. N’Gog will most probably be the man drawing the short straw, playing the lone man upfront and trying to catch hold of the balls randomly tonked at him by our midfield.

So the starting line-up I guess look something like this: (4-2-3-1) Reina; Carragher, Agger, Skrtel, Insua; Lucas, Mascherano; Kuyt, Gerrard, Babel; N’Gog.

Bench (Call me optimistic): Kyrgiakos, Johnson, Benayoun, Reira, Maxi/Aquilani.

Dunno much about Unirea though 😐

Prediction? 0-0, unless Torres produces something special or N’Gog gets a ball at his feet/head with an open goal.

So here’s to hoping we don’t concede!

YNWA