The Soccer Blog: Matchday: Liverpool v. West Ham

Sunday 27 February 2011

Matchday: Liverpool v. West Ham

By: Ed | February 27th, 2011
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Kickoff from Upton Park at 13:30 GMT, 8:30 EST.

Ways to Watch:

Match live on Sky Sports 1 in the UK and Fox Soccer Channel in the US.

MyP2P.eu
Atdhenet.tv
From Sport

Liverpool:

Reina
Carragher Skrtel Wilson
Kelly Gerrard Lucas Meireles Johnson
Kuyt Suarez

Bench: Gulacsi, Kyrgiakos, Cole, Poulsen, Spearing, Maxi, Ngog

So much for a return to the 4-3-3. Danny Wilson again features in the starting eleven, this time as the third central defender in a three-man back line, with Martin Kelly and Glen Johnson pushing forward in the wing back role. In terms of personnel this looks less like a diamond midfield—Dirk Kuyt and Luis Suarez can certainly drop back a bit at times, but I’m guessing that Lucas plays more withdrawn and Steven Gerrard and Raul Meireles will push forward. Off the top of my head, first time we’ve seen a three-man back line since the Chelsea match.

West Ham:

Green
Jacobsen Tomkins Upson Bridge
O’Neil Noble Parker Hitzlsperger
Ba Piquionne

Bench: Boffin, Reid, Da Costa, Boa Morte, Spector, Cole, Hines

In the run-up:

Couple pieces of almost news ahead of the afternoon/crack of dawn kickoff…

** Andy Carroll’s return is on its way, and all indications lately have been that his rehab has been progressing either right on track or ahead of schedule. Apparently one part, however, hasn’t been so perfect. From the Sunday Express:

Andy Carroll, Liverpool’s record £35million striker, has been ordered to lose weight before he makes his long-awaited debut.England international Carroll, 22, signed from Newcastle with just minutes of the January transfer window remaining, has not played a game this year after tearing a thigh muscle.

The inactivity has meant that Carroll has bulked up. Now football’s costliest Englishman has been placed on a rigorous fitness schedule designed to return the Geordie to his prime weight.

I suppose it makes enough sense, but there’s no telling if that’s actually something that been a major focus of his training program, and I’m not sure that I really care enough to look further. I do, however, care quite a bit about seeing him make his debut and get up and running. The small sample we’ve had of Luis Suarez has been encouraging, and I’m eager to see if there’ll be enough time left in the campaign for both the new boys to settle in. Regardless of their weight.

** It seems like the squad has been taking their turns weighing in on the potential impact they feel Suarez can make—earlier in the week it was Dirk Kuyt, and I think most of the squad has piped up at one time or another. Yesterday was Steven Gerrard’s turn:

“Already we can see what a good player Luis is. He’s got good pace and awareness and he’s settled in very quickly. He’s a fighter too and the type of character he is means he’s going to work really hard for the team. We’ve all been delighted with his first few performances. Hopefully there is even more to come from him too.

“I expect him to be even better when he adjusts to the speed of football in this country. He hadn’t played many games in the weeks before he moved here so he’s still getting his match fitness. When he gets that, he will be very difficult to stop.”

If we’re talking about players we’d like to see make more of an impact, Suarez is obviously the vogue pick, but I think Steven Gerrard qualifies as well. He’s been somewhat hit-or-miss this season; part of that is down to fitness and part down to struggling along with the rest of the squad for the first half of the season. I know we all want Suarez to make a splash, and he very well might, but the pot would definitely be sweetened if we saw Gerrard start to turn in the performances we know he’s capable of.

Kickoff from London shortly—team sheets and stream links will be updated as available.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Matchday: Liverpool v. West BromMatchday: Liverpool v. BoltonMatchday: Liverpool v. NewcastleMatchday: Liverpool v. Sunderland

Category: Matchday Posts, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News

Tags: Andy Carroll is Fat and That Makes Him Even More Like U, Liverpool v. West Ham, Matchday Posts, Miscellaneous, Premier League, Team News
Tweet « Match Preview: Liverpool v. West Ham, 02.27.11 | Home | RoscoWell this is just fucking great.NoelJoe Cole strains every sinew to take the ball off Suarez' toe, chips a cross into acres of nothing. Time for the oxygen tank.Red2deathGave them some confidence and now they've got the bit between their teeth, thinking they can actually win this thing. Bad.KCOh no...Oh no...Oh no...Oh no...Oh no...YannI think in the next 45 minutes we're going to find out whether Liverpool are made of the right stuff. This game won't be salvaged by constantly giving possession away cheaply like they have.KCWhere has that want and need that Liverpool had in previous games? You can see West Ham fighting for every ball. I don't even hope for a win I just want to see Liverpool fight because they play so well when they are fighting for it.ChrisLFCAgreed....looks like a mish-mash of guys who have never played together.RoscoAnyone for some Europa?NoelThis is not the enjoyable morning distraction I had hoped for.TpuppieThat's exactly what I said to my husband 30 seconds ago. Why is it on the occasions when we have nothing going on and I can sit here and enjoy the entire game, sip coffee and enjoy myself, the games I watch are a complete debacle? Ugh.ChrisLFCYeah, not happy about waking up early for this display....RoscoAnyone else miss last week when we had no games?RoscoWas rather nice having width there.EdThis is really, really bad.Adamis it too early to drink on the west coast?NoelWell shit. Guess we probably now know why he came off at the half against Sparta, then.RoscoNooooooooooEdDon't think Liverpool's been awful, just a great goal (that defied the laws of nature) and sustained pressure from West Ham.NoelI still don't understand how that went it.RoscoAnyone have an idea as to the whereabouts of Piquionnes dummy?KatieI just got back from a one-week vacation sans-internet, and I am none too pleased to read about the injuries to our back line. A resounding Liverpool victory would definitely raise my why-is-there-snow-instead-of-sand post-vacation spirits.LFC4LIFEfunny thing that we had three first team defender injuries on the same date and match and we will be facing MANURE next week. I suspect Sparta Prague might be on the MANURE phonebook. Guess MANURE have adopted a new strategy since Howard Webb was getting much suspicious. http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/team...nickI heard that Scooty P isn't making the team today - dunno if this is old news or not.

Cant see the game today - christening to attend. Will sky plus and then use www.tvsportreview.com to pick out best bits. Anyone else using this website?LFC4LIFEHonestly, the Hammers will get Hammered.blog comments powered by Disqus