The Soccer Blog: Match Preview: Liverpool v. SC Braga, 03.17.11

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Match Preview: Liverpool v. SC Braga, 03.17.11

By: Ed | March 16th, 2011
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Down 1-0, Liverpool host the second leg tomorrow at Anfield.

We’re slowly easing into a spell that sees Liverpool pick up the pace—Braga tomorrow and Sunderland on Sunday before another brief hiatus, and then a sprint to the finish line with eight league matches between April and the third week of May.

Success tomorrow would not only add to that load, with the Europa League quarterfinals scheduled for April 7th and April 14th, but it would get the club a bit closer to some sort of symbol of success. Folks seemed to be carrying plenty of optimism through the last week, with a majority holding out hope that either a Europe League trophy or 5th place in league was still attainable.

And if it’s victory in Dublin that we’re collectively crossing our fingers for, Liverpool’s performance tomorrow is going to have to be a world apart from what we witnessed in Portugal a week ago. If “better” exists for a match like last Thursday’s, you’d have to say that Braga were the better side on the night. They created more and pressed early, and were rightfully rewarded with the opener. No doubt tomorrow will see less pressure, but Liverpool will need to stifle their swiftness on the counter if an away goal is to be avoided. With the weekend off, Braga’s been rested (and may see the return of their captain, Vandinho), and their only doubts for fitness are Kaka and Alan, both of whom suffered knocks in the first leg.

For Liverpool:

1. Who will start for Liverpool?
2. What’s the most important factor for the Reds?
3. Who’s going to win and what’s going to be the scoreline?

1. Who will start for Liverpool?

Reina
Carragher Skrtel Agger Johnson
Lucas Spearing
Kuyt Meireles Maxi
Carroll

—Earlier in the week Kenny Dalglish announced that both Daniel Agger and Jonjo Shelvey were making their way back into full training, with the former closer to match readiness. That leaves Steven Gerrard, Martin Kelly, and Fabio Aurelio on the injured list, with the ineligible Luis Suarez joining them on the inactive list.

—It might be too early for Andy Carroll to make a start, but I’m jumping off the deep end and reading way too far into Dalglish’s comments from today’s press conference. Besides the nice chunk of awesome that is “he won’t be forgetting that elbow any time soon,” the manager mentions that at current the main decision is whether they use him from the opening whistle or whether they leave it late. Given that Liverpool really only looked threatening with Carroll on the pitch, I’m hoping he gets the start. More time to blend in with the squad, and no need to crowd the midfield with alice bands.

—It’s probably a bit too much to include Daniel Agger as well—we all know he’s had a hell of a time with injuries throughout his career, and tomorrow might be too soon. It’s a delicate balance of throwing whatever’s available at Braga and making sure that long-term fitness isn’t compromised. If there’s any doubt, there’s a likely spot for Martin Skrtel or Sotirios Kyrgiakos, as well as the option of keeping Glen Johnson on the right and including Danny Wilson on the left.

—Christian Poulsen and Joe Cole cannot start.

—Jay Spearing wasn’t any less effective than anyone else in the eleven last Thursday, and while that’s not exactly high praise, he seems most fit to feature alongside Lucas in central midfield. This pushes Raul Meireles further forward behind Andy Carroll, and leaves spots for Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez on the flanks. That’s about as strong a front four as Liverpool are capable of given the personnel available, although some could argue that David Ngog or Joe Cole have a place. To those some, I say, “probably not.”

2. What’s the most important factor for the Reds?

A nice balance of scoring and not conceding, obviously. The goals simply have to come from somewhere—whether that’s down to a positive impact from Andy Carroll’s presence or more attack-minded tactics from the opening whistle, it’s an occasion that absolutely demands that Liverpool pour a couple in. Preferably not in the final seconds via a Dirk Kuyt thigh. But I’ll take whatever so long as it sees Liverpool come out on top.

That being said, it’s no secret that Braga excel on the counter, and if Liverpool get caught too far forward, the tie could be over in a matter of seconds. We know Liverpool are capable of coming up big, especially in Europe, but an away goal for Braga is worst-case scenario.

3. Who’s going to win and what’s going to be the scoreline?

I can’t bet against Liverpool on a European night at Anfield, even if that hasn’t meant as much in the past few seasons. 2-0 to the Reds.

Kickoff tomorrow is at 20:05 GMT and 4:05 EST, as daylight savings time continues to rear its ugly head. Or at least until Europe decides to join us. Either way, the match will again be televised live on Five for English viewers and GolTV for those in North America, the latter of which comes with the requisite suffering induced everyone’s favorite by announcing duo. As usual, streams will be available, so links for those will be up in the matchday thread earlier in the day.

In the meantime, enjoy your Wednesday, and with the NCAA basketball tournament about to take over the sporting landscape in the US, get in the spirit and use this Gus Johnson soundboard to pass the time. And then imagine him announcing a 90th minute winner and strangling Andy Gray or something.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Match Preview: Liverpool v. SC Braga, 03.10.11Match Preview: Liverpool v. Sparta Prague, 02.17.11Match Preview: Liverpool v. Everton, 01.16.11Match Preview: Liverpool v. Blackpool, 01.12.11Match Preview: Liverpool v. Chelsea, 02.06.11

Category: Europa League, Match Previews, Miscellaneous, Team News

Tags: Andy Carroll, Daniel Agger, Dirk Kuyt, Do Normal Previews Count as Click-Whoring?, Europa League, Jamie Carragher, Jay Spearing, Joe Cole, Kenny Dalglish, Liverpool v. Braga, Lucas, Martin Škrtel, Match Previews, Maxi Rodriguez, Miscellaneous, Steven Gerrard, Team News, This is Not News about Fernando Torres
Tweet « Video: Liverpool v. Man United, FA Youth Cup | Home | Matchday: Liverpool v. SC Braga »YannTo Redtrev – Happy St Patrick’s Day!

I’ve heard it said that everybody is Irish on St Paddy’s Day, so later today I’ll head down to The Celtic Club here in Melbourne, which is Australia's first Irish club, established in 1887 and so is older than LFC even. Swilling green beer sounds like big fun.

I hope the Reds trounce Braga and roll on so there’s a reason to be in Dublin on 18 May 2011 for a certain football final. Cheers. YNWA.Red2deathJust noticed that Christian Poulsen is one yellow card away from an automatic suspension.

Maybe fielding him wouldn't be such a bad thing after all...SamI think Kuyt's been much much better when used as a forward this year, rather than on the right. So I'd go for the same team sheet as you, but instead of 4-2-3-1, I'd go with something like the 4-4-2 we saw against the Mancs, with Meireles tucked in on the right and Kuyt behind Carroll.YannI’ve done some thinking and decided I’m not bothered if we don’t qualify for the Europa league next season. The winner plays 15 matches and wins about £5.4m, plus about £1m in TV money, so £6.4m all up. This doesn’t take account of gate receipts or the costs of being involved (eg. travel, accommodation). Say about £5m net then. That gets you a Poulsen or Konchesky, or Joe Cole’s wages paid for a year. Big deal! Who needs it?

The Europa league might be useful next season to put game time into the young ‘uns, but I reckon it’s a distraction we seriously don’t need. We should focus on trying to win the Title and if not, then at least returning to the top four and grabbing a Champions’ League berth. Whoever lifts old big ears pockets around £50m! That’s a rundown, slightly soiled Torres, or a pristine Carroll with a brand spanking Suarez chucked in as a sweetener.

Every apparent disaster this season seems to have contained a hidden blessing – appointing the Hodg gave us King Kenny, removing the gruesome twosome brought in FSG and Linda Pizzuti (yum), flogging off El Nino got us El Pistolo and the Flying Ponytail – maybe no Europe next season might pave the way for No. 19, or No. 6.cheekyfellow*el pistolero

haha, sorry, the Spanish in me laughedYannThat's my Greek overriding my clearly inadequate Spanish.SamAre you saying we'd lose money in total from (gate receipts-travel) because I think that's very wrong. We make about 1.5m per home match (let's say seven of those) minus whatever it takes to fly and get hotels. I think it's at least 10m net, maybe 15. Nothing to sniff at.YannNo I’m not saying that we’d lose money but my understanding is that chartered jets, extra insurance, all the necessary spending to participate is not insignificant and does eat into whatever is earned from these matches. Also the £6.4m in prize money is for winning. It’s peanuts if you don’t make the final. As I’ve said before, I’d love for us to win it in Dublin because after all, that’s why LFC exist. I’m just not overly convinced that it’s a positive for the squad unless our depth increases dramatically and our pretty young things can use it to gain experience, which I think is where the real benefit lies. There’s be no CL for us next season so those who chose to come will be looking further into the future and those who chose to leave will do so because Europa is no substitute for the CL.RussellMy only problem with not qualifying for the Europa League is the fact that players won't want to join in the summer because we aren't playing in Europe.NoelAnd Reina would be far more likely to leave, and a player like Suarez has already talked about how much it hurts not to be able to play in Europe... but hey, we might be back in the running for the Carlton Coles of the world. I get looking for silver linings, but FSG is willing to spend to get back on top and so Europe is a must. Under H&G the argument of maximizing the talent in a currently thin squad might make sense as a silver lining, but while I get the whole looking for the good side of things thing, it's hard to see an upside to missing out on Europe now that isn't hopes and pocket lint.YannAs regards Pepe Reina, his comments always focus on the Spanish contingent that’s left, so I think his decision will be based on many intangibles, including continuing uncertainty, not just the obvious stated desire to win things. If there’s one thing FSG should do immediately it’s sign up Dalglish and give an indicator of the club’s future direction.Jay WrightHow do we get any crosses for Carroll with Johnson and Maxi on the left and Carragher and Kuyt on the right? Not one of those can consistently deliver any sort of quality from those positions

My preferred lineup would be:
Reina
Johnson-Kyrgiakos-Carragher-Wilson
Cole-Lucas-Meireles
Pacheco-Carroll-Jovanovich
(Jones/Agger/Skrtel/Coady/Suso/Kuyt/N'gog)

I wouldn't risk Agger from the start just yet, nor would I waste any more time with Carroll on the bench.

Johnson is the only player that gets up and down the line in our squad (aside from Kelly) so I'd stop stunting his attacks by putting him back on the right, encouraging him to hit the byline and whip in as many crosses as he can.

I don't like Wilson as left back but we don't have much experienced options at full back, so I'd just give him the opportunity to grow in the role. Jovanovich is quicker than Kuyt or Maxi, and has a decent enough left foot, so I'd put him ahead of Wilson on the left of the front three and hope that he could provide a little width in our attack on the opposite side of the pitch to Johnson.

On the other side of Carroll, Pacheco should finally getting his chance in the free narrow role that Maxi and Kuyt have underwhelmed in so consistently.

Finally, Cole should get a chance to play in a deeper role through the middle, with the hope that he could inject a bit of creativity that he has failed to do when played further upfield. Rather that than sticking Spearing or Poulsen in there alongside Lucas and Meireles in a game which we need to score a couple of goals...mattCan't see Agger being fit to start, and I don't know if I can handle the emotional rollercoaster that is a Kyrgiakos-Skrtel partnership for 90 mins. I'm tempted to say I'd rather see Johnson Carra Soto and Wilson, at least Soto has an anvil for a forehead and maybe he'd snag a set piece goal. the most important line from the review was: "Poulsen and Cole can't start." jay spearing it's your time to shine my friend. i think kuyt, meireles, johnson, and lucas play well and we get the win!CheekyFellowUrgency, what they needed and what they eventually got. Here's to the first entertaining Europa league match, I hope.Red2deathI'm with on 2-0 as well. We all know it'll take 3 goals for Liverpool to be comfortable, and we're generally not in the business of comfortable wins. So, 2 it is...NoelWith you on the lineup and score, though I'm leaning towards the no Agger option. As for 2-0, well, there really isn't any other option.blog comments powered by Disqus