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Tomorrow’s match follows the drama of a weekend where teams fought in a relegation battle and one team effectively clinched the league title. It will be a game after the party. Two teams will meet; not for the sake of trophies, survival or qualifying for Europe but for the simple reason that each play football and each are part of a league.
The ‘lost’ invite to the weekend’s party was due to re-scheduling. Maybe a good thing, sometimes parties can get pretty messy. But it’s also quite a nuisance. Fans must rearrange and fans from different time zones to that of GMT must readjust sleeping patterns. It also means you get pretty bored over the weekend while everyone else enjoys the football.
Back to this actual game. Liverpool are second in the form table with five wins in their last eight games. Kenny Daglish has turned the fortunes of Liverpool and are certainly looking up. It would have been interesting for Woy to be part of a welcome return to the Cottage with Liverpool. But Hodgson’s strict tactically astute defenseive approach to the game didn’t suit Liverpool. Which allowed Daglish to take charge and bring a fluid attacking approach to the game that looks successful as they sit sixth.
Fulham are also looking up, too. Mark Hughes’ methods are starting to reap their rewards. Back-to-back 3-0 wins home and away means Fulham are fifth in the form table, being beaten only once in the last eight games – and that was against soon to be crowned champions Man United.
More positive news for Fulham will be the likely return of Clint Dempsey and Brede Hangeland to the line-up. After missing the win over Sunderland, they will hopefully be fresh, fit and ready to take on Liverpool. Apart from Damien Duff and Zoltan Gera sidelined, there are no other new injury concerns.
With each team at full force the tactical battle will be integral. One tactic which Fulham could exploit is Liverpool’s lack of width. Their midfield consists of no wide players, yet continue to play 4-4-2.* Fulham, on the other hand, have Simon Davies and Gael Kakuta in a 4-4-2. Each showed against Sunderland that they are on exceptional form out wide. Behind them, they have Carlos Salcido and Chris Baird who are equally adept at running down the flanks.
A win for either team will not greatly effect the rest of the league table nor the expectations of each club. Liverpool needed to find form – and eventually done so. Fulham are where Hughes wants them to be – in the top ten and look set to stay there. So, job done for each team.
Well, is it? With Stoke’s 3-1 home win over Arsenal this weekend, Stoke currently sit eighth. If there are any contenders for Fulham’s arch-nemisis this season, Stoke would be the man with the maniacal laugh. After that tackle on Dembele and after some words off the pitch from Captain Murphy, Fulham and Stoke are engaged in a footballing rivalry for the forseeable future. A win against Liverpool on Monday would send Fulham into eighth to thwart the FA Cup finalists.
* = A Jonathan Wilson (who else?) observation for an article in World Soccer
Category: Match Preview
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