The Soccer Blog: Match Preview: Liverpool v. Blackburn, 01.05.11

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

Match Preview: Liverpool v. Blackburn, 01.05.11

By: Ed | January 4th, 2011
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Back to the road for Liverpool as they visit Rovers at Ewood.

“This time will be different,” my heart tells me. “No, it won’t,” my head says. “Oh.”

An away match, celebrate! Oh, nevermind that, Roy Hodgson is still at the helm, and as Dion Fanning so warmly and cruelly reminded us months ago, Hodgson’s squads are “a walking, talking three points for the home side.”

But it’s the first of four this month for Hodgson and Liverpool, a frightening prospect to be certain, and it doesn’t need repeating that if Liverpool are truly going to turn things in a direction other than “plummet, quickly” they’ll need to start picking up meaningful points away from Anfield. The match against Bolton on Saturday proved that they can do so in front of the home crowd (even at less than full capacity, grumble grumble), but there’s been little convincing that Hodgson’s squad can get it done on the road.

They’ll have to do it against one of December’s busiest and most up-and-down teams in Rovers—the Lancashire side played six matches in the month (compared to Liverpool’s two) and ran the gamut of results, ranging from a 2-0 home defeat to Stoke to a 3-0 drubbing of Wolves at Ewood. Sam Allardyce started the month as the man in charge, but after the 2-1 away defeat to Bolton, Steve Kean’s taken the helm and steered the squad to a 1-1-2 record.

Tomorrow will be a stretch for Kean’s squad, as he’ll be missing no less than nine squad members. The return of captain Christopher Samba will provide a boost for the home side, but the absences of Brett Emerton and Nikola Kalanic will surely be felt. Rovers will have their mainstays in Morten Gamst Pedersen, Michel Salgado, Gael Givet, Ryan Nelsen, and, to the delight of Liverpool fans everywhere, El Hadj Diouf. Bank on at least one delightfully arrogant moment from the former Liverpool man, sure to be followed by a brief discussion of his recent comments about Jamie Carragher and the resounding failure of his Liverpool tenure. Over to you, Jon Champion.

And over to 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
Johnson Kyrgiakos Agger Aurelio
Kuyt Gerrard Lucas Maxi
Ngog Torres

—The absence of Raul Meireles clutters things a bit; we found out earlier in the day that the midfielder will miss tomorrow’s match for sure after suffering an ankle injury in the opening minutes against Bolton. He joins Jamie Carragher and Jay Spearing on the injury list.

—This lineup seems most likely for Hodgson—Meireles out makes it easy for Hodgson to slide Steven Gerrard back into central midfield and leave David Ngog alongside Fernando Torres. I don’t know that this is the best way to use the available personnel, but I think it’s most likely. If it’s anything like the performance from the second half on Saturday, it can work, but it depends on the approach Hodgson mandates for his personnel.

—Any number of things could (and maybe should) be different above; Paul Konchesky could very well displace Fabio Aurelio at left back, Martin Skrtel could end up partnering Daniel Agger or Sotirios Kyrgiakos, and the midfield and forwards areas have plenty of potentialities. I think Agger’s necessary, though, especially if Liverpool are going to change the way they play away from home.

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

Consistency, and not consistency at turning into an impotent mess away from Anfield. Like we discussed after Saturday’s match, the carry-over from the second half against Bolton could signal a change in the way things are done for Hodgson’s squad (preferably without Hodgson). So maybe it’s more the development of the type of consistency that leads to success for Liverpool rather than folding up like a deck chair on foreign soil.

For this club it means playing the ball forward on the floor, passing and moving with some sort of positive emphasis, and maintain possession for meaningful portions of the match. It doesn’t need to be overwhelmingly complex—when Liverpool revert to hoof, defend, hoof, the results are nothing short of a disaster. They leave themselves little chance for winning when that’s the case, so developing a consistent pattern of actually playing football is going to be pivotal.

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

For all the talk about not being certain of any lasting changes for Hodgson and Liverpool, I’m going to say they pull this one out 2-0. Leaving myself open for ridicule and hindsight-informed mocking? Of course.

Midweek kickoffs are always tricky, particularly stateside, but at least this one will be televised live in the States on Fox Soccer Plus. As with the Bolton match, no word on how it’ll be played in the UK, but I’m sure it’s somewhere. If you’re at work or don’t have cable, links for streams and matchday news will be here in the morning.

Until then, enjoy your Tuesday.

Some Related Liverpool Posts:Match Preview: Liverpool v. Bolton, 10.31.10Match Preview: Liverpool v. Blackburn, 10.24.10Match Preview: Liverpool v. Bolton; Hodgson Exit On the Way?Match Preview: Liverpool v. Stoke City, 11.13.10Match Preview: Liverpool v. Chelsea, 11.07.10

Category: Match Previews, Miscellaneous, Premier League

Tags: Daniel Agger, David Ngog, Dirk Kuyt, Fabio Aurelio, Fernando Torres, Glen Johnson, Joe Cole, Liverpool v. Blackburn, Lucas, Martin Škrtel, Match Previews, Maxi Rodriguez, Miscellaneous, Paul Konchesky, Pepe Reina, Premier League, Raúl Meireles, Ryan Babe, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Steven Gerrard
Tweet « Roy Hodgson Walks On | Home | Matchday: Liverpool v. Blackburn »MikeIt now honestly feels like Roy is operating on a "win and you get to work another week" basis. This situation is awful since I can't stand to see them lose any more points. Liverpool 1-0. I hope Australians are with me on this.EdI'm concerned about the ever-growing Australian contingent on the Liverpool Offside, especially now that there's talk of forming alliances. This will not stand.

Or will it?YannIt’s really just a cunning plan by us to infiltrate, subvert and destroy the Barmy Army, especially after Robbie Fowler decided to run around kissing a replica Ashes urn before Perth's 0-0 draw with Gold Coast in Queensland a few days ago. The image produced mixed emotions to say the least. At least it reminded me of his pitch line sniffing days and how cheeky a bugger he can be. What a god! Here’s a link (with a pic) for anyone interested.

http://bigpondnews.com/article...
Whitesx78I would have to agree. I am sick of watching the Red's not play to their full potential. Lets get some points and get on track!YannSpeaking for myself as one (in a nation of 20 million odd) and a die hard Red, that goes without saying Mike. Why would it be otherwise?MikeIt wouldn't, I just like solidarity with the majority.YannNo worries Mike. For the Reds cause, we’re all brothers in arms. Even the certainty that a loss to Blackburn would see Hodgson sacked before the weekend is not enough to have me wishing for other than victory. The day that dickhead turns me against my beloved team is the day he wins and I’m for the highjump.MikeConundrum? Hardly. Here's for 3 points and a step in the right direction, buddy...RedDownUndaIt would only take one small step - out - for the 'H', and that would be one huge step for mankind.

Well...for Liverpool at least.

CARNA REDS!!!!.
(Australian for "If it's not too much bother, could you please make every effort to play like the outrageously talented, effervescent team of gentlemen you know you are and beat the living suitcase out of those Wovers!!).redtrev73-ly fuckin inept and out of touch??!! Nice work on splitting my comment at the most inopportune time DISQUS...??!redtrev73Ed, apologies for going off track here but i've just read the latest interview with the hodge and i think it warrants some serious appraisal. He says that cole is " a very confident player" who "always thinks he is playing well"....what the FUUUUUCK is going on here?!?! Only a few weeks ago as joe tried to reclaim his place woy weckoned that the poor lad was being propped by the senior players cos his self-belief was on the floor. How can one man be so cataclysmicalEdWhatever do you mean?

Dec. 2: "Joe isn’t a naturally confident character. He suffers when things are not going his way, and it has affected him."

Dec. 25: "Joe has to come to terms with the fact that he has come here after an unsuccessful period at Chelsea with high hopes of taking Liverpool by storm and unfortunately it’s not happened. That’s life."

Haven't seen the latest; I can only imagine the peaks of idiocy he's scaled now. Don't worry, I smell a TWR from Noel on the horizon, assuming our man made it after that fall out the window last week.KaiI vaguely remember a twitching leg. At a funny angle. Should have some life left at least to see through Woy's sacking.

Now we hear Woy needing new recruits to "stamp his philosophy" on the team. I might go the window route if that happens.YanntarrouWe can all go the window route, without needing to jump. Just stick your head out and scream "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore."Kai6th time on this site today in the hope that we'll see news of his sacking. Ah well. Here's hoping for 3 points!AntonioDecember 2nd. Roy Hodgson on Joe Cole :

"He isn't a naturally confident character. He suffers when things are not going his way,"

January 4th. Roy Hodgson on Joe Cole

"Joe is a very confident player. He always thinks he is playing well. So he doesn’t have any great worries about that side of things,”

AntonioLast night result:
1- Stoke who is above us, LOST. Give us a chance to leap over them.
2 - Blackpool who is level on point with us, and a game in hand b4 yesterday match, LOST. We are above them in term of Goal different and equal in number of game play.

Everything look positive to us, it will be a good 3 points if we win the Blackburn game tonight. But with FA cup on the weekend in mind, Manager seem tempted to rest some of our important players, the likes of Torres and Gerrard. I will think that Blackburn game is much much important than ManU FA cup tie.

With games in hand sound good but it is never good, which I learn not to count the chicken before it hatch. It is going to be a nervous game, BPL games are full of unexpected result these day, same goes to Liverpool performance.

I pray for the best. Good luck to Liverpool.NoelI blame myself, for even daring to mention the possibility snarkily, but the rumours say that tomorrow we get to see Reina, Johnson, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Konchesky, Kuyt, Gerrard, Lucas, Cole, N'Gog, Torres. Harumph.JakeSeriously, if RH couldn't see we were a totally different side against Bolton with Agger in the team, then I'm not sure he's watching the same match. He adds an entirely new dimension to this team that is sorely necessary.RedLiverBirdFCLiverpool to draw 1-1. Fergie gets pink slip tomorrow night. He also gets fired.RhymenocerosIs this Fergie's pole?

"When you get given the job you climb up to the top of a greasy pole - we all do that - but at least you are on the pole and you have been given the chance" - HodgsonNoelNot so many nasty Liverpool fans around would make it easier to swap out Aurelio and Agger, if Hodgson is feeling especially stubborn--and his demands for investment to "build the team in his image" post-Bolton might suggest that he is. If his 35 years of etcetera hadn't already done so, that is.

Just something to mull happily until the match rolls around.danny aggerare the adebayor rumours true? what does everyone else think. i am sure a torres adebayor partnership sounds good, but it would mean putting gerrard as a central midfielder and having to drop either lucas or meireles?AntonioI will not like Adebayor to wear a Liverpool shirt, in term of his personal's attitude rather than skill. He is a great player but the way he treated his former Arsenal fans in celebrating his City goal against his former club was sickening.
I think Drogba is better, his fake diving seem to be thing of the past. I heard he set up his own fund rasing back at his home country to help poor chidren is something encouraging. Watch him play recently and he was very gentlemen like even opponent defenders gave him a hard time, and he don't complain much to the referee.
But why are we talking about transfer? Anyway I want the win at Blackburn badly, even I disapprove what our manager managing skill, I hope Liverpool do well in our "never do well" away game. Finger cross.Red2deathI like Adebayor. Though not so much at the price they're asking for him. Really hoping for someone the same calibre as Torres to come in - for big money if need be.

And another striking option that I think will happen is Keisuke Honda. Not so much that he's super top quality, but he is an exciting prospect, and more importantly FSG would want him to open up doors to the Asian market.Jay WrightBlackburn are easily the worst team that we've seen this season (even more pathetic than West Ham!!) We need to just get at them and go for a decisive win again - forget the stadium!

Reina
Johnson-Kyrgiakos-Agger-Aurelio
Gerrard-Poulsen-Lucas
Babel-Torres-Maxi
(SUBS: Jones, Skrtel, Kelly, Cole, Pacheco, Jovanovich, Ngog)

- Kyrgiakos should be picked ahead of Skrtel for the mere fact that he is a far more imposing figure on the pitch, and not quite as prone to costly errors (although he does make too many also)
- It would be a toss up between starting Cole or Poulsen in the midfield 3, but I'd just start off with Poulsen, with Cole ready to make an impact off of the bench again if the attack somehow fails to click
- Although I'm not a Maxi fan, I'd be fair and reward him for some slightly improved performances by letting him keep his place ahead of Jovanovich
- We'd FINALLY see our two quickest players (Torres & Babel) starting together in attack
- Kuyt should also be made to pay for a number of consistently poor performances by missing out totallyEdSuggesting Christian Poulsen is almost nearly infinitesimally close to a ban.

But really, that's an interesting lineup, I'd just say Joe Cole/Jonjo Shelvey/Milan Jovanovic/Me/Anyone on Earth Including the Dead ahead of Poulsen.Red2deathI'm half hoping that Hodgson is already out and Dalglish is the one dictating tactics for tomorrow.

In which case, "actually playing football" would be a distinct possibility.redtrev73The mere suggestion of a surprise return of the only real hero i've ever had and the thoughts of being shot of old woyston is making me giddy and light-headed Red2death...i think i'll go and lie down...somewhere i can't hear news of the hodge making plans for FSG's lootRedDownUndaI'm with Red2Death -

"I'm half hoping that Hodgson is already out and Dalglish is the one dictating tactics for tomorrow. In which case, "actually playing football" would be a distinct possibility."

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