Premier League
Sunday 25th November 2012
The Liberty Stadium
The Liberty Stadium
Swansea VS Liverpool
After the ineptitude that was the final few minutes against Young Boys, we really have to bounce back and show a lot more against a side that's already shown how deadly they can be against us. After losing to West Brom in the league, we were able to go to their ground in the cup and gain a small measure of revenge. Now - hopefully - after having then been dumped out of the cup by Swansea we can get them back by earning three points today.
There are bound to be changes. Gerrard, Suarez, Johnson, Sterling, Agger and Skrtel are all likely to come in from the start and in that sense we're far more prepared than we were against them in the league cup at Anfield at the start of this month. One player who played in that game whom I'm hoping gets a start in this game is Jordan Henderson. He was unlucky to be forced into being deployed as an emergency right back on Thursday night and I'm a little concerned at his long term development if we're not prepared to give him a run of games in the centre of midfield as he certainly has the talent and potential. Henderson would also add the energy and legs we're going to need to combat their devastating counter attacks.
No matter what kind of personnel changes we make, the midfield is going to have to play a lot better than it has been recently. Steven Gerrard has been frustrating in that he appears to have no energy and also be playing within himself and that in turn has seen his form dip as of late. That makes Joe Allen's work infinitely harder and hopefully the two will be paired up with the hard working Henderson and that will allow them to share the workload, as well as potentially being a lot more balanced.
Defensively we're going to have to be on our toes from start to finish. With Andre Wisdom unlikely to take part in this game it's imperative whoever slots back in there is ready for the challenge. Swansea are very dangerous down the flanks and if we give them space to run in behind things could get very bad for us very quickly. In that respect, I'd still like to see Jose Enrique continue to be deployed in an advanced position. In a team that struggles to find a cutting edge, I think it benefits us both going forward and having that extra cover at the back. Also, Michu was incredibly good at Anfield in the League cup and I'm sure Skrtel and Agger will be making sure he isn't quite as prominent this afternoon.
We have two difficult fixtures away from home - as they all are in the Premier League - with this game and Spurs on Wednesday night. The key is to not lose either of them but I firmly believe we can get four points from the two fixtures which would see us nicely placed ahead of an easier run into Christmas. A win today is the more likely of the two and would dramatically take the pressure off our midweek visit to White Hart Lane. As for today, we will look to put in a better account of ourselves than we did the last time we clashed with Swansea and if we get the chance, can hopefully gain a small measure of revenge for them knocking us out of the league cup.
After the ineptitude that was the final few minutes against Young Boys, we really have to bounce back and show a lot more against a side that's already shown how deadly they can be against us. After losing to West Brom in the league, we were able to go to their ground in the cup and gain a small measure of revenge. Now - hopefully - after having then been dumped out of the cup by Swansea we can get them back by earning three points today.
There are bound to be changes. Gerrard, Suarez, Johnson, Sterling, Agger and Skrtel are all likely to come in from the start and in that sense we're far more prepared than we were against them in the league cup at Anfield at the start of this month. One player who played in that game whom I'm hoping gets a start in this game is Jordan Henderson. He was unlucky to be forced into being deployed as an emergency right back on Thursday night and I'm a little concerned at his long term development if we're not prepared to give him a run of games in the centre of midfield as he certainly has the talent and potential. Henderson would also add the energy and legs we're going to need to combat their devastating counter attacks.
No matter what kind of personnel changes we make, the midfield is going to have to play a lot better than it has been recently. Steven Gerrard has been frustrating in that he appears to have no energy and also be playing within himself and that in turn has seen his form dip as of late. That makes Joe Allen's work infinitely harder and hopefully the two will be paired up with the hard working Henderson and that will allow them to share the workload, as well as potentially being a lot more balanced.
Defensively we're going to have to be on our toes from start to finish. With Andre Wisdom unlikely to take part in this game it's imperative whoever slots back in there is ready for the challenge. Swansea are very dangerous down the flanks and if we give them space to run in behind things could get very bad for us very quickly. In that respect, I'd still like to see Jose Enrique continue to be deployed in an advanced position. In a team that struggles to find a cutting edge, I think it benefits us both going forward and having that extra cover at the back. Also, Michu was incredibly good at Anfield in the League cup and I'm sure Skrtel and Agger will be making sure he isn't quite as prominent this afternoon.
We have two difficult fixtures away from home - as they all are in the Premier League - with this game and Spurs on Wednesday night. The key is to not lose either of them but I firmly believe we can get four points from the two fixtures which would see us nicely placed ahead of an easier run into Christmas. A win today is the more likely of the two and would dramatically take the pressure off our midweek visit to White Hart Lane. As for today, we will look to put in a better account of ourselves than we did the last time we clashed with Swansea and if we get the chance, can hopefully gain a small measure of revenge for them knocking us out of the league cup.
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