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Premier League
Wednesday 26th December 2012
Britannia Stadium
Stoke VS Liverpool
Even after Lionel Messi broke Gerd Muller's record of goals in a calendar year, there are still questions that remain. Maybe we'll never know if he really has what it takes but for this Liverpool side tonight, we'll see just how prepared they are for what could very well be the stuff of legend. It is the ultimate challenge, far greater than any Champions League game and more esteemed than winning the world cup. Winning away at Stoke on a cold Wednesday evening.
Boxing day fixtures are something that still warms my ever increasingly cynical heart. Perhaps as I'm getting a little too old to be enjoying Christmas the way I used to, this has become the tradition that I look forward too the most. A win seems to underline the good feeling that comes around with the festive period - like the last present being delivered - and can potentially give way to some momentum as we go into the new year. This fixture however represents a real lump of coal in my stocking. I just hope we can get out of there with the three points as comfortably as possible. Joy to all men? Not if they've ever seen Stoke play.
Hyperbole aside, this is one of the most difficult away games we have left, quite possibly the hardest if you take out the two Manchester Clubs. Stoke have conceded only three goals at the Britannia this season which is frightening. Luis Suarez has a decent record against them in recent years having scored both home and away last year (in the FA and League Cup respectively) as well as scoring against them on his Anfield debut. If we're going to get anything out of this game tonight he really has to be at his best. We're not likely to create a massive amount of chances given their sturdy defence so if we're ever going to become clinical, today would have to be it.
What with it being a televised evening kick off there will be a real occasion for the home fans to rally around. They seem to relish playing against - and indeed stifling - us in recent seasons, with our first victory at this ground in the Premier League still to be registered. It doesn't seem to matter how well we play here either, for we've been terrible and gotten what we deserved but last year we were pretty good and got stung by a really soft penalty. The crowd will no doubt be loud and in the ear of the referee as you would expect of a partisan, passionate home support. That does leave us a problem in terms of the physicality we're likely to come up against. Huth, Shawcross and co will likely be as ruthless as ever with our front players but if we get sucked into it then Agger and Skrtel will no doubt be punished. Howard Webb will have his hands full and I'm more than a little sceptical as to how well he'll be able to cope.
Were it not for the result against Aston Villa, this would be the one in which it would be almost forgiven for dropping points. We'd take a hard earned draw and coming away with anything - limbs intact - would be an achievement. A win however would virtually undo a lot of the bad work we did at Anfield eleven days ago and would certainly give us a boost ahead of the coming new year. I always come into these games with a grudging respect for Pulis and end them with a horrible, disgusting after-taste. The manager - as much as I respect what he and Stoke have "accomplished" over the years - is something of a hypocrite and it would be so wonderful to see him and his players/cavemen beaten. A belated Christmas miracle.
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