Saturday 22th December 2012
Anfield
Anfield
Liverpool VS Fulham
Oh how do we need this today. For all that went wrong last week against Villa, things need to be put right today. Our profligacy in front of goal will not be solved overnight but there were a lot of other aspects of our play last week that we can improve on. At the very least, in terms of professional pride at there will be some kind of reaction and I'm hoping to see us bounce back properly. Having been pushed into a corner with the events of last week, we need to come out fighting.
The middle of the park will be under intense scrutiny today. It doesn't appear to matter what kind of midfield we come up against, they always seem to find it really rather easy to slice through ours. If ever there was a game to experiment with Steven Gerrard in an advanced role then this is it. Put Suso in at the front of the middle three with Henderson and Lucas in behind them and I think those changes could really help us. Certainly in terms of giving Joe Allen a much needed rest. I'm usually all in favour of trying to give players a chance to redeem themselves after a bad performance but today I'm looking for us to be proactive and try to answer the questions that our lacklustre midfield has been posing.
Someone whom I'm not exactly eager to be reunited with is Dimitar Berbatov. The sloth like forward may not be the most mobile but he's a proven goalscorer and certainly could cause us as many problems as Benteke did last week, albeit in a completely different way. The one relieving aspect of the way in which Fulham have set up this season, their midfield isn't as creative or dangerous as it has been in the past - the absence of Clint Dempsey is certainly a relief. If we're able to get a hold of the game, then hopefully we can cut out Berbatov's supply and in turn make the game a hell of a lot easier.
It sounds strange given just how far he had fallen in terms of favour earlier on in the season but we could really do with having Jose Enrique passed as fit today. His attacking movement and ability to cause the opposition problems is something we severe missed last week in addition to the fact that he and Suarez have developed something of a connection. In regard to Luis, he has cooled off in terms of scoring as of late and seeing as his performances and commitment still haven't dipped he'll be eager to get back to the businesses of putting the ball into the net. It would be nice if the burden wasn't squarely upon his shoulders but for the time being, especially after last week, we need our big players to shine.
Last year, this was one of those games in a -not so - glittering collection of disappointing home games. With last Saturday's loss putting us seemingly back to square one then we need a win to balance things out and start some kind of momentum over the Christmas period. Fulham are a good side with quality but really lacking in confidence at the minute. They'll be of the belief that they can come here today and get a result but if we impose ourself on the game and really command the game without even giving them a sniff then they won't be able to deal with it. It may only be the 22nd but three points today would be the perfect early Christmas present.
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