My stomach is in knots. It feels like butterflies the size of pterodactyls are flapping in my gut. Our match against West Ham was heart stopping. I had just witnessed a terribly poor refereeing/linesman decision in the Man City versusSouthampton match, where David Silva was a bus-width offside. Yet, somehow the flag was not raised. This was at the point in the match that the score was 1-1 and a few minutes away from half time. In my opinion, this goal handed the three points to Man City. So when I witnessed Andy Carroll punching Simon Mignolet in the head and the arm, causing him to drop the ball and leading to the West Ham equaliser and the referee allowing the goal to stand, I felt the bottom of my stomach fall away. Were we about to lose the league because of another shockingly poor officiating decision? Thankfully, the footballing Gods put right what these imperfect mortals got so wrong. And now, we welcome Man City to Anfield… So how do we beat them? This match is being touted as a league decider. I disagree. Because of how tight it is at the top of the table, Liverpool or Man City can win this match, but still go on to lose the league. However, winning this match would be a major step in the right direction for Liverpool. Should we win this match, we would move five points clear of Chelsea and seven points clear of City. This means, even if they were to win their remaining two games in hand, we would still be a point ahead of them. So although the match is huge, it is not truly the title decider. That being said, the confidence that we would gain from winning this match may be the sixth gear we need to see the league out. Brendan Rodgers proved against West Ham that he does not want to change his starting XI much, but is not afraid to adjust his system should the match require it. So I doubt if the starting XI from our West Ham match would change for the visit of Man City. Perhaps Daniel Agger returning in place of Mamadou Sakho, although I did not see any reason for the Frenchman to lose his place. Personally, I would like to see Lucas start in a deeper role. I was finally and truly converted into a Lucas fan three or four seasons back, when our Brazilian midfielder put the larger Ivorian Yaya Toure in his pocket. He completely dominated him and it was a beauty to watch. With Toure proving to be their biggest goal threat this season, I would like to see Lucas finding another place for him, in his pocket. Pellegrini says he will play attacking football, but I am not too sure of that. If he does though, it will be an exciting match. This match will be helter skelter. Add the 25th anniversary Hillsborough disaster to the equation, and I believe the omens are there for Liverpool’s return to pass glories. COME ON YOU REDS!!!! MAKE US DREAM. And our competitors… Chelsea travel to Swansea after producing a Houdini act in the Champions League. Hopefully, the crash from that high will come in a form of dropped points at the Liberty Stadium. The Swans have been inconsistent at home of late. Their manager is young and is still learning his trade. They lost at home to West Brom and drew with Crystal Palace - two teams they should have beat. However, Chelsea’s last two away matches ended in defeat toAston Villa and Crystal Palace. Both occurred in the same week that Chelsea had continental commitments. Hopefully, that trend will continue. Liverpool v Man City - Match Preview Kurt Ellis looks ahead to Sundays big game...
Posted on: Sat, 12 Apr 2014 12:15:09 +0000
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