please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Hello and welcome to the official match thread for Monday’s Barclays Premier League encounter between Liverpool & West Bromwich Albion. The game is scheduled to take place at Anfield on Monday 11th of February 2013 with a kick-off time of 8PM. Sky Sports One will be showing the game (Build-up begins at 7.30PM) & BBC Radio Five Live will have the radio rights to the game. (Build-up begins at 7PM) Preview. Liverpool welcome West Bromwich Albion to Anfield in the ‘Monday Night Football.’ Both sides are close together in the table so a victory for either side will be important for their league positions. The home side, Liverpool currently sit 8th in the Barclays Premier League table with 36 points from 25 league games whilst the away side, West Bromwich Albion, sit in 9th position with 34 points from 25 games. There is no doubt which side goes into the game on the better form. Liverpool have lost just one game in their last six league games and have won three of those games. The two draws weren’t too bad as they came in away games against Arsenal & Manchester City. Liverpool played well in both of those games and had leads in the two games. However, they weren’t able to hold onto those leads and collected a point in both of those games. It was clearly disappointing to forfeit three points from a winning position but if you had offered Liverpool a point at the Emirates & the Etihad, most would have taken it. West Brom aren’t in any sort of form at all at the moment. After a great start from Steve Clarke in his first managerial position, they have dropped off somewhat and their last six league games have seen five defeats and one draw. That draw was a spirited comeback from 2-0 down to get a point in the derby with Aston Villa. An 83rd minute goal from Peter Odemwingie secured West Brom’s only point out of a possible 18. This is worrying for Steve Clarke and West Brom and they will be looking to secure a win at Anfield for the second season running. Last season, West Brom travelled to Liverpool at the back end of the season. Liverpool were in poor form in the league and West Brom capitalised on this by securing their first win at Anfield since 1967. It was especially sweet for the West Brom manager at the time, Roy Hodgson, who secured a victory at the club where he only lasted six months and 31 games before being sacked to be replaced by Kenny Dalglish. West Brom also beat Liverpool in the one league game that has already taken place. The two sides met at the Hawthorns on the first day of the season with both sides looking to get their league off to the best possible start. West Brom got their season off to the best possible start with a 3-0 victory. Goals from Zoltán Gera, Peter Odemwingie & Romelu Lukaku gave ‘The Baggies’ a victory over the 10 men of Liverpool and you could argue that this was the catalyst for West Brom’s exceptional start to the Premier League season. There has been one other meeting between the two sides this season. It was in the third round of the Capital One Cup and a brace from Nuri Sahin gave Liverpool a 2-1 victory and some revenge for the 3-0 defeat at the same ground in the league. The strike partnership of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez has been a crucial component for Liverpool and if Sturridge passes a fitness test, this will be important to Liverpool’s chances. The two have built up a strong partnership for Liverpool and their ability to work with each other and create the space which they use to devastating effect is a vital factor in Liverpool’s recent upsurge. Suarez has 22 goals in all competitions and Sturridge has 4 goals in six appearances since joining Liverpool from Chelsea for a fee rumoured to be around £12M. Since Sturridge made his debut in a 2-1 victory over Mansfield Town, Liverpool have scored 15 goals in six games and Suarez & Sturridge have scored eight of those goals. Impressive numbers for both strikers and both (If they play) will need to be watched by the West Brom. Another Liverpool player who will be important is Jordan Henderson. The midfielder has improved considerably in recent weeks and has cemented his position in the Liverpool midfield alongside Steven Gerrard & Lucas Leiva and is keeping Joe Allen out of the side. He has also added some goals to his game in recent games with the opening goal against Norwich City & the second goal in Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Arsenal. That is two goals in Liverpool’s last three games and his overall performances seem to suggest that he will stay in the side for the foreseeable future. One more Liverpool player that, like Henderson., has forced his way back into the side in recent weeks is Jamie Carragher. The centre-back announced his retirement on Thursday after 16 years at Anfield. Carragher is a legend amongst Liverpool fans and despite this now being his last season in professional football, Carragher showed that he can still produce performances as has been showed in Liverpool’s last two games against Arsenal & Manchester City. He has helped organise a Liverpool defence that didn’t look at its best this season and those two performances should see him stay in the side for today’s game. Onto West Brom now and much of the focus may be on Peter Odemwingie. The striker has been in the media a lot in the past week or so after an astonishing move to try and force a deadline-day move to Queens Park Rangers. The striker was seen on television giving an interview outside Loftus Road despite not having permission to speak to Q.P.R. Q.P.R didn’t speak to him in the end but his actions certainly weren’t what West Brom would expect of an employee… He has since been fined two week’s wages by West Brom and issued an apology. Steve Clarke had his say on the matter in his pre-match press conference: That indicates that Odemwingie could be involved tomorrow and his recent record against Liverpool (Two goals in his last two games) means that he will need to be watched carefully by the Liverpool defence. If we move away from Odemwingie, you can see that West Brom still have strength in attack. The partnership of Shane Long & Romelu Lukaku has been used regularly in recent weeks and both Long & Lukaku know where the net is. Both strikers have nine goals in all competitions this season but Lukaku has the superior record in the league. Long has six goals in the league so far this season whilst all of Lukaku’s goals have come in the Premier League. His strength and finishing abilities have been shown this season and if he starts to get the better of the Liverpool defence early in the game, Liverpool could be in for another disappointing game against West Brom. So, an important game for both sides. Can Liverpool get revenge for the 3-0 defeat on the opening day of the season? Or can West Brom secure a league double over Liverpool and their third win in four league games against the Merseyside club? You’ll find out the answers to these questions, and more, on the official match thread on the Not606 Liverpool board! Do join in. (That includes the guests that read this thread. Sign up and get involved!) Injury News. West Bromwich Albion. George Thorne: ACL Knee Injury. Zoltán Gera: ACL Knee Injury. Jerome Thomas: Illness. Liverpool. Martin Kelly: ACL Knee Injury. Daniel Sturridge: Thigh Injury.* Suspension News. Liverpool. No suspensions currently recorded. West Bromwich Albion. Goran Popov: Serves the first of a three-match suspension after being sent off against Tottenham Hotspur. *Indicates the player will have a late fitness test and could be available for Monday’s game. Liverpool 0 - 2 West Bromwich Albion Goalscorers: West Bromwich Albion... Gareth McAuley: 80th minute. West Bromwich Albion... Romelu Lukaku: 90th minute. Liverpool: Reina - Johnson Carragher Agger Enrique - Sterling Lucas Gerrard Coutinho - Suarez Borini SUBS: Jones Wisdom Skrtel Allen Shelvey Henderson Downing - Liverpool Substitution: Jonjo Shelvey comes off to be replaced by Fabio Borini. (59th minute) Liverpool Substitution: Jordan Henderson comes off to be replaced by Raheem Sterling. (59th minute) Liverpool Substitution: Stewart Downing comes off to be replaced by Philippe Coutinho. (78th minute) - West Bromwich Albion: Foster - Reid McAuley Olsson Ridgewell - Morrison Mulumbu Yacob Brunt - Fortune Lukaku SUBS: Myhill Jones Tamas Thomas Dorrans Long Rosenborg - West Bromwich Albion Substitution: Graham Dorrans comes off to be replaced by Romelu Lukaku. (73rd minute) West Bromwich Albion Substitution: Shane Long comes off to be replaced by Marc-Antoine Fortune. (85th minute) - YNWA.
1st? Yes it was either me or Bluff. Looking forward to this after the first game if the season I really hope we do a job on the baggies.
I've stopped thanking him I just expect this standard of match thread now. Only kidding it is appreciated. Never vote as I'm a jinx.
A potential banana skin this game. Having lost the last couple against them we need to take this one seriously. We know Clarke will have them well drilled and will also have a good deal of knowledge about our squad. With 3 games coming up in 6 days we could really do with trying to force the pace early get a goal and kill the game off so Buck can bring a couple of the big guns off. Easier said than done I know. If we can keep up the standards of recent weeks we'll have a great chance to take all 3 points so let's ****ing do this COYR
I demand and expect 3 points tonight. Nothing less will do after the scum all but cementing no: 20, the ****ing twats. What were citeh playing at. I've had bucket loads of stick all weekend and we haven't even played yet Did you enjoy Lincoln luv? Watched Django over the weekend and thought it was ****-hot. Didn't leave anything to the imagination
Looking forward to this game! Also looking forward to see whether Coutinho gets some time on the pitch, hopefully he'll impress if he gets the chance
I've plumped for the win for the first time in ages. I've always gone for the draw in polls. JINX! sturridge might well be out, an injury to the thigh should be two weeks not one so lets see.
I think we should be able to cope without Sturridge, I wonder if we'll see a bit more of Coutinho now? If not Rodgers could put Johnson LB and move Enricky forward
