please log in to view this image Sunday 8 March 2015 Anfield 16:00 BT Sport Rival Watch: Saturday 7 March Bradford v Reading (12:45 BT Sport) Aston Villa v West Brom (17:30 BBC1) Monday 9 March Man Utd v Arsenal (19:45 BBC1)
Blackburn Rovers won their first Championship away match for more than four months as they prepared for Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final at Liverpool with victory at Sheffield Wednesday. Jordan Rhodes capitalised on defensive hesitancy to open the scoring from close range, his 13th goal this season. Defender Adam Henley doubled the lead with a low shot. Wednesday's Chris Maguire pulled a goal back but Rovers held on. Blackburn still have an outside chance of making the play-offs but, 13 points off the top six, many will believe their season hinges on Sunday's trip to Anfield.
I know rhodes is a decent player but i can only see this lot coming to defend really. they can come and press all they like and if we gift them a goal they can make it hard for us. i would expect us to need to score against a packed defense then control the game. Really I hope we will get through without too much difficulty
wembley semi final is no biggie... theres no prize for winning a ****ing semi. The draw is a dolly... we cannot deny it so i am fairly sure we are seeing us all wondering more about the other major QF not ours.
I would say rest players, but we don't play for another week. They will be up for it, so we need to be on our game.
Some minutes for Sturridge to get his sharpness back Hopefully get a lead and rotate in Balotelli and others to spread the game time
Non-Premiership fan here in peace. Rooting for Liverpool in the FA Cup - the only team capable of stopping Man U from winning the thing! Also shamelessly plugging my FA Cup blog - click here to re-live the glories of Selhurst Park a few weeks ago.
Upbeat Rovers 'can upset Liverpool' Former Wales and Blackburn striker Nathan Blake believes Rovers are capable of beating Liverpool in Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final if they reproduce their performance in the 4-1 fifth round win over Stoke. "The way they beat Stoke, it's not like they got away with it, they took them to task, put them to bed," he told BBC Radio Lancashire. Blake scored the winner the last time Blackburn travelled to Anfield in the FA Cup in 1999-2000.
Play a strong team here. No resting players. Id start the same 11 that played against Burnley mid week. Have a whole week to recover so shouldn't be any problems there. IF we get 2 or 3 up then can start resting players.
please log in to view this image Gerrard to be assessed over the few days ahead of #FACup tie on Sunday.
Brendan Rodgers is still searching for his first trophy since becoming Liverpool manager in 2012 and ahead of the visit of Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday, feels his side are now ready to win silverware. "The first year here was about integration, second year objective was to get in the Champions League, this season I felt we had depth to challenge for trophies," says Rodgers. "If we can arrive in the top four and win a trophy that will be success for us this season."
Liverpool should not be one FA Cup win from Wembley according to manager Brendan Rodgers ahead of his side's FA Cup quarter-final with Blackburn Rovers. "In many ways I wish semi-finals weren't at Wembley as I think it takes something away from it," says Rodgers. "Wembley should be just for final." And the Reds boss gets animated when comparisons are drawn between departing captain Steven Gerrard and the man many expect to replace him in his role, Jordan Henderson. "There is no comparison," adds Rodgers. "People should stop trying to put pressure on a young player like Jordan. "Just because Jordan takes corners, doesn't mean he's the next Steven Gerrard. Just because he shoots from outside box, doesn't mean he's the next Steven Gerrard."
Take these guys lightly at your peril. They'll raise their game 20% as they did against Stoke. Of course we should put them to bed but if we have an off day, they're more than capable of beating us or at least taking us back to their joint for a replay. Early goal will change the game, so let's get one. I miss the days of last season when games were all but won within 20 minutes!!
True, but last season we were crying out for comfortable, routine 2-0 victories like we had against Burnley rather than hanging onto a 3-2 lead Agree that they'll be up for it and probably give us a game, but really, a win should be mandatory.
Bad news for Liverpool. Gerrard in full training and looks like he'll be fit for duty and you know Rodgers won't drop him for more in form players.
That's certainly not how I felt last season. Apart from a couple where we came unstuck, I felt confident that most games were put to bed by half-time, or that we could always dig out another goal if needed. The Burnley game is the only one this season where I felt we were cruising and playing well within ourselves. And even then there were people on here ripping us for not scoring more.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has warned Steven Gerrard there is no easy route back into his first-team plans. The Reds captain has missed the last six matches with a hamstring injury and, although he has returned to training this week, he will be assessed before a decision can be made on whether he is fit to face Blackburn in Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final. "There is no-one in the squad who has a God-given right to walk straight into the team," said Rodgers, whose team are unbeaten in the league this year. Meanwhile, defender Mamadou Sakho is edging closer to a return after four matches out with a hip problem.
