Cardiff City v Liverpool....Fug Me, No Chance With Liverpool Lou?

My Old Pal Phil Thompson contacted me today, seriously concerned about our ability to snatch something from this game. He says the ‘pool will be elated but tired and could be there for the taking! He predicts 3-0 to us, but I suspect he’s pulling my enormous plonker with this one! That’s a shame as we have been good mates since childhood...likes a drink does Big Phil....or as they say up north, he likes a big fill!

Oh Liverpool Lou, luverly Liverpool Lou...

 

Old Big Nose , Carragher and co will be unbearable if the scousers win the PL.

At least its their club or more like franchise now.

Its the local plastics from S Wales ive no time for.Joke fans the lot of them.

We will probably get smashed but at least we back a local side. Theyve no idea what being a real fan is.

It would be brilliant for us to get the points but doubly pleasing to ruin their title hopes.

 

It's just about exclusively Liverpool "fans" where I live. I don't think many have been there though.

So, big game for me, oh and for Cardiff City.

Hope the ref will be keeping an eye out for some of the theatricals we might expect. Let's do what we did against Chelsea and see what happens.

 

Your house insurance must be pretty steep being surrounded by scousers clingo.

 

Not really Hilts, but theirs is!

 

Liverpool will get away with every little decision.

Yes we will in all probability lose. It’s just so important Wolves beat Brighton on Saturday.

Still struggling to work out how they won at Palace recently.

There are some twists to come for sure

 

I know we’re in a relegation fight, but still,...backing you lot to get something against Liverpool. They'll be thinking you’re an easy 3 points. You’ll need a bit of luck (and boy you’re due some), and you’ll need the ref to not give Liverpool penalties for falling over their own laces like they have been all season. But stay tight, organised and frustrate and anything is possible.

 

Your safe.

I think fans of all clubs bar swansea brighton and the wurzels will be hoping for a upset.

# stopthescousers.

Im switching the TV off for a few months if they win the PL. Dealing with the plastics by me will be the hard part.

 

Manager Neil Warnock hopes his Cardiff side avoid a "battering" as they aim to boost their Premier League survival hopes against title-chasing Liverpool.

Cardiff, who are 18th and two points adrift of safety, have lost all 10 of their matches against top-six sides this season, conceding 31 goals.

On Sunday, they host a Reds side who go into the weekend top of the league and on an eight-match winning run.

"I'd hate to concede five like we have done," said Warnock.

"I don't like my teams losing concentration like that.

"But when you look at the quality some of these teams have, they could've scored more on the day.

"We've just got to try and give a good account of ourselves for the fans that are going because it's a sell-out - and it probably could've sold out twice more.

"It's going to be a great day. I don't want it to be a lovely occasion but we still get battered.

Warnock and his Cardiff players are used to confounding expectations, having defied the odds to win automatic promotion from the Championship last season.

The Bluebirds were widely tipped for an instant return to the second tier but, following Tuesday's win at relegation rivals Brighton, they have revived their hopes of surviving.

The result at the Amex Stadium left them two points behind 17th-placed Brighton, though the Seagulls have a game in hand.

Before that victory, Cardiff's relegation chances were rated at 94%.That has now been reduced to 83%, though Warnock is relishing another opportunity to prove others wrong.

"We've still got a massive job to do," he added. "You'd still want to be in Brighton's shoes.

"We're just glad that with four games to go we're still surprising people. I like it when we surprise people."

The odds will be stacked against Cardiff again when they face Liverpool on Sunday.

The last time the Bluebirds beat the Reds was 1959, as the legendary Bill Shankly's first game in charge of Liverpool ended in a 4-0 defeat.

"Was it really? Wow. What a man. My favourite manager of all time," said Warnock.

But the 70-year-old added: "The last time I beat Liverpool was at Crystal Palace a few years ago [in 2014]. It depends on which one you look at."

 

That’s more than 36 hours away; all eyes and ears will be thinking of events at Molineux tomorrow

 

Cardiff City midfielder Harry Arter has been ruled out with the calf strain he sustained last weekend while running off the pitch to be substituted.

Aron Gunnarsson faces a late check on a back spasm, with Leandro Bacuna on standby to replace him.

Liverpool came through their midweek win at Porto without any new injuries, although Joey Jones’s place may be in doubt!

Dejan Lovren should be fit after illness while Joe Gomez could start after making his return from a broken leg as a substitute in midweek.

Both sides enjoyed tremendous away days in midweek. Cardiff could afford nothing less than a win at Brighton on Tuesday, and duly delivered. If the Bluebirds stay up, that will be the result they look back on as the key to their escape.

Liverpool's victory in Porto on Wednesday put the seal on their place in the Champions League last four - and extended their winning run in all competitions to eight.

I'm sure that Cardiff will approach this game thinking that a backs-to-the-wall display might just result in an unexpected point, but Liverpool's front three are all in such good shape that it's not a likely outcome.

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock: "We just want to give a good performance and not get a battering really.

"If we freeze and make a mistake early on, we may as well go home. They will just pick you off. That's what you get with quality players."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp: "These are all massive games. None of them are won before we start.

"Everybody thinks a lot about Barcelona but before Barcelona it's Cardiff and Huddersfield, and it's exactly the same importance to us as the other games."

Cardiff will be competitive, especially at home, but at the moment Liverpool just seem to be able deal with whoever they are up against.

Prediction: 3-2



Head-to-head

• Cardiff have lost their three Premier League meetings with Liverpool, conceding 13 goals.
• Liverpool have won the last five encounters in all competitions, including a penalty shootout victory in the 2012 League Cup final.
• It is 60 years since the Bluebirds last beat Liverpool - a 4-0 Division Two triumph at Anfield in December 1959 in Bill Shankly's first match as manager of the Reds.

Cardiff City

• Cardiff have only won two of their past eight home league games (D1, L5).
• The Bluebirds have lost 18 successive Premier League matches against the current top-six sides.
• They have conceded a Premier League-high 33 home goals this season.
• Three of Victor Camarasa's five league goals this season have come against established top-six opposition.
• With two goals and two assists, Camarasa has been directly involved in four of Cardiff's last seven league goals.

Liverpool

• Liverpool could win nine consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since April 2014.
• They are one point shy of equalling their club record Premier League tally of 86 from the 2008-09 season.
• Liverpool have won their last nine league matches against newly-promoted sides, scoring 27 goals and conceding three.
• They have taken 49 points from a possible 51 against teams in the bottom half of the table (W16, D1).
• Mohamed Salah is one goal shy of becoming the third Liverpool player to score 20 in consecutive Premier League seasons, emulating Robbie Fowler and Luis Suarez.
• Sadio Mane has scored 10 goals in his last 12 league appearances.

 

Good luck tomorrow lads

 

Thanks but no chance.

 

Yeah it's a huge ask but you never know and stranger things have happened.

A point will do

 

So far so good. A couple of scares but defending well, Manga especially.

Ref giving us sod all. No change there.

Biggest shock Niasse had a shot on target which the keeper had to save.

A big ask but I would be very happy with 0.0 at full time.

 

That ref was a disgrace all game.

Yes I accept Liverpool were dominant but that joke of a penalty for a blatant Tom Daley killed off any chance of a point.

As much as I want to stay in the PL given the superb atmosphere today, as some fans were chanting today about how s... this league is with the biased officials, I won’t be that disappointed to go back to to the screwball madness of the championship

 

The only dissappointment for me going back to the Championship would be that we could have given ourselves a better chance of staying up no matter how unequal the reffing standards are. Last August we set off on this challenge with a team of grit and character but without the skills necessary to win sufficient points off other clubs of our stature - forget these elite half dozen clubs who dominate.

That was a problem of our own making and the bias, and yes we must use that word "bias" the officials who control the game up here doesn't help. We should have been able to compete on a similar level to anyone in the the bottom half of the division and some in the curent top half as well. Don't know why it didn't happen last summer, but despite the odd success, we've suffered unecessarily ever since through errors of judgement back then.

 

Yes OS concur and it’s so frustrating looking back on such poor displays in certain games which will likely cost us in the end.

0 points v Burnley and 2 v Huddersfield yet 6 against both Southampton and Brighton.

Take away the 16 games v top 6 and Watford & Everton and there aren’t that many games left to secure sufficient points.

 

The refereeing in this league is an utter disgrace.

What i would say is the bias is towards the big clubs so all clubs in the relegation fight have the same problem.

There aee 14 football clubs and 6 franchises.

Its time for a European Super League.