Pre Match - Liverpool v Chelsea - Sat 25th Nov 5.30pm

With the fall out from Tuesdays game still lingering around the forum I thought it best that I start my first match thread of the season and blow the cobwebs away and move on.

I'm surprised Chelsea didn't insist on a Sunday fixture with it being only three days after their CL game compared to our four days.

Will that make a difference to Conte and his team selection? probably not.
Thing is, what selection will Jürgen go with for this one?
Does he stick with Moreno at left back or will he put Robertson back in the frame?
Mignolet for Karius?
Will Lallana play his first game this season? if so who pays the price?
Will Matip be fit and replace Lovren?

Our front three have been on fire and I'm pretty certain Mo Salah will have a point to prove to his previous employer.

We've been blessed with some fine performances against sh*te teams lately, namely West ham, Southampton, Huddesfield but this one is going to be completely different.
Chelsea are beatable, we know that but they will pose a problem for us, the like of which we haven't had since the Spurs game.
The thought of Lovren trying to keep tabs on Morata and Moreno tackling Hazard gives me palpatations.

My head says this has got a 0-0 written all over it.
My heart see's Mo Salah scoring the winner in a very tight 1-0 victory.

At home we need to win this, considering:

1) We have (almost) all on board,
2) We have something to prove (Sevilla!)
3) We look sharper overall than 4 weeks ago, at least offensively.
4) They had a day less to prepare and have to travel.
5) This is not Chelsea of last season, they are still very good but not supergood anymore.

1-0 or 2-1.

 Well Stringer, your bang on with that assessment. Who will Klopp select, and how will they perform. Wish I knew before i enter my prediction, but as its Liverpool, performance is anyones guess, and as its Klopp, so is the selection.
I'm all for giving Robertson a run of games, think Lallana will come off the bench for Hendo, who I expect will start, and i'm praying Matip is fit for this one. If not, why can't TAA start at RB and Gomez go in the middle with Klaven. Also, can't see why Karius isn't given a run of games. It's clear he commands his box better than Migs, and is quicker off his line. His distribution is clearly a step up as well.
Think Millie should get a start in the middle, in stead of the lumbering Can. Not sure he fully committed now. Seems to be going through the motions and just avoiding injury.
If only I was the manager.....
Still think we're capable of a 2-0 win if we get it right on the day, and just as susceptible to a 4 - 0 bashing.

Looks like Matip will be ok for this, TAA will probably come in for Gomez and hopefully Robertson gets a game.

I have a feeling Lallana might start, Can should play the 6 role but no way Klopp will drop Henderson so I imagine it's between Coutinho and Gini for that final midfield slot.

Front 3 pick themselves.

Would like to see Robertson get this test. Willian will run rings around Alberto, he's one of the most underrated players in the league.

Expect to see Milner at LB IMO. Robertson can't get a game to save his life.

If you look at the way Chelsea will probably line up.. and i say probably only because this was the team that put three past West Brom by half time and put Tony Pulis in the bin ;

Courtois ; Christensen, Cahill, Azpilicueta ; Zappacosta , Kante , Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso ; Hazard, Morata.

Subs: Drinkwater , Pedro , Willian .

We have plenty in our locker to beat this lot man for man, it's stopping Hazard and Morata that we have to get a grip of.
Whoever plays right back, Gomez or TAA, they have to be aware of Alonso and stop him playing his game.
Hazard is such a difficult player to man mark and he's a very clever little player sh*t who will go down at the slightest touch so the likes of Emre Can,Milner and Henderson need to win the ball if they challenge him otherwise they'll be carrying a yellow for the rest of the game which is not good.

Saying all that..Bobby, Mo and Mane just need to just attack them from the kick off..they're all capable of scoring a goal each on Saturday without a doubt..
For me the game will be won in midfield and it's in games like this that Coutinho and Lallana can show their worth.

You never know.. we could be 3-0 up at half time ! then what ?

Either way we are playing the current Premier League champions.. a scalp we need right now.

This is gonna be tough. Bunch of cu*ts!

Struggled to remember the last time we beat these racist wankers at Anfield in the league. Done them a few times at that sh*t hole of a home in recent years. Think it might have been 7 years ago under Hodgson when Torres did a smash and grab over them. Before then I'm thinking back to that 2009 fixture when Lampard got red and a couple of years before that when Pennant smashed one in from outside the box. I seriously think that since the millennium we can count on one hand the number of times we've beaten the Chavs at Anfield. Need to start putting these bas**rds to the sword at home starting on Saturday. Won't accept anything less...especially after Tuesday night.

If fit, Matip to play with TAA (pace needed against Hazard) and Karius in defence.

Coutinho in midfield.

Bob, Mane and Salah up top.

The rest...who really cares. It's like flipping a coin whether they're gonna perform or not.

Just win

Salah looked a little jaded against Sevilla... maybe an appearance from the bench to kill his previous team?

                Karius
    Gomez Matip Klavan
Oxlade    Hendo    Moreno
        Lallana   Couts
                Mane
              Firmino

It’s 5am so sorry for the strange team, just looking at different ways... you can always drop Moreno back then to make a back four with Gomez at RB, pushing Ox into midfield and replacing Lallana with Salah on 60... having the last 30 at our usual 4-3-3, Can for Couts and Studge for Firmino at whatever time... maybe better left for Fifa though 

If we can play with the same skill and energy as we did in the first half at Seville we can thrash Chelsea.No surrender and definitely NO MORENO.

If we can play with the same skill and energy as we did in the first half at Seville we can thrash Chelsea.No surrender and definitely NO MORENO.

First half v Sevilla no thanks we had no control which carried on into the second half and we're lucky they missed some absolute sitters.

First half v Sevilla no thanks we had no control which carried on into the second half and we're lucky they missed some absolute sitters.

I would take 3-0 to us at half time any day.How many times have you read on the forum it doesn't matter how we win just win and get the 3 points.

does roberton have to prove that he is prone to catastrophic mistakes every 30 minutes to get a game here?

I fancy us strongly in this one.

Bound to be a tough game, the Reds always make things more difficult for themselves, against decent opposition. Although maybe a 1 0 win for us tomorrow.

If we let Fabregas dictate like how we let Banega do so, we're fu**ed.

It's gunna be edge of the seat stuff me thinks.  3-2.  Chavs will come with a win attitude which will hopefully leave space for our quick counters.

can't wait CMON you redmen!!!

Stick it to those chavy rent boys,,,

Me .......  I'd cause a bit of mischief.

Mo ... yes he could turn the afterburners on over his previous employers .... but if he does tire as has been mentioned I'd pat Solanke on the head and turn him loose. Or just play Dom anyway.

Two ex Chavs. Tee Hee.




Ah what fun !

does roberton have to prove that he is prone to catastrophic mistakes every 30 minutes to get a game here?

Quite clearly TC thought we need a new LB and Klopp thought he could polish a turd

Me .......  I'd cause a bit of mischief.

Mo ... yes he could turn the afterburners on over his previous employers .... but if he does tire as has been mentioned I'd pat Solanke on the head and turn him loose. Or just play Dom anyway.

Two ex Chavs. Tee Hee.




Ah what fun !

Oooh.

Are you sat twiddling your moustash as you write that?

Right up there with the key players from the beano you  🙄

Oooh.

Are you sat twiddling your moustash as you write that?

Right up there with the key players from the beano you  🙄

Say what ?

You on meds or what ?

Let's hope we actually play for most of the 90 minutes tomorrow instead of only half a game.

Reminds me of an interview the legendary Barry Fry gave after a game with his beloved Peterborough.
He said we played like Juventus in the first half, and Fray Bentus in the second half.

Think we will just nick this one.

Well Stringer, your bang on with that assessment. Who will Klopp select, and how will they perform. Wish I knew before i enter my prediction, but as its Liverpool, performance is anyones guess, and as its Klopp, so is the selection.
I'm all for giving Robertson a run of games, think Lallana will come off the bench for Hendo, who I expect will start, and i'm praying Matip is fit for this one. If not, why can't TAA start at RB and Gomez go in the middle with Klaven. Also, can't see why Karius isn't given a run of games. It's clear he commands his box better than Migs, and is quicker off his line. His distribution is clearly a step up as well.
Think Millie should get a start in the middle, in stead of the lumbering Can. Not sure he fully committed now. Seems to be going through the motions and just avoiding injury.
If only I was the manager.....
Still think we're capable of a 2-0 win if we get it right on the day, and just as susceptible to a 4 - 0 bashing.

IMHO Henderson needs benching but if Can is injured than the only other option is Milner in place of Henderson. But, we know Klopp will play the same as the last PL match. Unless, he drops players, how are they going to improve and others get a chance. I really don't understand what has happened to Gruijic and why is Robertson frozen out!

At home I would play Gini, while away I would play AOC.

Hard to say a game between two of the top six in the first half of the season is a must win but this really is a chance for us to show we're back on form domestically after a shaky start and a good chance to show our recent improvement wasn't just because we played a bunch of sh*te teams.

Wonder if Lallana might come straight in for a start here after a solid week of training? Difficult to say who'd drop out though, don't think a game against Chelsea is the type to be playing both Lallana and Coutinho in the middle.

If we let Fabregas dictate like how we let Banega do so, we're fu**ed.

Chances is we will. Knowing how hard working is our midfield that got steamrolled time and again and often found strolling instead of putting in the tackles.

IMHO Henderson needs benching but if Can is injured than the only other option is Milner in place of Henderson. But, we know Klopp will play the same as the last PL match. Unless, he drops players, how are they going to improve and others get a chance. I really don't understand what has happened to Gruijic and why is Robertson frozen out!

At home I would play Gini, while away I would play AOC.

Why bother to buy Robertson in the first place and not use him but the calamitous Moreno continues to occupy the spot. Can Robertson any workse than Moreno??? When a player continuously not knowing where the ball is in a melee near our goal that led to important goals conceded time and again, it only means one thing, the player is simply not good enough for this club and Klopp has simply overstretching his man management and over accommodating such permanent weaknesses that may eventually lead to his own downfall. World class managers wouldn't have tolerated that and I'm growing frustrated with Klopp.

Sounds like Can is out for this match, but Matip is back in. While I'd like to see Robertson, I"m guessing Klopp plans to use him and a few others (Ox, Milner, Sturridge) in one or both of the next two matches vs. Stoke City and Brighton. So probably:

Mignolet
Gomez, Matip, Klavan, Moreno
Henderson
Wijnaldum, Coutinho
Mane, Firmino, Salah
Subs: Karius, Lovren, TAA, Milner, Ox, Sturridge, Solanke

And despite Seville, I do like our chances to get three points. Come on boys!

On the Kop for this match and we are going to batter these plastic waving southern chavs big time 

I can imagine the crowd will be well up for this and hopefully they'll collaspe with the baying crowd on top of the players and they'll freeze with terror 

Get that defence sorted Jürgen and our front lads will kill these 

Hard to know what to expect from us at the minute. We could win 5-0 or lose 5-0.

Sadly I think Moreno will start, because Robertson probably hasn't had enough game time to get thrown in against Hazard, Willian and co. Milner is a possibility, but Jürgen is stubborn ( and Milner is looking a bit slow these days) so I think Alberto will start. Basically I think the team will be the same [edit:apart from Karius] as against Seville ( unless Matip comes back).

Like I say, I really don't know what to predict. We have the ability going forward to do them some damage, but I am worried that these games we throw away are eventually going erode our self belief to the point were we become just too fragile to deal with pressure. So far Jürgen has done a good job of keeping our chins up despite quite a few setbacks, but it will get harder to keep doing that.

I'm going to go 3-2 to us, but it could be a roller-coaster. We really need the win.

We are at home and conceded once in the league all season (from what I've been told) so I'm pretty confident. Of course we are playing the champions and I do expect them to score.

Going for 1-1 or 2-1 to us

I must admit I'm a bit worried for this one.

Last couple of Seasons we have been so strong against the rest of the "Top Teams"...this season we have lost 0-5**** and 1-4 to them.

I don't give a F**k if we win 1-0 with the ball going in off someone's arse. just beat these cu*ts, PLEASE!!!

Hope with it being a late kick off they travel up on the day. Not sure exactly how it all works but you know, the small details!

We're good enough to beat them. Let's hope our decent defending at Anfield continues.

Beat this lot tomorrow and all of a sudden we are up there in the top four.
Conte won't be looking forward to this and so he shouldn't, he hates playing us!

No F***ing about with these boys, win the ball and get it forward, put that donkey Cahill on his arse and
boomtown that pr**k Luiz.

We always play ace down at their place, just hope we can turn them over at Anfield for a change.

We're unbeaten against them in the last 5 and we have a good record at home.

A red win here all day.

 Feeling confident for this one. Form at Anfield has been excellent and we've got our mojo. SCL as an attacking side again. 2-1 to the reds with Salah and Firmino on the score sheet.

                      Mignolet
   Gomez   Matip Klavan   Moreno
         Wijnaldom  Henderson
                     Coutinho
         Salah                    Mane
                     Firmino

Playing a ...4-2-1-2-1...

My pick to beat the rent boys, and petty close i reckon to what Klopp will go for ....
...the bench....
...Karius, Trent, Lovren, Can, Ox, Lallana, Sturridge.

This will give us a indication of where were at domestically, win and we're back in amongst it , lose then imo we'll struggle to get into the top 4,
We're approaching a pivotal time in the season so we really need to be showing our teeth and getting in and around the top spots, sitting 6th or 7th is not going to cut it for me at this stage,

Really need to win today and i think we will, we generally do well against better oppo's Citeh aside, so see no reason we can't carry on,

Given we've had a extra day to recover and Chavs late and dodgy flight back I'd give us the edge, won't be good for your heart this one but i see us doing them in a hard fought battle..

2-1 Mighty Redmen

YNWA

I hope that they give me plenty of joy for my Birthday but I'm not confident with our defense. We will score but we will concede also

Come on Klopp, put Gomez in the centre.

According to those wonderful itk's on twitter today's team could be:
           Miga
Gomez. Matip. Lovren. Moreno
          Hendo.  Milner
Salah.     Couts.      Ox
            Studge

We will no doubt find out at 4.30

I hope that they give me plenty of joy for my Birthday but I'm not confident with our defense. We will score but we will concede also

Come on Klopp, put Gomez in the centre.

Many Happy Returns Clint, but if I'm honest the only Return i want to celebrate is a Red's victory..

..but have a great day anyways...
Happy Birthday  mate 😁

YNWA

Many Happy Returns Clint, but if I'm honest the only Return i want to celebrate is a Red's victory..

..but have a great day anyways...
Happy Birthday  mate 😁

YNWA

Thanks, would be a great present if we win!

and it's off to the match I go....I love to see the lasses with the red scarfs on, I love to hear the Kopites roar 

Have a great day everyone, got me thermals on today  come on you mighty redmen !!

and it's off to the match I go....I love to see the lasses with the red scarfs on, I love to hear the Kopites roar 

Have a great day everyone, got me thermals on today  come on you mighty redmen !!

Have fun MsG........to paraphrase The Kaiser Chiefs.....”I predict a red rout”

 

I think it'll either be a stalemate or a plethora of goals for either side. I've gone for us winning 3-2.

Let's hope the Anfield crowd are up for it. I'll be there to roar my head off but the whole ground needs to be rocking for this one after that calamitous second half the other night..

This is a big un. We have to regain last season's form against the big teams and no better place to start than against these hateful hoors.

I think width (and the wide areas) is the key today. Get beyond the three by playing wide and have them uncomfortable by defending facing their own goal.

Mon t'F**k Redmen.

and it's off to the match I go....I love to see the lasses with the red scarfs on, I love to hear the Kopites roar 
Have a great day everyone, got me thermals on today  come on you mighty redmen !!

Off you go Madame,  please bring us a WIN

 

and it's off to the match I go....I love to see the lasses with the red scarfs on, I love to hear the Kopites roar 

Have a great day everyone, got me thermals on today  come on you mighty redmen !!

Love that song Ms G, its the first song i taught my lad, followed by ynwa and then the Torres song , he still sings it whenever I see him and we're playing , he then told all his little mates in school and one or two became little Reds as a result, makes me smile every time i think about it 😁

YNWA

Playing Chelsea always makes me long for that era in the late 2000’s where we had Stevie and Carra in their prime and this huge intensity around every game.

Anyway, enough nostalgia! Fancy us to win this 4-2 and it’ll be an absolutely bonkers game imo. Come on reds!!

According to those wonderful itk's on twitter today's team could be:
           Miga
Gomez. Matip. Lovren. Moreno
          Hendo.  Milner
Salah.     Couts.      Ox
            Studge

We will no doubt find out at 4.30

Bizarre!

Won't see the match. Goddammit. But will be checking tinternet for the latest score.
Not gonna jinx it by saying we'll win. So going for a Chavs win!! Reverse psychology 'n all ...

Anyone watching the cringefest from nyc on nbcsn,holy crap america.

Is it just me or is this place deader than as midweek game at Rochdale?(No offence).

Can’t see us getting a result, hope I’m wrong