Derby County vs. Liverpool FC (Boxing Day)

After a truly magnificent win in a game many expected to be close, we should get a routine 3 points at Derby.

Despite the new manager, I don't think it will make any difference to them.

After all we generally get the better of Paul Jewell.

I think we should run out routine 4-0 winners.

I wasn't able to watch the game today due to some hectic late christmas shopping was using my new fone 2 keep up wiv all the goins on in the match via the internet though hehe. Sounds like we played well can't wait for Match of the day tonight.

I think we should start Alonso against derby after his two goals against them last time he will play against them with confidence as will everyone else who managed to score against them last time. Babel should also start that match as he will be up for trying some tricks against them. A big bonus is that they didn't play against Gerrard last time and we manager six so hopefully Stevie will have a few attempts and they wont really know exactly what to expect from him.

Although I never like to underestimate opponents I fancy a 5-0 maybe even a few more. Torres hattrick maybe, surely he is high on confidence right now and will be confident playing against them after putting two past them last time.

I think the team we put out mid-week against Chelsea should be able to turn Derby over.

HOWEVER - it's pretty simple for me - as it is for every Premiership game.  Put out the strongest XI (Although I do have some sympathy with the people who might suggest that we let Torres and Gerrard have a few bevvies on Christmas Day and give them the day off).

Plenty of time for that when they retire in their 30s!

I think the team we put out mid-week against Chelsea should be able to turn Derby over.

HOWEVER - it's pretty simple for me - as it is for every Premiership game.  Put out the strongest XI

Completely 100% agree, should not underestimate the lower teams. Look what happened when Chelsea went to Derby, if it weren't for a dodgy offside the score would have been 1-1 so they should never be written off.

I think the team we put out mid-week against Chelsea should be able to turn Derby over.

HOWEVER - it's pretty simple for me - as it is for every Premiership game.  Put out the strongest XI (Although I do have some sympathy with the people who might suggest that we let Torres and Gerrard have a few bevvies on Christmas Day and give them the day off).

Plenty of time for that when they retire in their 30s!

I do agree with you but I have to say we should show more respect against them, we have already been turned over by Reading in a game we really should have won. So I would possibly argue that we shouldnt take this game so lightly, maybe start torres and Gerrard then after the 8th goal 5 mins before half time we could rest both of them.

I do agree with you but I have to say we should show more respect against them, we have already been turned over by Reading in a game we really should have won. So I would possibly argue that we shouldnt take this game so lightly, maybe start torres and Gerrard then after the 8th goal 5 mins before half time we could rest both of them.

 

There is always that slim chance where Derby may be able to give us a fight, so we best not underestimate them. Put Stevie and Torres in for the first half and them make adjustments at half time. Maybe we could get Lucas his first goal.

after the 8th goal 5 mins before half time we could rest both of them.

You've changed, man.  Such a negative vibe. 

10 minutes before half time.

Ah I can't wait for this match, I reckon three goals in each half, 5 one to us!

It's a good chance for Torres to get even higher up on the goal rankings

i'd go with the same line up as today except play babel on the right wing in place of benayoun and play alonso instead of mascherano as it will be the perfect game for him to get back to first team match standard. another 6-0 and torres to get 4

Wait a minute don't underestimate Derby they can get a lucky goal and close shop and we have problem in  breaking down tight defence. Rafa should select the best XI and score as many goals as 1st, 2nd 3rd or 4th spot may be decided by goal difference.

Wait a minute don't underestimate Derby they can get a lucky goal and close shop and we have problem in  breaking down tight defence. Rafa should select the best XI and score as many goals as 1st, 2nd 3rd or 4th spot may be decided by goal difference.

I agree hit Derby hard from the start and knock them for six again.Winning is good for RAFA,good for the team and most of all it is brilliant for us RED supporters,Lets hope we have a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

My team would be:

Giving Masch, Harry K and Sami H a well deserved rest.

If we are in a comfortable position would take FT, SG for EZ and LL respectively with about 30 mins.

         PR

AA  JC   JH   FA

YB  SG  XA   RB

      DK  FT

We should be able to win this one comfortably id say another 4-0 with Torres getting another couple.

Should be a formality this game, let's not make it any harder than it should be!

Put out a decent side, and grab a big scoreline! We need to be bullying the smaller teams for points, and extra goals for the end of the season!

Come on redmen! Give us an extra Crimbo present! Three points and a two figure scoreline!

Newcastle 2-2 Derby, dun judge them(Derby) too easy since managed by PJ.Under PJ they were absolutely cracker.But,the right selection for first XI will knock them easy.By the way,i suggest Babel to play up front alongside Torres,would it be powerful???yes i do think so

My team would be:

Giving Masch, Harry K and Sami H a well deserved rest.

If we are in a comfortable position would take FT, SG for EZ and LL respectively with about 30 mins.

         PR

AA  JC   JH   FA

YB  SG  XA   RB

      DK  FT

lmao,better test Agger's fitness than playing Jack Hobbs coz Agger should be in first Xi against anyteam.Btw, Babel its absolutely brilliant and likely to score on boxing day or assist torres to  score hat-trick

Derby did well today againsy newcastle and are showing signs of improvment so I think all the talk of 5 and 6 nil wins are a little over the top, although it would be a nice boost to the goal difference.

Agreed Dan. One thing that's really annoying is when you see complacency in the players. Even though Derby haven't set the league on fire this season  they are showing signs of improvement. Whether that's down to trying to impress their new manager or if he's actually getting them to play with a lot more determination, we shouldn't be taking them lightly.

Let's go out there and be professional. Get the game won in the first half and then hopefully we can finish the game with a good few goals and take one or two important players off in preparation for the clash against City.

Giles Barnes scored a good goal today and played pretty well, as did Kenny Miller. Although not wolrd beaters, they do have the ability to cause problems if we lose concentration.

Having said that, we should really be beating them by a few goals at least.

Agree we shouldn't loose concentration. Don't think we will but we really should be careful

The most Derby can get out of us will probably be a draw. But againest a team who is on the bottom of the standings why should we drop points, our players need to be careful about Derby it is a must win. We have to start our usual best XI, because if we can get the ball to Torres he will score, Derby's defense is the worst in the Premier League and we need to take advantage of that. I don't think it will be a another 6-0 i'm gonna say 4-1 to Liverpool, due to Kenny Miller in their squad.

I've watched the game over tele and Derby is by no means inferior and Newcastle was lucky to get away with a point while Derby was denied a clear penalty towards the end of the game. Derby attacked furiously as if their dear life depended on it, and I expect them to do the same against us, more so playing as the home team while their defence was at sixes and sevens at times. Liverpool midfield must pin them back at the half way line as much as possible and apply pressure to their defence, that's how I see the game could be won.

We shouldn't underestimate Derby no, but they are rubbish. No excuses for not beating them.

I am NOT loving the first sentence in this preview from today's Independent...

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is likely to shuffle his side for the trip to Derby with a tough trip to fourth-placed Manchester City - who have a fine home record - next Sunday.

Benitez has already made 223 alterations to his Liverpool side this season, on a match-to-match basis, while he has also used 77 substitutions, making it a remarkable 300 changes in player personal in 28 matches so far.

At Derby, Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin, Fabio Aurelio and Lucas are all in the running for a starting place.

Jack Hobbs could also get another run-out in defence while Xabi Alonso could also continue his comeback from injury.

Provisional squad: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hobbs, Hyypia, Riise, Aurelio, Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Kewell, Babel, Lucas, Sissoko, Crouch, Kuyt, Torres, Voronin, Itandje.

I am NOT loving the first sentence in this preview from today's Independent...

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is likely to shuffle his side for the trip to Derby with a tough trip to fourth-placed Manchester City - who have a fine home record - next Sunday.

Benitez has already made 223 alterations to his Liverpool side this season, on a match-to-match basis, while he has also used 77 substitutions, making it a remarkable 300 changes in player personal in 28 matches so far.

At Derby, Ryan Babel, Andriy Voronin, Fabio Aurelio and Lucas are all in the running for a starting place.

Jack Hobbs could also get another run-out in defence while Xabi Alonso could also continue his comeback from injury.

Provisional squad: Reina, Arbeloa, Carragher, Hobbs, Hyypia, Riise, Aurelio, Benayoun, Gerrard, Alonso, Mascherano, Kewell, Babel, Lucas, Sissoko, Crouch, Kuyt, Torres, Voronin, Itandje.

Tinkerbell is ringing again. Rafa should just stick to the winning team. Another slip-up would certainly end our challenge for top spot. No time and opportunity for further experiment and mistakes.

Remember when he kept an unchanged side for the first time in 99 matches last season? Was that just to stop the total from hitting treble figures or was there some actually tactical reasoning behind it? I never got to the bottom of that.

The statistics quoted in that article are complete & utter bollocks. I can't be bothered to get the correct stats at the moment, but I know that every other season Rafa has made in the region of 120 changes over the course of the whole season.

Stop changing......we have the best squad at the moment unless Babel,Agger or Alonso included in starting line-up

The statistics quoted in that article are complete & utter bollocks. I can't be bothered to get the correct stats at the moment, but I know that every other season Rafa has made in the region of 120 changes over the course of the whole season.

Well technically the last two matches alone he made 9 changes for each match - that makes 18 - before substitutions so I find your 120 changes over an entire season somewhat surprising.

Anyway the post above I completely don't understand so all that it leaves me to say is that I fully expect 3 points tomorrow.  If Rafa plays a weakened side and it blows up in his face then I will have no sympathy for the flak the guy will face.  We desperately need to go on an extended winning run, not an unbeaten run - a WINNING run. 

If we're going to make our March and April remotely interesting we definitely need to be getting maximum points week in and week out because the other top three sides really don't look like they are going to drop too many.  And Man City and Everton are both capable of going on runs themselves.

your right KK , would'nt it be nice to be still involved come march . We need maxium points over the christmas period and anything less will just be like any other year when we're relying on CL. LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN THE NEXT 4 MATCHES

Anyone think Torres will play today, rafas said on main site him and gerrard were tired last game at the end?

Well chris i do think so.....He's a key player dude.Without him,the performance of the team will go down.Btw,I hope Babel play today hehehe.
Wait a minute,Alonso play tonight(evening in england)??

Who will be able to give me updates on this match? Will someone be doing it, I might be lucky to catch the second half.

Who will be able to give me updates on this match? Will someone be doing it, I might be lucky to catch the second half.

You can use the BBC update service,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/default.stm
Just go to "Live Text" on the upper left, should work in Oz.

Ok im going to the bookies on Torres first goal, any predictions on score i should do, was thinking along the lines of 0-3 to us!

Yeah so i hear on radio 5 live good good, all we need now is Sunderland to win against mancs, and arsenal to slip up later

If only one of Arsenal or the Mancs drop points it will do for me! By the way villa are 2-1 up against chelsea.

Half Time: Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa

Knight gave away a stupid penalty in injury time. Shevchenko puts it in. 2-0 and i would have been very confident. They now have 10 men and only a 1 goal advantage, would love to be level with Chelski and a match in hand.

Knight gave away a stupid penalty in injury time. Shevchenko puts it in. 2-0 and I would have been very confident. They now have 10 men and only a 1 goal advantage, would love to be level with Chelski and a match in hand.

That's still good on all accounts if they can keep them for this long I'm sure they will try and keep the lead as this would be a BIG win for them (and us)

Anyway back on topic please guys

My predicted line up for today's game is as follows

Reina

Arbeloa Carra Hobbs Aurellio

Voronin Gerrard Alonso Kewell

Babel  Torres

I'll go with a comfortable away win.

Chelsea equalise from a goal by Andriy Shitschenko

:'(     Now he scores...

Yeah hohoho, new gambling on starting XI................
The line up in full is: Reina, Finnan, Aurelio, Carragher, Hyypia, Gerrard, Alonso, Babel, Riise, Voronin, Torres. Subs: Itandje, Benayoun, Lucas, Kuyt, Mascherano.

Chelsea have taken the lead 3-2!  This is becoming a good game 10 man Villa have equalised  3-3

Reina, Finnan, Aurelio, Carragher, Hyypia, Gerrard, Alonso, Babel, Riise, Voronin, Torres.

Good choice for today, got torres first goal today also us to win 0-3 at 16/1 come on you reds!!!!

have to say good line up for today hope the players havnt had too much boucholais come on you reds

No Kewell...!