Pre Match: Liverpool vs Lyon (Champions League 20/10/09 7:45pm)

I have no idea why, but I've just had a real burst of optimism about tomorrow.  I think we'll do it.  I'm going for a 2-0 as well.  Providing Stevie is 100%, I wouldn't mind seeing this team:

Pepe

Johnson   Skrtel  Agger  Insua

Yossi  Gerrard  Lucas/Masch  Riera

Kuyt  Voronin

If Stevie is on the bench then centre mid of Lucas and Masch.

Come on you Reds!
I'd go with this as long as Masch sits in the middle with Stevie. If Stevie goes marauding forward, Lucas isn't strong enough defensively in my opinion, and will get brushed aside. Lucas and Masch ? Lucas isn't astute enough going forward either.

I think Carra will be playing and tbh he had a good game on Saturday - if it hadn't been for his intervention against Malbraque the ball would have been in the back of the net - he's getting too much stick now!!!!

Not looking for total football here, just a win will do. I would take 1-0 all the way to the bank!

A loss here would be a real blow - not just for Champs, but team confidence would take a real knock! We have a point to prove, but the french teams are no longer a walk over - we can do this, we must do this!

Come on lads - send a message out...

Need a victory...simple as. If we can get it by playing well that would be a bonus but for me we need 3 points for the group and a confidence boost before Sunday.

They are a good team and could be a very hard game, but if we start with high tempo we should be fine.

Please Rafa.....NO THREE CENTRE BACKS THOUGH!!!!!!!!!

well i hope we do beat lyon
i would like to see 2 up front
and the team pulling together
then beat the mancs on sunday
2-0 for the red men

Even though Skrtel and Carra are hopeless together right now, I don't think we should play Agger. If you watch him against Sunderland he seemed to be holding back alot, obviously because he's just recovered from a serious back injury so he doesn't want to do damage, but it seems to affect his defending and if he can't jump for the ball or dive in properly to tackle, it will affect our defence as a whole badly.

Important game in more ways than one this.

Not only do we need the points for obvious reasons in the CL, it could give us a real surge in confidence/belief, something which I think is missing at the moment. The 3 straight losses must be playing on the player's minds at the minute.

Perfect chance to put everything in these past couple of weeks behind us and get back to business.

If not, then well, we'll stuff the Mancs at the weekend anyway.

What ever the eleven I look to another fantastic European night.Let a Hero step forward and unleash the dogs of war.

Massive game..Not only for our champions league hopes,but for our confidence ahead of the scum game on Sunday..Hope we don't under estimate Lyon,they have a decent team,apparently there were the third biggest spenders in Europe this Summer after Man Shitty and Real Madrid..They have some pretty good players,like Lopez for example...We need to step it up now and stop our season from disending into farce..

we lost 2-0 to fiorentina

Nobody should underestimate Lyon for a second. I just read that article on the first page, they signed lisandro and Cissockho(however you spell it) from porto!! Both those guys are excellent players. Didn't realise they played for lyon now which means if we do not sort ourselves out we have lost this game. Lyon are on form and we are not, so the boys had better put out the performance of their lives. I will throw up if we play like we did against sunderland, with Gerrard or not.

I ask for 2 things.

3 points

and The Anfield crowd to be going ballistic from the off.

I ask for 2 things.

3 points

and The Anfield crowd to be going ballistic from the off.

Bang on! the crowd have a massive part to play tonight. We need to show we still have confidence in OUR team.

Backs against the wall is when we are best, nothing different here.

A big game from Gerrard tonight..watch this space.

Anwyhow I would line us up like this


                           Pepe

Johnson           Carra    Agger     Insua

Benayoun         Lucas          Masch    Riera

                      Gerrard

                       Kuyt

Above all, I hope we win and play well to show we have turned a corner.

I'm gonna say we'll edge it by the odd goal.  2 - 1.  Goals from Johnson and Kuyt.

My prediction is a scrappy  1-0.

Of course I'd love a comfortable 3-0 but I'm just being realistic.  We've played absolutely sh*te the last 3 games and unless something drastic happens it won't be changing anytime soon.

Prove me wrong Reds.........

I'm predicting nothing, all I want to see is a good performance from the lads with a bit of graft and industry and hopefully come away with a win, Vast improvements needed all over the field, nows the time to stand up and be counted. Come on you redmen YNWA.

I'm off to Anfield in about half an hour, feeling a tad apprehensive about tonight's match, we really need a confidence boosting performance tonight if only to put us in good stead for Sunday.

Whoever Rafa picks to lead the line tonight in Torres's absence, I just hope they've been doing some shooting practice at Melwood this week.

I'm going for a close 2-1 win, I'm sure Rafa and the backroom staff will have done their homework on Lyon, no team should be taken lightly in the Champions League.

Fingers crossed for a decent performance.

I'll be in the Kop with some of my fellow Forumites cheering the lads at the top of our voices.

COME ON YOU MIGHTY REDS !!!   

Backs against the wall is when we are best, nothing different here.

A big game from Gerrard tonight..watch this space.

Anwyhow I would line us up like this


                           Pepe

Johnson           Carra    Agger     Insua

Benayoun         Lucas          Masch    Riera

                      Gerrard

                       Kuyt

Riera is injured mate. Looks like Babel is going to get another chance which he'll more than likely F**k up.

Sing and cheer your head off at Anfield tonight MsG and all other Reds. We definitely need a win and hope the faithful inspire the hell out of our players.

I'll be in the Kop with some of my fellow Forumites cheering the lads at the top of our voices.

COME ON YOU MIGHTY REDS !!!   

I'll be at the top of the Kop in block 306, singing me head off!

                                     Reina
Johnson          Carra                      Skrtel           Insua


                      Masch                    Lucas

Kuyt                                                                      Benayoun

                                     Gerrard
                                     
                                  Babel/N'Gog

Think we might start with something like this tonight. I'd play Skrtel because Agger's only back from injury and he played 3 games in the last week.

I think Insua will start over Aurelio because he cant really play twice in one week and Rafa might save him for the Man U game.

Riera's injured so Benayoun and Kuyt pick themselves.

And Babel or N'Gog up front. Personally I'd pick N'gog but we'll have to wait and see who starts.

Wouldn't mind seeing Voronin get a game but I doubt he will.

Maybe Ngog would be motivated to do well aginast a French side.Babel seems hell bent on making people dislike him despite the support we still give him.
                                                                                     Riena
Johnson                              Carragher                                              Agger                                 Aurelio

Babel                                 Gerrard                                                 Mascherano                          Dossena

                                                                   Yossi


                                                                   Kuyt