Aston Villa v Liverpool (Premiership) - Pre Match

Here we go then... the minutes are ticking down to the start of the season.

Aston Villa v Liverpool
Saturday 11th August 2007 @ 5:15pm
Live on Setanta Sports (available for Satellite, Cable and Freeview subscribers - 9 sports channels for £9.99 a month)



With thanks to EddieC's thread

Recent matches against Villa:
28-10-06 Liverpool 3 - 1 Aston Villa WON (Kuyt,Crouch,Garcia)(Agabonhalor)
29-04-06 Liverpool 3 - 1 Aston Villa WON (Morientes, Gerrard 2) (Barry)
05-11-05 Aston Villa 0 - 2 Liverpool WON (Gerrard,Xabi Alonso)
15-05-05 Liverpool 2 - 1 Aston Villa WON (Cisse 2) (Barry)

So - are we finally FINALLY going to get the season off to a decent start?

Sorry JD was it 0-0 at Villa park the last time we played in March so if may be another draw :'(

Do we know our best XI or what our formation should be? Despite all the friendlies, im not sure that we know what combination to go with in midfield or up front. Personally, i'd go for a 4-3-3 formation, riena in goal, a back four of finnan, carragher, agger, riise/arbeloa, then play alonso mascherano and gerrard in the middle, with babel, torres and pennant as the forward three.

who would you pick?

I think we will pinch it 1-0. Reason being I think Torres may make the difference something unexpected will get us the 3 points. I think Villa will shut up shop and go for the point but either SG will tank through at some point or Torres will come up with something unexpected. We need a good start and Villa park has always been good to us in the past, but it will be tight. Have to also say Gareth Barry is the danger man from any set peices so we have to be in total concentration mode if they have anything like that. We also need to watch for the pace of Young and Agabonhalor as they can be mighty dangerous.
I watched the friendly against Inter and although Inter put out a sort of reserve side and were 2 3 weeks off full fitness. Villa impressed me, especailly G Barry. Its not gonna be easy but I feel we can get the 3 points.

Team

                       Reina
Finnan       Agger       Carra       Risse

Alonso      Mascherano  Gerrard   Kewll

               Kuyt      Torres


Mascherano to break up anything Young , Agabonhalor and Barry can through at us and Xabi because a long pass to Torres feet might bring about the unexpected.

Do we know our best XI or what our formation should be?

Carragher - Carragher - Carragher - Carragher

Carragher - Carragher - Carragher - Carragher

Carragher - Carragher

Toss up between Reina and Carragher for keeper.

I think we can get all three points as long as we stay ALERT at the back.
Pre season was good in general and it was what to be expected with trying different options out. But the only thing that really bothered me so much was how casual we have been at the back at times. Especially when we'd dominate possession and then be hit on the break.
I think we all know a lot of teams are just going to play the sit back and let us see what we can do, then try hit us on the break tactic, this season - hopefully that can be eradicated by some more sharpness up front!
And I presume that's what Villa might do on Saturday. So if we stay alert, sharp and focused at the back, I can only see a Liverpool win by one or hopefully two goals.
Also, i hope we don't do too much "trying to walk it into the net". Bit of instinct up front and we'll win by three goals!

I think the boys will be fully focused and do Rafa proud.  I've got a great feeling about this season!!

2-0 to the mighty Reds :-)

Carragher - Carragher - Carragher - Carragher

Carragher - Carragher - Carragher - Carragher

Carragher - Carragher

Toss up between Reina and Carragher for keeper.

Carragher in goal of course.......We all dream of a team of Carraghers!!

i just cant see us losing here.First games are normally tight and edgy,i am going for a 1-0 win.Dirk with the goal.

Spirits are high in the camp, so I think we'll get off to a flyer!
2-0 win for the reds!

Carragher - Carragher - Carragher - Carragher

Carragher - Carragher - Carragher - Carragher

Carragher - Carragher

Toss up between Reina and Carragher for keeper.

 

Never a greater answer, have to admit it made me laugh more as I just watched that spam sketch from Monty Pythons Flying Circus.

Not meaning to put a downer on the new season! I'm going for a 1-1 draw, a tough game to start and Martin O'Neil seems to do well against us. I'll settle for a point but I do think when the first 10 games have gone we will have over 20 points! Just think this is difficult one to start, but if we can pinch it what a start it could be!!

Not meaning to put a downer on the new season! I'm going for a 1-1 draw, a tough game to start and Martin O'Neil seems to do well against us. I'll settle for a point but I do think when the first 10 games have gone we will have over 20 points! Just think this is difficult one to start, but if we can pinch it what a start it could be!!

Not at all a downer Crazy Horse. That makes sense to me. I think it will be a very tight game and it will be hard to break them down. I think we'll have a better say in the possesion but I'm weary of them slipping one in if we're not too alert at the back ( )
If we keep focused in defense then I'm optimistic we can get a vital goal to take all three points.

I think we'll have a better say in the possesion but I'm weary of them slipping one in if we're not too alert at the back ( )

Are we talking about the Lisbon again RedKenny?! After 3! YMCA

Are we talking about the Lisbon again RedKenny?! After 3! YMCA

 

Three points in the bag on Saturday mate and I'll buy you a babysham!

Here we go then... the minutes are ticking down to the start of the season.

Aston Villa v Liverpool
Saturday 11th August 2007 @ 5:15pm
Live on Setanta Sports (available for satellite cable and freeview subscribers)

Just a little point on the setanta....also via broaband for £7.99/month 3 sports channels plus a very nice archives section wich gives you the chance to see games again if missed live. I choose it and so far very happy..no contract..

Back to the topic, a clear win with Torres and Stevie on the score sheet for me...COME ON YOU REDS!!

i dont know , i fear rafa might name a team we won't all agree on    my starting team would be (pragmatic's earlier message). make changes early if its not happening ! not really impressed with pre season but that all stops on saturday. here's to a good start

I think, past match, we should be win over Villa

Agree with CrazyHorse....1-1 draw. Beleive Rafa should start off the game with the a side that pretty much represented us so well at times last season.... and then add Babel as the game progresses.
GK:Reina
RB:Finn
LB:Risse
CB:Carra
CB:Agger
RW:Jermaine
CM:Stevie-G
CM:Alonso
LW:Harry
CF:Kuyt
CF:Torres

Kuyt to get us a goal in the 2nd half to get us a point in a fairly entertaining but unconvincing start to the season. I think Villa are strong but over the season our new boys will add the flair and will make the difference for a quality crusade to number 19.......as the old saying goes "don't put all your eggs in one basket"....

In Rafa we trust

I think a 3-0 win the boys are up to it spirits are high in the camp and Gerrard is going to smack the sh*t outta someone who doesn't play well as he has been screaming that we need a flyer start to the season. i think Torres will score a brace and benayoun to setup set up Babbel's first goal after both coming on as a sub.

My team

GK:Reina
RB:Finnan
CB:Carra
CB:Agger
LB:Riise
RM:Pennant
CM:Gerrard
CM:Alonso
LM:Kewell
RF:Kuyt
LF:Torres

My line up for the team would look like this:

                  Reina

Finnan     Carra   Agger    Riise

Gerrard  Alonso   Masch  Kewell

             Torres  Kuyt

People will probably question why I'd go for Gerrard on the right, the reason is Finnan could probably do with a bit of help against the attacking threat from Gareth Barry & Ashley Young, who O'Neill will probably play on the left. I'd be half tempted to play Hyypia to combat the aerial threat from Carew, but Villa have quite a few pacy attacking players like Young & Agbonlahor that he'd probably struggle to keep up with so I've left him out. Mascherano will be in place to neutralize Petrov, and with Torres dropping deep Reo Coker will have to pull back to pick him up, giving Alonso the space he needs to execute his excellent range of passing. It looks like Villa are going to go with Craig Gardner at right back, a 20 year old midfielder who will be playing out of position, the experience of Kewell should be ideal to exploit his lack of experience in the role. I'm going to go for 1-0 to us, with Kuyt to benefit from the space left by the defence trying to pick up Torres & scoring the winner.

Its impossible to predict what Rafa is going to do with the team.However i believe Eddies team to be somewhere close to it,although i can see Babel playing instead of Kewell.Its gonna be a tight game for sure,it will be tense and nervy to start.

Its impossible to predict what Rafa is going to do with the team.However I believe Eddies team to be somewhere close to it,although I can see Babel playing instead of Kewell.Its gonna be a tight game for sure,it will be tense and nervy to start.

Only reason I'd go for Kewell for this one is the fact they have an inexperienced right back playing & I feel he'd be the best to exploit that. If it wasn't for that I would've gone for Babel too.

People will probably question why I'd go for Gerrard on the right, the reason is Finnan could probably do with a bit of help against the attacking threat from Gareth Barry & Ashley Young.

EddieC going to have to disagree with you on this one mate.  To be honest, I think we have reached the point were we should stop panicking about the opposition and give them reasons to panic against us.  Playing Gerrard on the right to cover Finnan is IMO a negative attitude and for our opening game of the season I would much prefer us to have Gerrard bossing the centre of the park with Mascherano (or Xabi) and two wingers putting in decent performances and pinning Villa back.

REINA

FINNAN - CARRA - AGGER - RIISE

PENNANT - GERRARD - MASCHERANO - KEWELL

TORRES - KUYT

Subs: A Keeper, Voronin, Babel, Crouch, Hyypia

I agree it might be a slightly negative attitude, but in the first game of the season I see not losing as more important than winning. The way I see it their right side is the weakest whilst the left is strong, I'd rather see us keep things tight on the right & make sure Barry & Young don't get any opportunities whilst focusing our attacks down the left where I feel we can really hurt them.

My team would be

Reina
Finnan - Carra - Agger - Riise
Pennant - Gerrard - Alonso - Benayoun
Torres - Kuyt

Really looking forward to the game tomorrow. Kicks off 2:15 am our time and I will be up watching a full line up of games starting with the Tottenham match anxiously waiting for our season to kick off. I am going for a 2-0 prediction with Gerrard and Kuyt getting on the scoresheet but I definitely wouldn't be suprised with a draw as I still think our finishing needs some fine tuning. I can picture a game with us dominating possession wise but once again failing to take our chances against a dogged Villa defence but hopefully this won't be the case. I am a big fan of Kewell but I have been very impressed with Benayoun in pre season so I reckon he deserves a chance to make his premiership debut with Liverpool. Babel still looks a bit off the pace so I wouldn't risk starting him, and Alonso and Gerrard is still IMO the best central midfield partnership we have. Once again a 2-0 victory but wouldn't be suprised with a draw!!

Can't wait for it to start, KO at 5:15! Hopefully a comfortable win in the bag.

Reina
Finnan Carragher Agger Riise
Benayoun Gerrard Mascherano Kewell
Kuyt Torres

Lets go there with the attitude of "These are here to be taken so COME ON", as most of the forum as already commented...We NEED to hit the ground Running if we are to challenge the EPL.Last season we started a little Nervy and it cost us dear...1-1 at Sheff Utd springs to mind.They are the teams we SHOULD be beating,no disrespect to A.Villa but must people and I'm not a betting man would fancy us over A.Villa

SO COME ON LIVERPOOL,"They don't like it up em"

Some latest odds from William Hills.

First goalscorer

Fernando Torres   11/2
 
Dirk Kuyt   6/1
 
Peter Crouch  7/1 
 
Andriy Voronin  8/1   
 
Ryan Babel   8/1 
 
Steven Gerrard  9/1   
 
Harry Kewell  12/1

Hat tricks

Dirk Kuyt  50/1   
 
Fernando Torres  50/1   
 
Andriy Voronin   66/1   
 
Peter Crouch  66/1   
 
Ryan Babel  66/1   
 
Steven Gerrard 80/1

Scorecast.

Torres  Liverpool 2-1   30/1

Gerrard  Liverpool 2-0   45/1

Carragher  Liverpool 1-0  175/1

Personally, Torres & 2-1 @ 30/1 looks a very fair bet.

Gerrard at 9/1 isnt bad at all, if I was a betting man i'd have a bit of that.

Im gonna have a flutter on Torres for the hat trick, I just got this feelin in me bones.
FFS who put down the defeat!!??? show some class man wtf is wrong wid ya

We will win!! But maybe only 1-0 or 2-0 maybe even 2-1 god forbid

3-1 to the mighty reds, go 1-0 down, then torres brace and stevie G win it for us!

2 - 1 to the mighty Reds  -  Kuyt and Torres to score.

2 - 1 to the mighty Reds  -  Kuyt and Torres to score.

Exactly my sentiments MsGerrard !  And yes I will be checking the leg dept out ! 

Exactly my sentiments MsGerrard !  And yes I will be checking the leg dept out ! 

Excellent  (Me too)

My line up for the team would look like this:

                  Reina

Finnan     Carra   Agger    Riise

Gerrard  Alonso   Masch  Kewell

             Torres  Kuyt

People will probably question why I'd go for Gerrard on the right, the reason is Finnan could probably do with a bit of help against the attacking threat from Gareth Barry & Ashley Young, who O'Neill will probably play on the left. I'd be half tempted to play Hyypia to combat the aerial threat from Carew, but Villa have quite a few pacy attacking players like Young & Agbonlahor that he'd probably struggle to keep up with so I've left him out. Mascherano will be in place to neutralize Petrov, and with Torres dropping deep Reo Coker will have to pull back to pick him up, giving Alonso the space he needs to execute his excellent range of passing. It looks like Villa are going to go with Craig Gardner at right back, a 20 year old midfielder who will be playing out of position, the experience of Kewell should be ideal to exploit his lack of experience in the role. I'm going to go for 1-0 to us, with Kuyt to benefit from the space left by the defence trying to pick up Torres & scoring the winner.

EddieC you always pop up with a top read! Great football brain!

Anyway I'm going to go for 0-1 to the mighty reds, Voronin to come on and nick the winner.

Despite saying 0-1 I can see us playing some nice attacking football with a couple of more handy players to do so (i.e. Benayoun, Babel, Torres, Voronin...). Aston Villa can't use Carson and I assume that would leave Sorensen between the sticks? He's always seemed a bit edgy with long rangers to me in recent seasons. If we're having no luck breaking them down might be an idea getting the likes of Stevie, Riise, Alonso etc on their case.

Sorenson's actually injured.
They're using another keeper, Taylor I think.

My team:
                                      Reina
                 Finnan   Carragher   Agger   Riise

              Pennant  Gerrard  Mascherano  Kewell

                               Torres  Crouch

Riise has looked impressive early on this season so ill stick with him on the left. Finnan Carragher and Agger have their spot cemented in my books. Pennant has been one of the most impresive in preseason IMO so his attacking threat would surely help us get of to a flyer. Gerrard playing next to Mascherano would help him creep up the field abit while Mascherano covers for him. Torres seems to be first pick for everyone so I cant go against that and the other spot will be hotly contested all season as i believe having Kuyt,Voronin or Crouch there would benefit Torres in anyway. Crouch would hold the ball up for Torres, while Kuyt could setup Torres all day and Voronin could just come out and play his game by getting into spaces that Torres creates. Crouch would be my first pick though, his ability to create spaces for other team mates would help Torres scoring goals. 2-0 is my bet for a great start to the season.

Well boys and girls, today is the 1st day of the New season and I am in work all day like a right fool! I am sure some one changed the rota. This means that I will have to rely upon MOTD for highlights of today’s game from Villa Park. Now the question I have is when will the Mighty Reds be shown? Last year we were predominately shown on the last 3rd of the programme, even when we finally stuffed Arsenal 4-1 we were shown last on the excuse that “we felt it would be nice to finish on today’s big game” Yeh right! So with again the Favoured Special teams playing tomorrow, when will we be shown? I am not to sure, but I think it will depend upon the score. If we lose (god forbid) we will be in the first 3rd but draw or win we will be shown on the last 3rd of the programme. Does any one else have a prediction or feelings when we will be shown. (Should this be a thread on its own, I felt not)

Can't wait for the season to start.  Roll on 5 o'clock - time to get the beers in the fridge ready!!

I'm going for 3 nil to us, Dirk, Torres and Stevie all getting on the score sheet, and getting the season off to a flying start.

 

Well I'm going for a 2-0 win for the reds

With Riise with a 35 yard netbuster freekick and  torres with the 2nd

I might even take a walk to the bookies  this morning

Man i have never been so excited for a season to begin ...We cant afford a crap start like last year

Gerrard at 9/1 isnt bad at all, if I was a betting man i'd have a bit of that.

Gerrard's always 9/1 for first scorer!

strange for people to be putting mascherano in the starting 11.

hes been out of training resting after copa America and hasn't had a long training programme so for some to suggest hes ready is madness..

sissoko should be on the bench, benayoun has not travelled at all, strange when i find this out this morning?

so i maybe go for this.


               Reina.

finnan    carragher    agger  risse

pennant Gerrard Alonso kewell

       torres  kuyt.

bench.

new keeper ( French chap brought on new four deal)
sissoko
babel
hyypia
crouch

at the most we can hope for is 2- 1 liverpool

What a strange line up Rafa has gone for,no Kewell,No Crouchy.Riise on the left,Pennant on the right,looks like were going all out for the win.Nice to see Rafa being positive.

Team to face Villa:

Pepe Reina
Alvaro Arbeloa
Jamie Carragher
Daniel Agger
Steve Finnan
John Arne Riise
Steven Gerrard
Xabi Alonso
Jermaine Pennant
Dirk Kuyt
Fernando Torres
 
Subs:
 
Charles Itandje
Sami Hyypia
Andriy Voronin
Ryan Babel
Momo Sissoko