Pre-Match Topic: Liverpool v Oldham - 5th Jan at 3pm (FA Cup)

                  Jones

Toure    Skrtel    Agger    Cissokho

           Stevie      Lucas

    Sterling     Alberto    Moses
       
                   Aspas

Subs: Suarez, Coutinho, Hendo, Kelly, Smith, Rossiter, Mignolet

Injury List: Johnson, Enrique, Flanagan, Coates, Sakho, Allen, Ibe, Sturridge

As we only have the league and F.A.Cup  to go for I think we should play our strongest 11 from the kick off. Secure the match and by all means bring on the subs. I am looking for a big win against Oldham so don't let me down REDS.

Agree mate, apart from Coutinho like above posts have mentioned. Think he looks knackered. Get this tie done and dusted by half time and then by all means make the changes.

Has to be a strong side for me as I want to win this and don't want any F**k ups like last season and I'm sure Brendan feels the same.

Mignolet

Toure  Skrtel  Agger  Cissokho

Lucas  Gerrard

Sterling  Alberto  Moses

Suarez

Just give Phil a wee break to recharge the batteries a little and let Hendo get over that knock.

Probably a nice 90 minutes for the coaching team to experiment and validate their tactics.
I am prepared for some experimenting by the coaching staff. May not be a good idea especially for paying fans. But where else during the full season can you put things to test?

Suarez has to be rested, I know he is made of strong stuff, but he has been kicked so many times in the last 3 games it is untrue, we are truly seeing the most biased officials against us that I can remember, but I bet he plays because he is a lion.

Glad it is at Anfield.....

Suarez has to be rested, I know he is made of strong stuff, but he has been kicked so many times in the last 3 games it is untrue, we are truly seeing the most biased officials against us that I can remember, but I bet he plays because he is a lion.

Glad it is at Anfield.....

I reckon Luis will be the first one putting his hand up to play.

Mignolet; McLaughlin, Skrtel, Agger, Cissokho; Lucas, Gerrard; Sterling, Alberto, Ibe; Suarez.

Coutinho in if Ibe's injured (not sure if he is). Don't want to see game time wasted on Moses who clearly doesn't want to be here.

Has to be a strong side for me as I want to win this and don't want any f**k ups like last season and I'm sure Brendan feels the same.

Mignolet

Toure  Skrtel  Agger  Cissokho

Lucas  Gerrard

Sterling  Alberto  Moses

Suarez

Just give Phil a wee break to recharge the batteries a little and let Hendo get over that knock.

there is no way I would risk Suarez against Oldham when they will be diving in for everything. Like everyone else mentioned,  play Aspas.

there is no way I would risk Suarez against Oldham when they will be diving in for everything. Like everyone else mentioned,  play Aspas.

No way I'd risk getting knocked out in the 3rd round again if I was Brendan.

If Suarez is fit he plays.

Good chance to give some players a much needed rest and a great chance to give some of the backup some game time, within reason. Think Johnson, Skrtel, Lucas, Henderson + Coutinho will be given a rest but can't see Suarez or Mignolet being dropped.

                       Mignolet
       Kelly    Toure     Ilori    Smith
               Gerrard    Rossiter
                       Alberto
          Aspas      Suarez   Moses

Jones; Cissokho, Agger; Lucas, Henderson; Coutinho, Aspas

Even that may be a bit too much, I would prefer to keep Agger in and maybe Sterling. Would simply take a win anyway, a draw would add to an already busy schedule, and a loss would be a big downer, especially at home. Anyway with Suarez playing I cant see us lose.
3-1 Gerrard, Suarez, Aspas

Has to be a strong side for me as I want to win this and don't want any f**k ups like last season and I'm sure Brendan feels the same.

Mignolet

Toure  Skrtel  Agger  Cissokho

Lucas  Gerrard

Sterling  Alberto  Moses

Suarez

Just give Phil a wee break to recharge the batteries a little and let Hendo get over that knock.

I'd go with that team Si except I'd have Brad Smith in at lb rather than Aly.  He's more than capable of dealing with any threat they have down the right and he's excellent at getting forward and putting crosses in.  If the lad's ever going to get a proper chance, this is it.

I don't understand people putting half the reserves out for a game that we really need to win.  By all means have a few on the bench to bring on when we're 4 or 5 up but not to start them. 

This is the only domestic cup we can win this season and I've seen enough FA Cup 3rd round matches go against us due to fielding weakened sides.  Barnsley, Reading, Oldham all spring to mind in recent times.

Have to play some bit of a strong side. Can't have the joke that happened last year happening again.

Rest Johnson, Sterling, Suarez, Coutinho & Henderson.

Alberto, Moses, Cissohko, Aspas all to start anyways. Lucas will too, he sat out a few games there recently.

Rest Suarez, Coutinho, Henderson and Sterling please, pretty much rest all the key players. Our priority is the league.

I would go half and half. Main players, and fringe players.

Defensively strong - as in these type of games, we concede silly, cheap, embarrassing goals. I'd have Mignolet, as I can never understand why a goalkeeper (the position doesn't exert a lot of energy) needs a rest. I'd then go for Toure, Skrtel, Kelly? and Cissoko.

Aspas to lead the line, with Moses and Alberto.

Allen, Henderson and Lucas.

Gerrard to come on to get game time.

Suarez, Sterling, and Coutinho on the bench just in case... but they need a rest.

Allen, Henderson and Lucas.

Allen's injured mate.

How about this?
Give Aspas and Moses 45 minutes to make an impact, failing which we will cut our losses by bringing on Raheem, Suraez or Jordan.

Our poor keeper badly needs a game.

No way I'd risk getting knocked out in the 3rd round again if I was Brendan.

If Suarez is fit he plays.

What I don't understand is why fans that say that the league is a priority, will risk a world class player against Oldham.  Oldham will have 10 players slide tackling Suarez for 90mins. That is what the FA cup is like against these lower league sides. This game is probably their game of the season and they will go all out.  That being said,  Aspas is quality enough to score against Oldham. I remember earlier Toure got injured in league cup when I said don't play Toure.  We were left with no centre backs for league game and got beat by Southampton at Anfield.  With a tough away game against Stoke next I would like Suarez leading the line in the premiership thank you. Unless you want to look forward to Uefa cup football next season while Suarez willbe gone, no doubt there is a release clause if we fail to get in champions league. Since the last game his legs must be covered in bruses since the way hull were treating Suarez.  If in the unlikely scenario we are not winning after 65 mins maybe we could use Suarez. It's not like we have Sturridge fit. Borini is on loan so, we can't afford to risk it. What is the point in doing well in the FA cup at the expense of league position. If it were a semi final maybe we start suarez.  It is Oldham not Manchester United. Not Manchester City.  Not arsenal.  Not chelsea.  Not Everton. Not spurs not Newcastle.  It is Oldham! 

He's more than capable of dealing with any threat they have down the right and he's excellent at getting forward and putting crosses in.

Is he Debs? I really hope you're right. I rarely have the chance to watch the youth team so my first impression on him (the game vs Chelsea) was really negative. It's ridiculous to judge such a young player based on only a few minutes though, so I'd love to see a bit more of him.

Is he Debs? I really hope you're right. I rarely have the chance to watch the youth team so my first impression on him (the game vs Chelsea) was really negative. It's ridiculous to judge such a young player based on only a few minutes though, so I'd love to see a bit more of him.

Yes he is mate, he's a big strong lad for his age too and if he was to go out on loan he'd be facing players like Oldhams on a weekly basis.

The Chelsea game wasn't a reflection of his ability either, he said in his interview afterwards he was told to stay out wide and up top and that's exactly what he did.  He's not going to be up against seasoned internationals with Oldham so for me it's a perfect opportunity to see how he does but I'm confident he won't disappoint.

4 days after Hull and a week until the next league game, plenty of time to rest the players after the Oldham game and just throw out the first team 11 and make sure this game is killed off so we go through to the next round. I don't think I could cope with another embarrassment like last season and this is the only domestic cup we have left to play for.

We have put out reserve lads before and been humiliated although I'd like to see Ibe start, he was decent in pre season and could be an gem for us this season if he does well.

What I don't understand is why fans that say that the league is a priority, will risk a world class player against Oldham. 

I don't understand when people read a post and then interpret it as they wish. Normally wrongly.

Not once did I say the league is priority in this thread.

I did say that I want to win the FA Cup.

It's a balancing act surely? Yes we've had some rough results in this competition over the years and the 3rd round is always a tough one for the bigger sides because your coming off of a hectic Christmas schedule, you try and rest a few in the cup and et beat by a side who are playing for their lives. It's a tricky one. One the one hand, Do we have the squad to simply put out our best 11 again this weekend? You've got several playes who look tired right now, you've got our best player playing through the pain barrier and we've just lost Sakho and Allen to injuries and they were followed by Johnson. On the one hand we could rest a bunch and then mess it up like we did last season or like we did against Burnley in Rafa's first season.

Personally, I would prefer the gaffer to take a few calculated risks with a few players ie. Henderson, Lucas, Sterling, give the skipper a start but I'd prefer to see Suarez rested to the benchmarks same goes for Coutnho.