Well it is fair to say that even if Reading dump us out of the FA Cup tomorrow, it won’t be as sensational as Leeds dumping United out, but the fact that we are playing a replay at all tells us what we need to know about Reading, and about our performance in the first game.
The FA Cup is one of our only shots at glory this season, so you can’t blame Rafa for picking the first-team regulars, but I am one of those who think that the young hot-shots need a chance to make their mistakes and have a go in tight situations – even if it means getting dumped out by Reading.
All that is immaterial though, as we all know that Rafa will try to pick the best team possible, and he does say that the Saturday fixture against Stoke won’t have a bearing on his team selection, so expect Torres, Gerrard, Agger and possibly Aquilani to play against the Royals.
What are your thoughts on the match?
Maithri, if we are dumped out of the FA Cup not only will be as sensational as Utd’s exit, but our possible remaining targets will go down from 3 to 2 (one of those is clinching 4th spot for next year’s CL). A team like Liverpool should go to the Madejski and get the qualification overwith. This match, together with the postponed Spurs match will congest our schedule even further, so things will not be a bit more complicated and risky. Never bet on what team Rafa will pick because it’s always a loose/loose situation in that regard. I just hope he fields the best we have to get it over and done with!
I’d like a strong line-up that gets 3-0 at half time, and after that the big guns get rested and replaced with youngsters.