Anfield
2nd February 2011 – 8PM
Tomorrow night sees Liverpool take on Stoke City at Anfield in our 25th game of the Premier League season. The reverse fixture at the Britannia Stadium in November ended in a dissapointing 2-0 defeat, in a game that saw Lucas sent off. Although Stoke are an opponent we shouldn’t underestimate, I think it will be a completely different type of game at Anfield.
I don’t expect Stoke to come and defend, and hold out for a draw, because that’s not their nature. They’ll be up in our faces and pushing for the win, like Blackpool and Wolves have done earlier in the season.
But I think with our new found confidence and belief under Kenny will see us through in this one, but it wont be easy. Stoke have bought in big front man John Carew during the transfer window and he’ll be Stoke’s key man tomorrow evening. But Stoke have also lost two attackers, Eidur Gudjohnsen and Tuncay have moved to Fulham and Wolfburg respectively.
As for the Liverpool line-up, if Suarez is given his debut (his transfer is still pending international clearance and work permit issues), I think he could start up front on his own. If you haven’t already read, Andy Carroll wont be pulling on the Red shirt for a few weeks as he recovers from a thigh injury. But there’s also some more good news – Jamie Carragher will be back to full fitness for this game after the shoulder injury he picked up against Spurs. Lucas is also fit after his injury. This is the line-up I think Kenny will go for:
Reina
Kelly – Carragher – Skrtel – Johnson
Kuyt – Meireles – Lucas – Maxi
Gerrard
Suarez
That’s my team, with Johnson still at left-back where he has impressed, Lucas slotting back in the midfield to replace Poulsen and Suarez replacing Torres. You can leave your own line-ups and predicted scores in the comments box below, I look forward to reading them.
My prediction: Liverpool 2 – 0 Stoke