The Carlisle clash is genuinely a must-win, but along with progression into the next round of the League Cup, we need to see some significant performance aspects as well following our grim start to the season.
What d’you make of our list, Reds?
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1) Roberto Firmino to mark his arrival in England…
Coutinho’s a certainty for a rest, meaning his Brazilian team-mate must surely be given a pivotal central attacking midfield role. We can’t fairly judge Firmino until he’s been used here, and there’s nothing we’d like to see more than the Brazilian mark the occasion with a goal – something he’s more than capable of. It would be a major mistake not to start him, as he desperately needs minutes and sharpness. He did well during his 20 minute cameo versus Norwich, but now is the time to build upon it.
2) An early goal…
We’ve scored just one goal in the first half this season, coming against Bournemouth at Anfield, and Benteke’s effort shouldn’t have stood anyway. And it’s made life incredibly difficult in the rest of our fixtures – with fans getting increasingly nervous as we’ve gone on goalless. At our best under Rodgers we’ve come out of the blocks quickly, scoring an early goal through sheer intensity on many occasions. Carlisle are a League 2 side, and one we should be dismantling by a decent margin at home. Any hopes of a relaxed, fluid performance will be massively boosted by an early goal – easing the pressure of the XI that take the field.
3) A noisy Anfield crowd…
We want noise on Wednesday night. We want the fans to get behind the struggling players, the manager, and show everyone why we’re the best set of supporters on the planet. Obviously good football and goals breeds atmosphere, but atmosphere too breeds confidence in the players. So although they’ve not fulfilled their end of the bargain so far, it’s important we fulfil ours.
4) One formation throughout, with players played in proper positions..
Fans are getting increasingly frustrated and players are getting increasingly confused by the multiple formations used per match. It affects attacking fluidity mainly. Rodgers has used wing-backs in the past two fixtures, and although we haven’t won, we’ve looked better than we did against Man United and West Ham – where we we shocking. If we stick with the 3-4-3, the only player we can really accept being in an unnatural position is Jordon Ibe – who can still do a job at right wing-back. Everyone else fits in the formation in their proper positions, and we need to see that.
5) Daniel Sturridge to increase in sharpness…
Christian Benteke’s having a scan on his hamstring today, meaning we badly, badly need Sturridge to get up to speed quickly – as the £32.5m Belgian might be out for a while. Sturridge showed promise during his hour on Sunday, and it’s now just a case of increasing his fitness until he’s ready to play full games. He’ll certainly start at the weekend, so we can expect a second half cameo against Carlisle or another sixty minutes, perhaps.
