Stoke City v Liverpool – Preview

  Back in September Stoke made the trip to Anfield to face a Liverpool side who few doubted would win the game after making a bright start to the season. Liverpool had almost thirty shots on that day, but the Potters’ defence stood firm and the game finished a goalless draw, a result that provided a huge boost for Stoke, telling us for the first time that we could compete in the Premier League.

 

The contrasting emotions of Liverpool and Stoke fans on that day

  With form poor for Stoke and morale low, a similar result in this evening’s match would provide an even greater lift, as we look to move out of the bottom three in the table. if anything it will be harder this time round though, Liverpool have established themselves as true title contenders and have put in some very impressive away performances of late, including the whirlwind 5-1 victory at Newcastle two weeks ago. They also have star man Fernando Torres fit to play again, so a truly stern test for the likes of Faye and Shawcross in the Stoke defence this will be.

  Liverpool play a brand of attractive fast flowing football that is as effective as it is easy on the eye. Their one weakness though, is a lack of widthin the side, with striker Dirk Kuytoften lining up on the wing. This, coupled witha lack of height in attack, means that forcing Liverpool wide a lot, then dealing with the crosses hit into the box, as we did so well at Anfield, may be our best chance of keeping Liverpool off the scoresheet, as several other clubs have managed to do in recent weeks, and who knows, we may be able to nick a goal or two ourselves.

  Dave Kitson, Salif Diao and Liam Lawrence are all available for Stoke after recovering from injuries, while Richard Cresswell is available again after serving a ban and winger Matthew Etherington, who signed from West Ham on Thursday, looks set to make his debut for the club. Ricardo Fuller is serving the second game of his three match ban after striking out at captain Andy Griffin during the 2-1 defeat at West Ham on December 28th.

  While Torres looks likely to make his first league appearance since November and Javier Mascherano will return to the midfield, Liverpool are without full back Alvaro Arbeloa, who has a hamstring problem, and midfielder Xavi Alonso who has a foot injury.

Mascherano, who returns for Liverpool

Key Head-to-Heads:

Salif Diao v Steven Gerrard:

The former Liverpool man Diao will be hard pressed to contain petty thug Steven Gerrard, who is usually instrumental to everything Liverpool do going forward. If Stoke can stop Gerrard playing, we will have gone a long way to stopping Liverpool playing, so this battle looks like being of the utmost importance.

 

Dave Kitson v Daniel Agger:

Kitson’s fit again and it’s about time he showed us what he can do. Agger, in my opinion, is the weaker of Liverpool’s centre backs, so he’s the one Kitson is more likely to exploit if he is finally going to influence the game in a positive way for Stoke.

 

Andy Griffin v Albert Riera:

Trick winger Riera’s been on good form for Liverpool recently and with Stoke probably looking to force Liverpool as wide as possible, Griffin will need to be on top form to stop the Spaniard having too much of a say in proceedings.

   

Liverpool Squad:

Goalkeepers:

Jose Reina (26), Diego Cavalieri (26), Charles Itandje (26), Peter Gulacsi (18), Martin Hansen (18)

Defenders:

Jamie Carragher (30), Daniel Agger (24), Sami Hyypia (25), Andrea Dossena (27), Alvaro Arbeloa (25), Fabio Aurelio (29), Emiliano Insua (20), Martin Skrtel (24), Philipp Degen (25), Stephen Darby (20), Martin Kelly (18), Steven Irwin (18)

Midfielders:

Steven Gerrard (28), Albert Riera (26), Xabi Alonso (27), Yossi Benayoun (28), Javier Mascherano (24), Ryan Babel (22), Lucas Leiva (22), Damien Plessis (20), Jermaine Pennant (25), Jay Spearing (20)

Forwards:

Fernando Torres (24), Robbie Keane (28), Dirk Kuyt (28), David N’Gog (19), Nabil El Zhar (22), Krisztian Nemeth (20), Nathan Eccleston (18)

Star Man: Fernando Torres

The 24 year old Spanish forward is one of the best known footballers in world football today. He joined Liverpool in summer 2007 from Atletico Madrid and became an instant hit, to date scoring 29 goals in 42 league appearances. He also has 58 caps for Spain and has scored 18 international goals, including the winner in last summer’s European Chamiponship final.

 

Comparative Club Stats:

                                                 Stoke                      Liverpool

League Position:                                     18th                                  1st

Home Record: (W,D,L)                             6,3,4                               10,5,0

Away Record: (W,D,L)                              1,3,8                               10,4,2

Goals Scored:                                            25                                    53

Goals Conceded:                                       40                                    23

Form:                                                     LLLLDD                          WWWDDW

Disciplinary: (Y,R)                                     43,3                                 44,0

Top Scorers:                                 Fuller (6), Sidibe (4)       Gerrard (13), Keane & Kuyt (7) 

Stoke’s Richard Cresswell and Liverpool’s Dirk Kuyt tangle in the corresponding fixture