Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers continues to insist that his side have what it takes to break into the top four, and if there’s any truth in that, the Reds next four matches will have to be the catalyst for an extended charge up the table.
They may have barley scrapped a win against relegation bound Burnley on Boxing Day, but at the end of the season the only thing that’s going to matter is that they got three points on the day — not how they did it or whether they deserved it. That being said, when Swansea City visit Anfield tomorrow, they’re going to have to be better than they were at Turf Moor — sentimentality aside, Gary Monk won’t be in a generous mood.
When the Welsh side were promoted to the Premier League with Rodgers in the dugout, his counterpart in Monk was his captain. Mutual respect may still be very much as part of their relationship, but neither boss is going to want to come up short at the others expense under normal circumstance, let alone with the two sides so close in the table.
The Swans, who after a blazing start to the campaign have had their own problems of late, sit a mere three points above their hosts in the table, though they can go into the trip to Merseyside with confidence in their corner. They may have missed out on a spot in the next round of the League Cup back in October after goals from Mario Balotelli and Dejan Lovren sent an increasingly testy Anfield crowd home happy, but the Reds have been less than assured at home this season with only three wins from nine matches.
With the likes of Daniel Sturridge, Dejan Lovren and Glen Johnson still injured, Rodgers isn’t expected to make too many changes to the side that won at Burnley on Boxing Day, but with Brad Jones pulling up with a thigh problem, Simon Mignolet will once again be called upon to man the net. Monk, on the other hand, could make some changes to the side that scrapped past Aston Villa with the likes of Wayne Routledge and Bafetimbi Gomis expected to be in the mix at one point or another.
Although the holiday season remains as punishing as ever with so many matches in such a short span of time, with the two sides so close in the table, this is the big one. New Years day sees Liverpool host bottom of the table Leicester City while the Swans visit Queens Park Rangers — winnable matches all around. There may be some tired legs and tired minds on the pitch tomorrow, but it’s unlikely that either manager will be thinking too far in the future in regards to giving the likes of Raheem Sterling or Wilfried Bony a rest unless the three points are well and truly secured — something that, especially against Liverpool, is never a sure thing.
We saw the Reds pull a draw from a loss in the final minutes of a pulsating encounter with the Gunners less than a week ago as Rodgers side dominated proceedings to get their just desserts. Although we saw that intensity diminish substantially during the win at Turf Moor, there’s no question that both the Northern Irishman and his side know that Anfield, and their visitors, will demand far more of them; luck isn’t likely to come into it.
If Liverpool want to make their top four credentials become a reality rather than a talking point for the media and the manager, they’re going to have to stump up or shut up. This run of matches is winnable both on paper and, more importantly, on the pitch; now they just have to do it.
–Steven
