Tomorrow would be a really good time to turn things around; after losing back to back matches for the first time in forever, Liverpool, who were the form team since turning their slow start to the season around in the middle of December, look to be in a slump again.
Finding the net only three times in our last four outings — which includes the scoreless draw with Blackburn Rovers in the first FA Cup quarter-final meeting at Anfield — the Reds are having problems all over the pitch all over again. This, of course, doesn’t bode well when you take into account that our hosts already have two Premier League scalps to their name and will be well up to claiming a third.
Both Swansea City and Stoke City were left to rue their last trips to Ewood Park and if Liverpool get off to the kind of lethargic start that saw them quite easily beaten by both Manchester United and Arsenal, they could very well add the Anfield outfit to their already rather impressive list. Sitting mid-table in the Championship and slapped with a transfer embargo, the Rovers faithful could use a pick-me-up and a trip to Wembley where Aston Villa await in the semi-final would be just the ticket.
That being said, it’s not going to be an easy route to navigate. Even when you put the obvious gulf in class between the two teams off to one side for a minute, Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer has a bit of an injury crisis on his hands. Long term absentee’s Jason Lowe, Shane Duffy and Chris Taylor look likely to be joined by Grant Hanley on the sidelines while their medical team will be giving the likes of Josh King, Craig Conway as well as strike duo Rudy Gestede and Chris Brown late fitness tests before the match. If that’s not bad enough, former Liverpool man Jay Spearing, who scored in the win over Leeds at the weekend, won’t be able to feature having been cup tied while at Bolton Wanderers.
Reds manager Brendan Rodgers will also have concerns heading into tomorrow’s match with suspended duo Steven Gerrard and Martin Skrtel being joined by Emre Can after the stand-in defender picked up a pair of yellow cards at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. With the German suspended, Kolo Toure, who looked hapless against his former side, will almost certainly be joined by former Southampton man Dejan Lovren as he’s recalled for the first time in forever and the one defender that looks like he’s worth his weight in salt in Mamadou Sakho. Mario Balotelli will be checked by the Liverpool medical staff prior to the trip to Lancashire after the Italian ruled himself out of facing Arsenal with a sore knee. Besides that, who will survive with their spots in the starting eleven in tact remains to be seen — there weren’t too many players looking like they deserved it after Saturday’s embarrassment.
Rodgers had to rubbish rumours of a dressing room bust up following the match, but I’d hope there were words exchanged. With our top four aspirations in tatters, we need a reaction and we need it now. It’s safe to say that we’ve underperformed this season; after coming agonizingly close to claiming their first Premier League title last season, any hint of a title challenge fell by the wayside in the early days of the campaign. This was quickly followed up by an early exit from the Champions League, a semi-final loss to Chelsea in the League Cup and a lesson in pride from Turkish side Besiktas as we crashed out of Europe all over again.
Liverpool, in my opinion anyway, are about winning trophies and this is our last chance to do that this season. It may not automatically make this campaign a success, but it’d be a damn good step towards it — this late in the game, that’s about all we can ask.
–Steven
