Friday, April 10, 2009
Still getting over the fact Liverpool need at least 3 goals at Stamford Bridge next week. The only good thing is that Javier Mascherano will be back, and John Terry will be out, but there's Ricardo Carvalho for him, so I don't know if there's any advantage.
How will Liverpool set out next week? How CAN* they set out? To defend and also to get 3 goals.
Well, Jose Reina will definitely start in goal.. I mean, it's not like playing Diego Cavalieri would make any difference... Daniel Agger should partner Jamie Carragher in defence, he's a more "offensive" defender, with a good left peg, very decent shot and a excellent visionary pass in him, which is obvious Martin Skrtel doesn't have. The only disadvantage? Skrtel is obviously better at handling a physical Didier Drogba. Then Agger will be the one that starts the attacks from the back. Alvaro Arbeloa and Emiliano Insua for full-backs, Insua is needed for his running and attacking threat.
Xabi Alonso will have to pull the strings in midfield, and its a must he does it well. His long passes need to be perfect, his vision and radar must be on-form next week. With Javier Mascherano back, not only Alonso will have a much better partner to deal with Michael Ballack and Frank Lampard, Mascherano will be able to stop attacks better than Lucas Leiva, and neutralise Lampard, and ultimately protecting Alonso to give him space to launch attacks.
Ryan Babel should start on the left, Albert Riera was not good enough against Jose Bosingwa. With Babel turning in most of the time, Bosingwa's weaker foot would be exposed more often, and this might draw out Alex to cover for Bosingwa's weakness, leaving more space in the centre of Chelsea's defence. Dirk Kuyt will definitely start, even though Yossi Benayoun would be a better option.
If Stevie G is fit, he'll start behind Fernando Torres. He'll have to do a better job evading Michael Essien's attentions if he is to click with Torres effectively. If Rafa would use his head, he should put Gerrard on the right instead of Kuyt, and put Babel upfront with Torres, playing a 4-4-2, but the partnership between Gerrard and Torres is just too much to break up. Benayoun, El Zhar, N'Gog, and Riera are the only players that could come off the bench and make a difference, not very good...
Hmm... There's still hope.
Anyway, this weekend, need to study! Argh... Even though there's Econs essay assignment, Maths assignment, Chinese (6) worksheet, remembering Chinese definitions, rethinking Project Work's PI, to do, I need to do some studying myself. No time!
Bye~!
my thoughts at 3:38 pm