Anfield Red

I used to believe predicting Liverpool’s home matches was an easy task. You’d give them a great shout to defeat the mid-table and bottom-feeders of the league most nights, and then give them a shout to nick a win or most likely a draw against the top four. Simple as.

We all know things have been changing quite rapidly this season, with Liverpool having only won three out of their last 15 matches this season. Draws against Blackburn, Birmingham and Manchester City have become the norm, whilst second half collapses have also become part of what can only be described as a laughable season to this point.

Wigan step on the pitch for a critical clash (they’re all critical from here on out) against Liverpool at Anfield. Whilst it’d be easy to mark this one down as a three-pointer, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected with this team.

It won’t be easy, but I still expect Liverpool to get some the win tomorrow. I’ll predict a final score of 3-1, with Torres and Gerrard getting on the score sheet in the process.

Leave you score prediction in the comments.

Three wins in 15 matches. If you were to take a good long look at that sentence and make a guess at the club those stats were associated with, I can almost guarantee you there wouldn’t be a soul out there that would pick Liverpool.

Why, you ask? Well for one, Liverpool have built themselves up as a team that could bend but never break under Rafa Benitez. Whilst we’ve never tasted a league title during Rafa’s tenure, I’ve always been proud of the fact that the club has been resilient in even the toughest of times.

Narrowly losing out to Chelsea last season in the Champions League semi-final without the services of Steven Gerrard was just one of the many matches I can recall that made me proud to be a Red in defeat. I’ve never once held my head down and complained about the club. But after another defeat at home, my mood is starting to sour in a hurry.

Rafa Benitez has named his side to face Arsenal at Anfield, with Fernando Torres returning to the starting line up.

Rafael Benitez says initial talks over a new deal for Javier Mascherano have been positive; and that Mascherano himself is happy at Anfield.

When Arsenal came to Anfield last season, no one could have predicted the outcome of the game which finished 4-4 with Arshavin scoring all 4 of Arsenal’s goals. Watch the highlights from last season’s epic encouter here!

Liverpool face Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday, who are currently in 3rd place in the league, 4 points ahead of Liverpool. Fernando Torres is expected to start, while Alberto Aquilani could also make his first Premiership start of the season.

Liverpool face Blackburn Rovers today at Ewood Park without Fernando Torres & Ryan Babel; but who do you think should be on the pitch when the match kicks off?

25th October, 2009. If that date doesn’t mean anything to you, then you obviously don’t follow Liverpool as closely as I thought. That date of course marks Liverpool’s 2-0 league victory over Manchester United. Since that glorious afternoon, Liverpool have gone through a house of horrors, falling or drawing in three consecutive league matches.

Whilst that run of form may be common for most mid-table clubs, it’s quite obvious that it was just not good enough for a club as big as Liverpool. Amidst the despair of falling out of the Champions League and losing our grasp on top four football in the league, it became bitterly clear that the depth of the squad was exposing Rafa’s squad at the worst time.

Sunday’s derby encounter with Everton provided the club with quite possibly their best chance to make up ground on the competition, after Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham failed to record three points over the weekend. And for the first time in a while, Liverpool managed to get a couple of bounces to go their way.

Rafael Benitez has named his starting line up to face Everton at Goodison Park today, using the same team that faced Debrecen in midweek.

Another week, another glimmer of hope rained on. Liverpool fans are, on the whole, an optimistic bunch, but a second successive 2-2 home draw – this time against potential Champions League rivals Manchester City – left many heading out of Anfield boasting only of apathy and indifference. The optimism was gathering pace ahead of a lunchtime kick off in the November wind and rain. The sight of a substitutes’ bench containing Fabio Aurelio, Yossi Benayoun, Albert Riera and Alberto Aquilani warmed the hearts of many within Anfield, even if the weather threatened to freeze them to their seats.