Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has named an unchanged team for this evening's Premier League game with Aston Villa.
FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Enrique, Agger, Toure, Johnson, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Aspas, Coutinho, Sturridge
SUBS: Jones, Alberto, Cissokho, Allen, Borini, Sterling, Wisdom
VILLA: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Okore, Luna, Bacuna, Westwood, Agbonlahor, Delph, Benteke, Weimann.
SUBS: Steer, Clark, El Ahmadi, Helenius, Herd, Sylla, Tonev
Rodgers could've tinkered, but ultimately, why change a winning team?
It's interesting to see that Joe Allen is on the bench again. Prior to the beginning of the season, some fans were certain that Allen - allegedly a Rodgers favourite - would be an automatic starter, but this clearly isn't the case, and it shows that the manager doesn't kowtow to price tags.
There's more than enough attacking quality in this team to beat Aston Villa, but much will depend on the solidity of the defence. This is (IMO) the first real test of this new defensive unit; Benteke, Weimann and Agbonlahor will cause problems, and it'll be intriguing to see how Toure et al handle the threat.
It's also good to see Cissokho on the bench; hopefully, he'll get a run out at some point.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Enrique, Agger, Toure, Johnson, Lucas, Gerrard, Henderson, Aspas, Coutinho, Sturridge
SUBS: Jones, Alberto, Cissokho, Allen, Borini, Sterling, Wisdom
VILLA: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Okore, Luna, Bacuna, Westwood, Agbonlahor, Delph, Benteke, Weimann.
SUBS: Steer, Clark, El Ahmadi, Helenius, Herd, Sylla, Tonev
Rodgers could've tinkered, but ultimately, why change a winning team?
It's interesting to see that Joe Allen is on the bench again. Prior to the beginning of the season, some fans were certain that Allen - allegedly a Rodgers favourite - would be an automatic starter, but this clearly isn't the case, and it shows that the manager doesn't kowtow to price tags.
There's more than enough attacking quality in this team to beat Aston Villa, but much will depend on the solidity of the defence. This is (IMO) the first real test of this new defensive unit; Benteke, Weimann and Agbonlahor will cause problems, and it'll be intriguing to see how Toure et al handle the threat.
It's also good to see Cissokho on the bench; hopefully, he'll get a run out at some point.
Jaimie Kanwar
NOTE: Please stick to the Comment Policy (Click to read)
glad hes kept an unchanged team as no one warrented being dropped
ReplyDeleteThat bench is a very worrying sight, absolutely no attacking quality. FSG take a look at that and get a move on.
ReplyDeletei hope your wrong as rogers has spent in the region of 30m for 3 of them attacking players...my worry is at cb if agger or kolo go off injured
ReplyDeleteMy only concerns are the obvious one being Benteke...Hopefully we can cut down his supply and my other concern is hopefully Guzan doesnt has another blinder
ReplyDeleteAllen is not an attacking player.
ReplyDeleteif we can subdue benteke we will win if we cant we will lose i honestly think its that simple
ReplyDeleteyea, but we also sold a hell of a lot to fund this. We really need a cb and I think another striker rather then a LW,
ReplyDeletehes no makelele either
ReplyDeleteThat is a little harsh on sterling, alberto and borini
ReplyDeletetell you what, if we get into the CL this season it will be 100% down to BR, similar to what Ferguson did at man u
ReplyDeleteAgger?
ReplyDeleteyup.. pretty much this
ReplyDeletedon't get me wrong I like sterling, don't claim to know much about Alberto and borini needs to pull his socks up. But this is LFC and that bench is poor
ReplyDeletefor who?
ReplyDeleteReally looking forward to this, these type of games the win is all that matters (doesn't it always) but just get the 3 points early on in the season and keep the momentum going.
ReplyDeleteAnyone know what happened to Diame?
ReplyDeleteWell I agree it isn't great but its better then last season... not that it isn't had to be better lol
ReplyDeletekeeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a positive result
ReplyDeleteWell he is not a defensive midfielder either.
ReplyDeletegooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaallllllll
ReplyDeletewhat a nice goal!
ReplyDeleteallen is great when you're up, he's great at holding onto the ball. when you're down he's kind of a liability..
ReplyDeleteDone well up to 40 mins. Next goal is going to be crucial.
ReplyDeletebeautiful goal ,in a perfect world i would love to see that kind of goal in every match
ReplyDeletewow..... my nails have all but disintegrated.
ReplyDelete6 pts 2nd place
ReplyDeleteThese are the games we need all 3 points and we are getting them. Anything can happened next week!
ReplyDeleteanother 3 points ...and thats all that matters....one chance and one goal sums us up to be honest....took off an attaker in aspas and brought on the loan player ignoring the attacking talent on the bench ..that says it all about borini and alberto...i can understand wanting to stiffen up the team but its gotta make you wonder why we just donr offload certain players if they are not up to it.My MOM was gerrad and sturridge....for all his knockers sturridge can find the back of the net with next to no opportunities.
ReplyDeleteirregardless of whatever anybody says on how we played and we gave villa too many chances second half we WON.... 6 POINTS.... we performed well imo sturridge like usual a boss mingolet oh my gosh outstanding and cissokho hm feeling BR might try to push him as a LW which after today from the little chances he got he seems capable of all in all good game guys were really terrified of this route one injury creating villa team and so happy for another three points come on BR finish up this transfer window well and we just mighjt do it this year
ReplyDeleteAnother down, 36 more to go...
ReplyDeletewith performances like this one, based on luck and god´s help, 4th place is far far away, Toure was again one of the best if not the best on the field, he just cleaned up everything
ReplyDeleteYou could not help yourself huh? Still have to say something negative about the coach. This is not Chelsea mate!!
ReplyDeleteWe won. What else do you want? Last season we would have lost. As we get momentum we will be better.
ReplyDeleteNervy 2nd half but 3 crucial points. Aspas showed some early flair but ended up wandering about. Glen Johnson's 'shot' at 62' had me wanting to clobber him. 2 on 2 in the box and with possession and he bombs one over the bar from too far and too acute...senseless waste of an opportunity.
ReplyDeleteDon't waist ya time mate. People like him think Villa is just going to stand there and have us trash them.
ReplyDeleteexactly
ReplyDeleteHung on in the last 30mins. We do need another top drawer attacking option. Positives, sturridge continues his quality performances, mignolet continues to produce what's needed when asked, toure looks like he's never been out of the game.
ReplyDeleteNegatives, few attacking options to go to when things got a bit stale, retreated into our shell when villa went all out, couldnt break into the space villa were leaving in the last 25 mins.
Overall thats 3 points away from home and a good result if not a terrific display. But we were not winning ugly for the last four years and in those days this would probably have been a 0-0 stalemate.
So 6 points, two clean sheets and still optimistic.
not being negative in just stating facts with the players available it was a good result as villa whooped our ass last year...im just saying how will we know how good alberto and borini are if they are not given a chance.....bare this in mind rogers paid 6 and 11m for borini and alberto to play across the front of a 3 man attack and both players have has a full pre season with the team......cissoko is not deemed worthy of the full from the start so im assuming there are reservations about him ...yet he still gets a game before the other two ....so what does that tell you
ReplyDeletei want it wrapped in a pink ribbon with bells on
ReplyDeleteLIVERPOOL dominated the first 45 minutes and played the rest of the match on the break.We didn't create many chanes but our attacks looked better constructed than theirs.VILLA's best moments in the first period came from a set piece and 2 pinball moments in the box that came in the last 10 minutes of the first half.
ReplyDeleteIn the first period ASTON VILLA had small team cup possession where 5 passes are treated with over the top cheers of encouragement.The second half they brought more energy to their performance and had more of the ball it was more of a contest and they forced us to play counter attack football.
ALY CISSOKHO looks like the only player we have that BENTEKE couldn't eat for breakfast but I'm not a fan who likes to see 2 left backs on the field at the same time.DANIEL STURRIDGE showed quick feet and finished very well and we got a win at a ground where our 4th spot rivals could easily trip up.
No pleasing some people , villa have beaten arsenal on their own patch & gave chelski a hard game
ReplyDeleteSo by your logic we should sell all our players and just have 11...? It's about squad DEPTH, we'll see them play against Notts county. Today was digging in and grind out the result. THAT's what we need to do to get our goal of top 4, it's how United won titles, winning games you don't deserve.
ReplyDeletemy logic is replacing an attacker with an attacker its hardly quantum physics
ReplyDeleteThat's why he did to pay them because ast year he I'd and we got our ass handed to us. A game like this you need strong and physical players. We had lost our tactics so we could only defend what we have.
ReplyDeleteWe certainly do need a defender. Agger is getting sloppy. If we can get a win vs Notts then all is set up for the game vs United and atm I feel very confident.
ReplyDeleteSeriously people with your mentality baffle me. WE WON, doesn't matter how, the fact we ground it out shows we've improved. We NEVER used to get them types of results, these types of results ARE the different between winning leagues and falling short. (Now not that we will, top 4 for us, but it's the same philosophy)
ReplyDeleteim not a fan of sitting back and taking attackers off for defenders it makes you sit back and gives the other team a boost....thats two games where we have ridden are luck at the end when we should be going for a second good teams will punish us
ReplyDeleteBringing cissokho on gave us cover. Forget attacking, villa was all over us. With cissokho strength we done ok, 3 points is key, but nothing changes with you, negative.
ReplyDeletewe won yes great ..so that means you cant offer a critique of the performance ...we played a lot better in games last year and created more chance but lost them ..you cant go through a season like that
ReplyDeleteJust because Agger about gives me a heart-attack every time he is on the ball...we need another center back...soon. Llori, Sakho...whoever can defend a set piece better, the sooner the better.
ReplyDeleteWinning is all that matters, it's not about how good you play 3 points is the key.
ReplyDeleteas ive pointed out before i only talk about negatives ...or should posts just consist ....of yippee we won another 3 points ....gripping stuff
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't about attacking, it was about us keeping what we had. Which we done, if we were behind and chasing the game I'd get your point but the situation we were in was to keep them from scoring. Can you not see that?
ReplyDeleteif all we can do is waitining for our fate, luck won't be always on our side, and that against a team with one of the worst possession in PL, we just couldn't keep the ball in the second half
ReplyDeleteid sooner play well and get the 3 points as well if im honest
ReplyDeleteDoesn't make sense?
ReplyDeleteYou play to your strength and we did fell off in the first half. Any other team would have drawn or lost. Our defense have no goals on them this season. Chelsea with all their attackers considered a goal and bare came out with a win. You take each game at a time.
ReplyDeleteRight. In the 1st we had a lot of poessesion and when we lost it we took immediate steps to get it back...and it paid off. In the 2nd we looked more like last year, and it was a little scary.
ReplyDeleteYou could say that, two games,6 points,two clean sheets. :) winning ugly is fine.
ReplyDeleteand a cherry? :)
ReplyDeleteYeah that's the whole point... Tell me which is better...? Playing really well and getting no points or a point or getting 3 points and grinding out the result? I know which one I prefer.
ReplyDeleteI can see where gilstrap is going although I don't agree with him in regards to the substitutions.
ReplyDeleteI am happy we have won our first 2 games however our performances do need to improve if we are to continue winning.
Their more positives than negatives. Second game,second clean sheet,6 points, and winning ugly, of that was last season we would of drawed or lost.
ReplyDeleteI'm really pleased with that showing. I know we parked in the second half and Villa had more shots. But they were very poor across the park. And I think it would be disrespectful to say that it was because they were tired. Yeah they had more shots - but most of them were from distance; whilst that doesnt take into account "chances" which we were definitely more creative in. Also should have had a penalty. Glad Rogers saw that Coutinho needed to come off for Allen too; that seemed to nulify Villa in the end. Why Cissokho was LW is beyond me. Ohh well, supposed it worked lol - bring on Utd.
ReplyDeleteThe thing was we had to play deep, meaning them midfield and strikers had to go back too. Because villa on the counter
ReplyDeletei'd like to consider that lfc is not at the same level with a.villa mate, that's why i expect more, of course all 3 points are most like welcome, but when you lead the score then sould try harder to take the win
ReplyDeleteive pointed out its the 3 points which is obviously the main thing..but you can still voice concerns on the performance
ReplyDeletei just dont think we can keep sitting back when we are one nil up...for one we are not the biggest team so when we defend deep and invite high balls in we look shakey
ReplyDeleteVilla actually played very well vs Chelsea during the week.
ReplyDeleteThey were always going to come out firing in the second half against us seeing that they are the home team.
This doesn't mean we are going to play this way all the time, villa do long balls and short balls, meaning we had to play deep to get the second ball when bentekke brings it down, it was all about tactics. :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the game they call Football!!
ReplyDeleteHave you also taught that you wanted us to loose so it will make it easy for you to criticize?? I mean everybody watch the game and we all so the positive and concerns of the outcome. Years back we would have lost. Next week game goes they way we want it and we can go on some serious momentum. Think about that! It's not going to be all pretty all the time.
ReplyDeletethere a girls best friend
ReplyDeletelisten m8 i work with a load of mancs and blue noses trust me i want to win
ReplyDeleteNice win for us. Still worried about scoring. Not many other folks making serious threats except Danny. Aspas looks good but seems to run out of gas in second half.... Please let's get on with signing Sakho or Ilori whomever is faster, tougher and good defending corners. Nuke Skrtel once we sign one of these guys. I would like to too Ibe get some game time to add speed and scoring threat in second half of these games when some of the boys are showing fatigue.....
ReplyDeleteWinning results like this won United league titles. Ah okay but these type of results aren't 'good' enough for us.
ReplyDeletehahaha!! Just saying, support the manager regardless who the person is.
ReplyDeleteIf Johnson had struck that volley absolutely perfectly and placed it in the postage stamp... it still wouldnt have gone in. what was he thinking?? seems to do it all the time, gets in a good position and wastes it
ReplyDeleteWhat i find worrying is that at some point in every game we seem to switch down a gear of two and play with no tempo and get sloppy. Then we cant ever go back up a gear and cut out the errors
ReplyDelete