Official Thread : Sunderland - Liverpool

B*O*S*H* said:

And lets hope that it will be tmr at Sunderland

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Agreed.I saw his first goal in the first team at the end of the 96/97 season @ Selhurst Park,and of course ever since .I think he will score,and hopefully Nico as well,and that'll do nicely.

I know what you're saying,and i genuinely respect your views here - after all some,posters do talk out of their......rear orifice ,but not you.Like me,the club is 100% in your heart.All i'm saying is St. Michael loves the big stage,and things he's said & done in the past give me a pretty good idea of where his mind's at.It's understandable.In the other thread,you'll see i don't blame him or GH for that loss - the team as a whole didn't play well,and he may have missed a couple,but i haven't forgotten the 2 he scored in Cardiff,so i do have perspective on this issue - believe me.He is recovering,but i can tell he's holding back just a little too much generally speaking.Let us be under no illusions about Michael,that's my only message.I don't want this to turn into a rant,so i'll draw this matter to a close.

Hopefully,the boys will be fired up to bounce back strongly,and win by a couple of goals if possible.In a way i expect them to now - this team has tremendous character,togetherness & fortitude.If we don't win it this year,we are definitely gonna do it next time,that's a promise.March on you Mighty Reds!

Soccerage preview

After a lackluster performance against Leverkusen which eventually led to Liverpool's dramatic exit from the Champions League, The Reds travel to the Stadium of Light hoping to boost their spirits with an away victory to keep pace with league leaders Arsenal and Manchester United. Mathematically, Liverpool will clinch at least a fourth place finish in the Premier League if they secure the three points. They will also be guaranteed of a trip back to next year's Champions League. Of course, anything less than three points will see them drift further behind league leaders Arsenal.

Sunderland, on the other hand, will look for a positive result on Saturday to ease their relegation fears. Three more points would do nicely for Peter Reid's men although statistics do not point in favour of Sunderland. The team has found the net only 17 times at the Stadium of Light in Premiership competitions. Only bottom club Leicester has done worst. Liverpool will bring their excellent away record to Sunderland, which should feature former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer in midfield.

TEAM NEWS AND FORM GUIDE

England international Kevin Phillips should be fit to partner Patrick MBoma for the Liverpool clash. Niall Quinn, the 35-year-old Irish international striker is also a possibility should Mboma be unfit for the match.

With Michael Gray is still out with a back injury, George McCartney will continue at left-back.
Kevin Kilbane should also keep his place on the left wing.

Sunderland (all comps – oldest results first): WLDLWL: The last six games reflect a very accurate picture of Sunderland's season. It could be an over dependence on Kevin Phillips. It could be the team's overall inability to maintain a string of inspirational performances. It could very well mean new signings for the home team by the time next season commences. In short, their form has been sub par; 26 goals in 34 league games will just not do it.

Emile Heskey is not expected to feature in Saturday's game. He suffered a hamstring strain against Leverkusen. Meanwhile, Steven Gerrard is expected to take charge in midfield. There are also speculations that skipper Sami Hyypia who is suffering from flu may be out.

With Heskey out, Owen and Anelka should partner upfront. Hamann should give The Reds the midfield maturity that it sorely lacked in the last 30 minutes against Leverkusen.

Liverpool (all comps – oldest results first): WWWWWL: The Reds will look to vent their frustrations on Sunderland after they were quite emphatically dumped out of the Champion's League quarter-finals. Nonetheless, Liverpool will now have their full concentration on the Premier League. After letting in four goals against Leverkusen, overconfidence will be the last thing on their minds, as the men from Anfield will look for their defence to step up again.

taken from ZoomSoccer.com

European disappointment may motivate Liverpool at Sunderland


By Zoomsoccer, 2002-04-13

LIVERPOOL, Apr 13 (Zoomsoccer) - Liverpool travel across the Pennines with their sights set on the Championship after the disappointment of midweek elimination from Europe. Sunderland, who haven't enjoyed a home win over Liverpool in 44 years, are still two points shy of the 40 point mark and stand just three places and five points above the drop zone, with four to play.

The Merseysiders uncharacteristically conceded four goals in the Champions League Quarter-final at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday and went out 4-3 on aggregate. In the Premiership though, they visit the Stadium of Light on the back of successive victories over Fulham, Newcastle, Middlesbrough, Chelsea and Charlton.

The Reds have not lost a League game for three months and if they extend that record here it would equal the 13 match unbeaten run they achieved between 15 January and 21 April, 2000 when they won 8 and drew 5 - one of those draws being 1-1 against Sunderland.

Liverpool would leapfrog Manchester United and move into second place with victory here. They would then be one point behind Arsenal, having played one more game, and one point ahead of United on the same number of games.

Sunderland's 2-1 home win over now doomed Leicester on April Fools Day is their only victory in five Premiership outings.

Liverpool hold an unbeaten Premiership record at Sunderland, although they are yet to record a Premier League 'double' over the Black Cats.

Liverpool became the top divisions outright leaders with a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture in November, thanks to Emile Heskey's first goal for two months. However, the Merseysiders finished with ten men, after Dietmar Hamann was shown a red card for a dangerous, two footed tackle on Bernt Haas.

The Reds are therefore on course to complete their sixth 'double' of the season after home and away victories over Manchester United, Leicester, Newcastle, Middlesbrough and Charlton. Manchester United and Middlesbrough are also among the three clubs to have beaten Sunderland twice this term. The other is Tottenham.

Liverpool have conceded only 26 goals in 33 League outings and have managed 15 clean sheets. A draw here would be their 50th in competitive games since Gerard Houllier first took joint charge with Roy Evans. Similarly, a defeat with be their 50th loss in League and Cup games since Houllier first joined the Anfield managerial ranks in July 1998.

another article from ZoomSoccer.com

Tired Liverpool may find Sunderland too eager to handle


By Zoomsoccer, 2002-04-13

SUNDERLAND, Apr 13 (Zoomsoccer) - Sunderland have not beaten Liverpool in the seven Premiership meetings to date -home or away.

Liverpool have collected seven of the nine points available on Premier League visits to the Black Cats.

The Merseysiders are unbeaten in 19 away League games against the Wearsiders. They have won 11 and drawn eight of their League trips to Sunderland over 43 years.

Sunderland has last defeated Liverpool at home on 30 August, 1958 when they won 2-1 in the old League - Division Two at Roker Park.

The Mackems last home win over the Merseysiders in the top flight was 3-2 on 25 October, 1952 in the former League - Division One.

Liverpool won the reverse fixture 1-0 and are on course for a first 'double' over Sunderland in the Premiership, first over them for 11 years and 14th since the inaugural League fixture in 1894.

The question many would be asking is whether Liverpool can recover from the disappointment of being knocked out of the Champions League. If they can, then Sunderland are in for a tough game, if they cannot then the Black Cats may just claim the points here and keep themselves away from the relegation dogfight.

Liverpool in the meantime will channel all resources into winning the English Premier League. They know they cannot afford to drop even a single point but the fact that their mental strength was stretched in Leverkusen may leave some of their players tired which would aid Sunderland’s cause here.

Ok.. enough articles

I'm a bit on the scared side about today's game.. we've not been the best side against Sunderland.. but then again.. they are a shadow of the team that was so exciting last year... Especially in attack.. Ok.. Mboma is someone I really rate well.. but Quinn is past it.. and Phillips has been SO off form... But my problem is how our lads will cope with the game.. especially with the disappointments of last Tuesaday!!

then again.. I hope we can prove everyone wrong with a win at the Stadium of Light... In terms of points.. it's actually essential.. as this away game is the toughest we have in our run in..

Team Line Up:

Dudek for sure... I'd go for Xavier, Henchoz, Hyypia, Carra in defence.. why?? not cuz I like Carra.. but cuz I think Riise is much more useful as a midfielder... in midfield I'd go for Gerrard, Hamann, Riise and go for a 3 man attack with Litti, Owen and Anelka..

I wouldn't mind seeing Baros playing.. although I have the sad feeling he might turn into another Sean Dundee or Erik Maijer!!

I really hope we go for the 4-3-3.. But what's more important.. is rest Murphy and Smicer!!!! especially Smicer who's been piss poor.. I wouldn't want to see Berger either (as I'm really not a fan of his)..

Anyway.. I hope we do an Arsenal and come back from our Euro exit with a fine win (Arsenal smacked Newcastle 3-0 in the FA Cup QF replay)...

YNWA

Raanan, you call a match a dull affair when boh halves of a match are boring. The scoend half was exciting to say the least. While Gerrard's setup for the Owen goal was absolutely magnificent, Owen's finish was simply out-of-the-world. You really couldn't blame Sunderland for any sort of defensive errors for that goal. That one was simple unstoppable. And Anelka was really unlucky to hit the bar after making a fool out of two defenders with sheer class:star: As for the Quinn volley, the save by Dudek was more spectacular than the volley Also a stunning turn-around shot by Phillips heading for the top corner was made to look easy to save by the unbelievable Polish. Dudek is class. PURE CLASS
With Heskey out injured and Houllier starting all 3 strikers, Baros should have been on the bench He simply does not get ANY chances to prove himself Btw, Phillips missed a header which was a glorious opportunity for the equaliser. My mouth almost dried as I saw the ball flying in, only for Phillips to miss from close range. What a let-off! Phew..........

Go Liverpool!

Liverpool started with the formation that most of us here clamour: 4-3-3 with Jari fitting behind the front two. But as expected, we were crowded out in the midfield in the first half, and we virtually did no attack down the wings. With Riise and Xavier not contrived in attacking, we were sorely lacking any forward movement, save for the long balls for Anelka and Owen to chase. As a result, our midfield do not have cover and Jari was frozen out of action most of the time. However, it was through one brillant piece of work by Gerrard, reminisent of the destruction of Germany in Munich, that sent Owen through and he clipped the ball past Sorensen for what it turns out to be the only goal of the game. After that, Jari was taken out to be replaced by Murphy, to basically fill in the gaps in the midfield, and Dudek pulled off a brillant one-hand save from Quinn's volley. Anelka hit the post, but that was to be the closest Liverpool came to doubling their lead. 1-0 was how it finished and we move into 2nd.

paw