Liverpool vs Man United - 22/03/15

Same team vs spurs then, that's good imo.

Good news about Carrick as well.

Is he having a giraffe.

That is shockingly biased. Their defence is in no way superior to ours, both are shaky.

How much of a chance us playing this:

Attack:



Defense:

Yeah something tells me Di Maria starts this game. Liverpool's makeshift wing backs are very poor defensively on either side, Sterling has been playing in that position (on the right) sometimes of late and even in the last game Lallana played there, if not one of those 2 it will be Markovic, who will be torn a new one by Young. I suppose they have G Johnson back fit now as well but he's also shit. On the other side it's Moreno who's quick but not the most imposing defensively.

I think we could really exploit their wings mainly down their right hand side, much the same as the Spurs game. It's definitely their weakest defensively.

www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/mar/20/liverpool-manchester-united-top-four-tussle-louis-van-gaal

Some snippets from both managers:

Louie: “We have to confirm it against Liverpool, because when we can confirm it then we can show that we are there. But it is the most difficult ground for Manchester United I have heard.”

So difficult that United’s training this week has been with the hostile atmosphere in mind. Van Gaal said: “I am the referee in the games that we have had in the training pitch and I have whistled the way that they have to control their aggression, for example, to prepare the atmosphere. Control of emotion is also a talent.”

“It shall last to the end and we are very close, but a win helps – and it helps a lot. It helps to continue for Manchester United because after a victory you need another victory to confirm what you have done against Tottenham. But Liverpool needs another victory after the loss against us. That was their last loss – in December – it’s unbelievable. They’ve played more or less the same system since then, for 12 or 13 weeks.”

Van Gaal said the 3-4-2-1 formation that Rodgers first deployed in the league at Old Trafford is a tactic he has employed in the past.

It is players that make systems work and Van Gaal hopes Wayne Rooney can improve his goals return at Anfield. The boyhood Evertonian has scored once in 10 appearances at Liverpool and the United manager has not completely ruled out the possibility of the England captain having to overcome a mental block. “It can be. I cannot deny that but I don’t think that Wayne has a block of that."

“He’s a very experienced player, he has played on all the grounds in the world so I don’t think he shall be influenced by the fans at the stadium or something like that. But Liverpool for Manchester United is not a very easy ground. Now I’m the manager here maybe we can change that.”


Brentan: “There is still a long way to go. There are still big and important games to play. But there would be a psychological boost from winning this game. I’m only worried about ourselves and I think the psychology of being so far behind United and then clawing it back in a short period, and possibly going above United, will help the players.“

“Whatever way the result goes, I don’t think it makes it clear where you finish. It is still very close and very tight. For us it will just keep a remarkable run of games going against our rivals where we’ve won. We had big pressure games against Tottenham, Southampton and Manchester City so we know we can cope with the pressure.

“We want to continue with what we are trying to build here and that involves being in the Champions League. There will always be pressure and if you’re Manchester United, with what they’ve achieved over the last 20 years, it is a gimme that they want to be in there too.”

It may have been where Rodgers got the idea, having been a keen student of the Dutchman’s work. “You can trace it back to his time at Ajax, he had a clear philosophy about how he wanted to work. Everyone wants to win but your philosophy dictates how you want to do it.“

“I have always been impressed from afar by the bravery and the courage he has as a coach. He wants his teams to dominate the ball and have the courage to play. That’s the most difficult thing in football – to get a team to work that way while being defensively strong. He’s someone I have admired over a long period.”