The Official Not606 Match Thread: Liverpool Vs Cardiff City. (Carling Cup Final)

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Hello and welcome to the Official Not606 match thread for Sunday's Carling Cup final between Liverpool & Cardiff City. The game is to be played at Wembley and is scheduled to kick off at 4PM on Sunday 26rd of February. The game will be available to watch on BBC1 and Sky Sports 1. Build-up will begin at 3.00PM on BBC1 and at 3.30PM on Sky Sports 1. BBC Radio Five Live will have the radio rights to this game.

Preview/How They Got Here.

So here we are. The first domestic cup final of the year.

Let's have an in-depth look at both sides and their chances of picking up the first piece of silverware of the season!

Liverpool.

The Premier League side are favourites for Sunday's Cup Final but as we know from last season, the favourites don't always win. Liverpool currently sit 7th in the Premier League with 39 points from 25 games. The league form has been inconsistent with many draws at home against sides in the bottom half of the table. However, the form in both domestic cups have been a lot better.

The Carling Cup has been one of the highlights of Liverpool's season so far. Having joined the competition in the second round, they have played all but one of the ties away from home and have battled through to reach the 'New Wembley' for the first time.

They started the competition with a potentially tricky away tie at League One Side Exeter City. Kenny Dalglish sent out a very strong side to signal his intentions to progress in this competition and Liverpool came away with a 3-1 victory. The strike partnership of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez getting a goal each to go with Maxi Rodriguez's goal. This got Liverpool through to the third round and another tricky tie at Brighton & Hove Albion. With Brighton riding high and doing well in their new stadium, Liverpool could have been on the end of a 'Cupset' They weren't. Liverpool put in a strong performance and came away with a 2-1 victory. This put Liverpool into the fourth round of the competition which was an improvement on last season when Liverpool were dumped out by Northampton in the third round.

Liverpool then got another tricky away tie at Premier League side Stoke City. Stoke had already beat Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium this season so Liverpool fans were nervous about this game. Liverpool didn't start well with Stoke gaining a first-half lead but a double from Luis Suarez gave Liverpool a good away win and we moved into the quarter-finals of the League Cup. An away tie with Chelsea was our reward. Liverpool put in a good performance and a first ever goal for defender Martin Kelly helped Liverpool win 2-0. Maxi Rodriguez got the other goal as Liverpool were given a two-legged semi-final against league leaders Manchester City.

This was a difficult semi-final to get so it was important that Liverpool started well. And they did. A Steven Gerrard penalty meant that Liverpool took a 1-0 lead going into the second leg at Anfield. With Liverpool having a one-goal lead, Manchester City had to go for it and took the lead twice in the game. However, Liverpool came back into game and ex-Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy got the goal which brought it back to 2-2 on the night and helped Liverpool go through 3-2 over the two legs.

Craig Bellamy will be a key player for Liverpool. The Cardiff-born forward has been a key player for Liverpool this season and will be a big threat to his hometown side. He has been a crucial player for the Premier League side in this competition with goals against Brighton and Manchester City along with assists in the quarter-final against Chelsea. If Craig is on the top of his game on Sunday, he could be the difference between the two sides.

Cardiff City.

The Championship side are underdogs for the cup final but as Birmingham City fans will tell you, this doesn't matter. Cardiff City currently sit 5th in the Championship with 53 points from 32 games. They are well set to push for promotion to the Premier League which is their main aim for this season. However, their Carling Cup run has been excellent and gives the fans another trip to Wembley and a chance of a domestic trophy.

They started their Carling Cup run with an away game at League Two Oxford United. Cardiff needed extra time to beat Oxford 3-1 and secure a second round tie with League One promotion chasers Huddersfield Town. Cardiff needed a 92nd minute goal to take the game to extra time where they got goals from Craig Conway and Don Cowie to win the game 5-3.

This set up an all-Championship affair with Leicester City. Cardiff again went to extra time after a 2-2 draw but couldn't win this one in extra-time. It went to penalties and defender Paul Quinn netted the decisive penalty to set up a last 16 game with Eddie Howe's Burnley.

With both sides renowned for playing good football, over 11,000 were in attendance hoping for a good game of football. Joe Mason, a summer signing from Plymouth, curled in a left foot shot to give Cardiff the lead. Despite some Burnley pressure near the end, they couldn't get a goal to take the tie into extra-time. This put Cardiff into the quarter finals and a tie against Premier League strugglers Blackburn Rovers.

Blackburn made many changes for the game and Cardiff's quality shined through as they won 2-0 in front of just under 20,000. Scotland striker Kenny Miller got an early goal and Steven Gerrard's cousin, Anthony, got the second as Cardiff heaped more pressure on Steve Kean and book a semi-final tie with Crystal Palace.

It didn't start well for the South Wales side with Palace taking a 1-0 lead through Anthony Gardner's headed goal. Cardiff did have a goal disallowed but even with this disadvantage, Cardiff would have felt confident of overturning the 1 goal deficit at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Palace defender Anthony Gardner again scored... Into his own net! This gave Cardiff a 1-0 lead on the night and 1-1 on aggregate. Despite Cardiff pressure, they couldn't find a way through and it went to penalties. Cardiff kept their cool and scored all 3 of their penalties whilst Palace bottled it and missed two of theirs. This meant that Cardiff went into the Carling Cup final and got another visit to Wembley.

Danger man: Peter Whittingham is a massive player for Cardiff. Let go by Aston Villa in 2007, he moved to Cardiff for a reported £350,000. He has since established himself as a key player for Cardiff and has been linked to Premier League sides. With one of his strengths being set-pieces, the Liverpool defence will have to stand up to his excellent set-pieces if they are to contain Cardiff.

Conclusion.

With Liverpool looking to win their first piece of silverware since 2006 and Cardiff looking to win the League Cup for the first time, this should be a great final. Liverpool are the favourites to win the cup but as i've already said, the underdog has done well in recent years. Liverpool have players like Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and Craig Bellamy who had hurt Cardiff but Cardiff have players such as Peter Whittingham, Joe Mason and Kenny Miller who will be a threat to the Liverpool backline.

Good players. Good teams. The will to win a domestic competition.

This sets it all up for a great cup final! Here's hoping.

​

Liverpool 1 - 1 Cardiff City​

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Goalscorers:

Cardiff City... Joe Mason: 19th minute.
Liverpool... Martin Skrtel: 60th minute.

Liverpool:

Reina
Johnson
Agger
Skrtel
Enrique
Downing
Gerrard
Adam
Bellamy
Suarez
Carroll

SUBS:

Doni
Kelly
Carragher
Spearing
Henderson
Maxi
Kuyt

Jordan Henderson coming off and Craig Bellamy is on: 58th minute.

Cardiff City:

Heaton
McNaughton
Hudson
Turner
Taylor
Cowie
Whittingham
Gunnarsson
Mason
Miller
Gestede

SUBS:

Marshall
Kiss
Gerrard
Earnshaw
Conway
Naylor
Blake

YNWA.

 

Excellent opening post Chris

 

Should be a great game and I can't wait to see the new Wemberleee No reason we can't win this one but as with any game we have to be up for it and at our best. Thought Cardiff were impressive against Palace and have earned their place so may the best team win.

I think both line ups will be fairly easy to predict and for us it will simply be a question of who stars alongside Gerrard and whether Kenny goes with Carroll, Suarez AND Bellers.

I think we will be made to work extremely hard for this one but if we are on top of our game we should go on to lift the cup. Come on the Reds.

YNWA

 

Some pictures from training!

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Can we borrow those goal posts for our end LOL

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Ah nice to see Stewart Downing practicing his backwards pass for the final

 

And some more pictures from training!

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God he worries me.

This might be a great game for Carroll though. He should boss their back four.

 

And even more pictures from training!

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Carroll has been great lately, and he's already scored against Brighton, Oldham and Exeter who are all in lower leagues.

Saying that in a one off game Cardiff will fancy their chances, they have nothing to lose so we can't take anything for granted. A positive is that Cardiff are a more attacking team which would play to our strengths with the pace of Bellamy and Downing.

Can't wait for it now

 

What worries me is our Gerrard taking Carrolls legs off at the knees and getting sent off, like his cousin Stevie he does suffer the occasional rush of blood I hope Hudson is declared fit but he's missing match time !!

 

Can't wait now, it's getting close. Just wishing the days away.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/latest-news/andy-on-final-wembley-and-luis

Andy Carroll believes Liverpool must treat Sunday's Carling Cup final as though they are playing a top Premier League rival if they are to prevail against Cardiff City at Wembley.

The Reds are favourites to beat the Championship side and lift the trophy for a record eighth time.

However, Carroll insists Kenny Dalglish's side cannot take anything for granted against a club who are vying for promotion to the Barclays Premier League.

He told Liverpoolfc.tv: "It will be a tough game. They have got to the final too and they've got there for a reason.

"They're a good team, so it's a going to be difficult. I am just looking forward to getting there and playing against them.

"I know they are in the league below, but they've got to Wembley for a reason.

"We've got to go and think we're playing against Manchester United. We've got to treat it as though they are the best team we'll play against."

He added: "I am buzzing and can't wait for it. All of the lads are the same. It's a cup final at Wembley for Liverpool, so it's great.

"I came here to win medals. Getting to Wembley is great - now hopefully we can go there and get the win."

Carroll will head into Sunday's showpiece on the back of a good run of form which has seen him net against Wolves and Brighton to supplement several impressive displays.

The striker admits he's been pleased with his performances, but insists he must continue to impress in training in the lead up to Wembley in order to try and secure a starting berth.

"I'm getting the games I want, my fitness is up there now, and I'm scoring goals - it feels good," he said.

"We've got a great team and a great squad, so he (Dalglish) could put anyone in and anyone will do a job. I've just got to work hard this week and try to get myself in the starting XI."

Carroll's goal against Brighton on Sunday was one of several highlights of a thoroughly satisfying afternoon for Liverpool as they ran out emphatic 6-1 winners.

The Reds No.9 also claimed an assist for Luis Suarez's header to further display encouraging signs of a blossoming partnership between the duo.

Carroll said: "We've been training well together, so when it comes to a game it's just natural. You saw against Brighton we both got on the scoresheet, so it's coming off.

"I haven't been fit in all of the time I've been here, but training together has shown we can do it (as a partnership) and against Brighton we showed we can score goals up front together.

"As I said, we've got a big squad and everyone is a great player. Anyone can come in really and you've always got to stay on your toes and train well to stay in your position."

 

Never mind you having them I think we need them our end haha

 

Great thread as ever, Chris.
Looking forward to this.

 

I think Liverpool can win, but I also think Cardiff could win too. It depends who kicks the football in to the other teams net more. Liverpool have better ball kickers than Cardiff but in the game of football either team can kick the ball in to the net so Liverpool aren't guaranteed to win, hopefully Liverpool will score more goals than Cardiff and we'll pick up that shiny cup thing and walk around the pitch

 

Nice one Chris. Very thorough overview.

I think this will be a great game of football with both sides massively up for it Cardiff are capable of playing some very good football and were unlucky to miss promotion last season.

Let's hope for a memorable match, great banter between the fans and please..................................



















.......................................NO BOOING

 

thanks for this chris. i have avoided the cardiff city one for banter as it was pure utter discrace and full of guys witring stuff that if reported would have the thought and hate ppolice at thier door (literally ala terry)

I would hope that the mods keep this CLEAN. that requires the cardif mod as well.

I agree with RHC, cardiff fans will only disgrace themselves if they attempt that. they and swansea have some issues that needed to be put i nthe past and so i would hope everyone acts like this is the biggest game thier club will play and respect the occasion.

Its not like suarez didn't grow up in and then go on to play in some of the most intense arenas in both uraguay and holland so i think he really isn't that affected by it. If wigan is the example you try for your going to be dissappointed as that was AFTER the game and right at the time of the incidents.... suarez will just shut you up but your club will look bad... as does brighton.

As did utd even if suarez did steal the headlines, ferguson had to come out after and clam down evra and the corwds actions even though all he wanted to do was gloat.

message: nobody wins with that behaviour..... except suarez cos he'll eventually get sympathy and he'll feed off it meantime.

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2 days to go! 2 days!!!!! come on yewwwww REEEDS!!!!!!

 

Does Bellamy train with the rest of the squad? Just wondering as he's not in any of the photos. Do you think he'll start?

 

Hard to know. Kenny will keep it close to his chest. However, I'm convinced he will play a significant role in the match, and gut feel says he'll start. We'll all find out soon enough

 

Anyone noticed that Shelvey has pinched Pacheco's joggies?

His shirt says 33, the joggies say 12...