please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Hello and welcome to the official match thread for Wednesdayâs Barclays Premier League encounter between Liverpool & Sunderland. The game is scheduled to be played at Anfield on Wednesday 2nd January 2013 with a kick-off time of 7.45PM. English T.V wonât be showing the game but streams showing the game are normally posted before & during the game. Preview. Liverpool welcome Sunderland to Anfield in what will be the first game of 2013 for both sides. Brendan Rodgers & Martin OâNeill will be hoping that 2013 will begin with that all important victory and the three points in the bag. Liverpool & Sunderland had contrasting results in their last games of 2012. Liverpool travelled to London to take on a Q.P.R side in desperate need of Premier League points to help their relegation battle. The game was a potential banana skin for Liverpool considering the Boxing Day result & performance away at Stoke City. However, Liverpool were on their game and powered into a 3-0 lead within half an hour. Liverpool were in complete control during the first half and fully deserved the lead against a very poor Q.P.R side. The second half saw an improved performance from Harry Redknappâs side but they werenât able to create any clear-cut chances and Liverpool came out with a 3-0 victory which moved them up to 9th in the league. (Liverpool have since moved down to 10th due to the Swansea/Aston Villa result) Sunderland were at home on Saturday as they hosted Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs started the game well and missed some good chances and they were punished for those misses. Sunderland striker Steven Fletcher had a shot saved by Hugo Lloris and John OâShea was on hand to tap the ball home and give Sunderland the lead. Spurs responded in the second half and two goals in three minutes gave Spurs a 2-1 lead. A Carlos Cuellar own goal got Spurs back on level terms before Aaron Lennon slotted home nicely after being given the ball midway through the Sunderland half by Sandro. Spurs were able to hold out from there and secured the victory. Spurs were the better side in the game but Sunderland were able to take advantage of the chances presented to them and that makes them a big threat in tomorrowâs game. The recent history between the two sides indicates a close game. The reserve fixture took place in mid-September and it ended in a 1-1 draw. Sunderland took the lead through Steven Fletcher below Luis Suarez got Liverpool back on level terms midway through the second half. Last season was similarly tight with a 1-1 draw at Anfield and a 1-0 Sunderland win at the Stadium Of Light. In fact, the past three seasons and the one game taken place between the sides this season has seen Liverpool win twice, Sunderland winning twice and three draws. So, the recent form would suggest a tight and hard-fought encounter between the two sides. If Liverpool are to get a result tomorrow, Luis Suarez will once again be a key player. The striker continued his excellent form this season with two goals against Q.P.R which brought his goals tally this season up to 16 goals in all competitions. 13 of those goals have come in the Premier League and that makes him the joint second highest top scorer in the Premier League so far. His effect on the Liverpool side is massive and if he is on form tomorrow, he will have the chances to damage the Sunderland defence. One issue Brendan Rodgers will have to deal with is the left-back situation. Liverpoolâs first-choice left-back, Jose Enrique, is out for the foreseeable future with a hamstring injury which was picked up in the Q.P.R game. This leaves Brendan Rodgers with a decision to make regarding the left-back situation for the Sunderland game. He could look to bring Stewart Downing into the left-back position as he has down in previous weeks or he could look to move Glen Johnson to left-back and re-introduce Andre Wisdom back into the side at right-back. The latter of those options seems the better option because both players are defenders in the first place and have the positional awareness needed when playing in defence. It worked reasonably well earlier in the season with both Wisdom & Johnson receiving praise for their performances. This seems the most likely option that Rodgers will use tomorrow. Another player who will be looking for a start in the Liverpool side tomorrow is Jordan Henderson. The ex-Sunderland midfielder has been in good form of late and been an important player for Liverpool in recent weeks. He put in a good performance in the 3-0 win over Queens Park Rangers despite being ill beforehand and he had to be separated from his teammates beforehand to make sure that he didnât pass anything on! That makes his performance even better and heâll be looking to get a start against his boyhood club. Sunderland will be looking to Steven Fletcher to get the goals that could give them a positive result tomorrow. The striker has eight league goals so far this seasons and is well on his way to playing back the rumoured £14M fee that Sunderland paid Wolverhampton Wanderers for his services in the summer. He has lead the line well and much like Suarez, he has been responsible for a large portion of Sunderlandâs goals this season and the Liverpool centre-backs will need to be wary of him. The service he gets is also important. Martin OâNeill has played a 4-4-1-1 for much of this season with Stephane Sessegnon just in behind Fletcher. The Benin international will be looking to exploit the space in between Liverpoolâs defence & midfield and it is important that Sessegnon isnât allowed this space. This could see Lucas Leiva come back into the side after being rested for the 3-0 victory over Q.P.R. Lucas did come on for the last 26 minutes of the game but I would suspect Rodgers will start Lucas to try and combat Sessegnon and keep him quiet. Another potential issue for Sunderland and Martin OâNeill is the defensive side of his team. One massive boost will be the expected return of Danny Rose at left-back. The defender, on loan from Spurs, has been excellent for Sunderland this season and there were some concerns that Andre Villas-Boas could recall the 22 year-old in January. However, AVB has already said that he doesnât plan to bring him back to White Hart Lane and heâll be staying at the Stadium Of Light for the remainder of the 2012/2013 season. His expected inclusion is vital for Sunderland as they played Matthew Kilgallon at left-back and that was an unfamiliar position for Kilgallon and Aaron Lennon was able to take advantage of that somewhat in the Sunderland/Spurs game. In the rest of defence, there are a few concerns. John OâShea, who scored against Spurs on Saturday, is out with a hamstring injury and add that to Wes Brown who is still out with a knee injury and centre-backs options become rather short. Carlos Cuellar seems likely to keep his place despite the own goal he scored on Saturday. He will probably be partnered by Titus Bramble or Matthew Kilgallon with Phil Bardsley playing at right-back. Itâs not a major crisis at the back but itâs not too good and everyone associated with Sunderland will be looking for those injuries to disappear to give Sunderland more strength at the back. So, an important game for both sides! Which side will get their 2013 off to the best possible start? Or will the points be shared tomorrow evening? Youâll find out the answers to these questions and more on the official match thread on the Not606 Liverpool board! Do join in. (That includes the guests that read this thread! Sign up and get involved.) Injury News. Liverpool. Martin Kelly: ACL Knee Injury. Jose Enrique: Hamstring Injury. Fabio Borini: Foot Injury. Sunderland. John OâShea: Hamstring Injury. Wes Brown: Knee Injury. Lee Cattermole: Knee Injury. Suspension News. Liverpool. No suspensions currently recorded. Sunderland. No suspensions currently recorded. Liverpool 3 - 0 Sunderland Goalscorers: Liverpool... Raheem Sterling: 19th minute. Liverpool... Luis Suarez: 26th minute. Liverpool... Luis Suarez: 52nd minute. Liverpool: Reina - Wisdom Carragher Agger Johnson - Gerrard Lucas Allen - Downing Suarez Suso SUBS: Jones Skrtel Robinson Sahin Henderson Shelvey Sterling - Liverpool Substitution: Raheem Sterling comes off to be replaced by Joe Allen. (57th minute) Liverpool Substitution: Jordan Henderson comes off to be replaced by Suso. (67th minute) Liverpool Substitution: Martin Skrtel comes off to be replaced by Jamie Carragher. (73rd minute) - Sunderland: Mignolet - Gardner Cuellar Kilgallon - Johnson Vaughan Colback McClean - Campbell Fletcher McFadden SUBS: Westwood Bardsley Bramble Rose Larsson Sessegnon Wickham - Sunderland Substitution: Stephane Sessegnon comes off to be replaced by Fraizer Campbell. (45th minute) Sunderland Substitution: Sebastian Larsson comes off to be replaced by James McFadden. (62nd minute) Sunderland Substitution: Danny Rose comes off to be replaced by David Vaughan. (73rd minute) - YNWA.
We could really do with winning this. I'm going to be positive and say 2-0. Gerrard with both. Cattermole being out is a bit of a result.
As long as we don't play Downing at left back, we should be ok. If he plays there, we'll struggle. As good as he's been lately, he's a poor defender.
I think its going to be a tough game for both sides. IMHO i think that LFC start as favourites, a great result for you guys against QPR; we were outplayed against Spurs but deservedly beat Man City. Suarez is different class and if we can hold him i think we could draw, potentially nick the win. Love to beat you though but here is hoping for a decent game. All the best lads.
I was kind of hoping you would all be sick especially Suarez. It will be tight but think it could come down to a set peice, it all depends on what Sunderland turn up!
Downing at L/B Suarez with a virus and a Sunderland win, if you have a full team out either a draw or a close win by you. depends which teams show up, either way looking forward to it
I don't think Sunderland are particulaly good at pressing opponents, something we've struggled with against Villa & Stoke, so it should play into our hands a bit more. Agree with everyone that hopefully Downing doesn't play LB. Whats the point when he probably wont be here much longer and we have Wisdom who looks far more promising anyway? Johnson was just as comfortable playing LB, and also he'll be up against A Johnson on that side who loves cutting in on his left so having Johnson who is naturally right footed would be a benefit there.
I used to dread this fixture, now though it's an average team away from home. We should be looking to take all 3pts but I would settle fir a good performance and a draw .
I reckon it depends on which Liverpool turns up, Liverpool at their best will most likely beat us. Whether they'll turn up or not is questionable, but at the end of the day all we can do is play at our best and if Sess, Johnson, McClean and Fletcher all play as well as they can I'd certainly back us to win Anyway my prediction: 0-1 Sunderland, Fletcher to score. Always gotta back my team to win Looking forward to it p.s please log in to view this image
Sunderland are a poor side and they won't get any better anytime soon. They'll park the bus because it is their only hope. Therefore I predict a 1-0 victory for Liverpool.
Tbf Vaughan what did dave say that's laughable?, do you expect Sunderland to treat it as a home game and keep bombing forward? It's an away game and Sunderland will play for a point, if they get a win with their tactics it's a bonus. We'll play our usual home tactics and if our shots on target/hit the woodwork chances go in your ****ed. 3-1 us.
