Saturday, 15 March 2014

Premier League Preview: Manchester United v Liverpool

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Premier League Preview: Manchester United v Liverpool

Premier League Preview: Manchester United v Liverpool

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 10:26 AM PDT

As in recent seasons, the fixture does not pit two title rivals against one another, although this time around it is United who have struggled to keep pace at the top rather than their Merseyside visitors. Due to Moyes rocky first season in charge, it could be argued his side will be underdogs at Old Trafford this weekend. Brendan Rodgers charges have taken 23 points from a possible 27 since the turn of the year and are in the title reckoning thanks, in part, to the fearsome strike duo of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez who have helped Liverpool net 73 league goals this season. While Liverpool have not won at Old Trafford in their last six attempts in all competitions, Moyes acknowledged on Friday that United could have their work cut out, even on home turf. I think its the biggest game in the Premier League. There has been great history between the two clubs over a long period, he said. (Winning on Sunday) would be a big boost. It would be an important three points. Their league position suggests theyre ahead of us and they possibly do come here as favourites. While Liverpool require a win to maintain title momentum, three points for the champions would merely serve to keep their faint hopes of UEFA Champions League football alive. Indeed, the UEFA Europa League looks a more realistic proposition, although even that is not a guarantee in a season that has seen United beaten eight times in the top flight. They sit five points behind fifth-place Spurs, having played a game less, with Sundays fixture the first of three vital games in just a fortnight. On Wednesday, they will seek to turn around a two-goal first-leg deficit against Olympiacos in the Champions League last 16 before hosting rivals Manchester City the following Tuesday. Rodgers will hope Sturridge can add to his 18 Premier League goals and put a further dent in Uniteds season, but the England international feels the result at Old Trafford is not make or break. We have got big games regardless of the Manchester United result, of course we want to do as well as we can in every single game and get maximum points if we can but it is important we keep playing the football we do, he told the clubs official website. I dont think winning at the weekend is going to change anything in regards to the title race. Moyes was handed a boost in midweek with Nanis return to training from a hamstring injury while Rafael (ankle), Javier Hernandez (knee) and Jonny Evans (calf) could all return for Sundays clash. Rodgers too has been boosted after Lucas Leiva (knee) and Mamadou Sakho (tendon tear) returned to contention following spells on the sidelines.

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Liverpool welcome back Lucas, Sakho

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:54 AM PDT

Brazil midfielder Lucas has not featured since the draw with Aston Villa at Anfield in January due to a knee problem, while France defender Sakho has been sidelined since suffering a torn tendon in his leg at Chelsea in December. The duo played for Liverpools Under-21 side against West Ham last Friday and manager Brendan Rodgers is content that they are both ready to play their part for the rest of the season as his side challenge for the Premier League title. Rodgers said at a press conference on Friday: Were fine - weve had Lucas Leiva and young Sakho back in, Its a great credit to them; when I gave players time off, they actually wanted to stay behind. It shows you the commitment of this squad. They had an opportunity to have a break, theyd been working very, very hard with the medical team, but they decided to stay and last Friday they travelled down themselves in a car to London to play in an U21 game. Both came through that fine and theyve trained very well this week. They come into the squad and were only got Jose Enrique (knee) missing. Make no mistake, the two players (Lucas and Sakho) are very valuable players for us in our squad and if theyre called upon to play or come off the bench between now and the end of the season, of course we will use them. Lucas and Mamadou have got great commitment to what were doing and well welcome them back into the squad. United have endured a disappointing first season under David Moyes, but Rodgers will not be taking the champions lightly this weekend. He said: Theyre the champions and theyve got players who are serial winners there. Were only concentrating on ourselves. Theyve got top players but I dont know the dressing room well enough to understand where they are at.

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Moyes welcomes Van Persie commitment

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:29 AM PDT

Van Persie has been linked with a move away from the Premier League champions this season after it was reported that he had become unsettled at Old Trafford. The Netherlands international was said to be unhappy playing for Moyes, but he denied those claims on Thursday and stated that he is eager to sign an extension to his contract - which has two years to run. Moyes has insisted all along that the former Arsenal man is not seeking pastures new, so it came as no surprise to the Scotsman to see Van Persieunderline his desire to stay. Ive been telling you that (hes staying) but youve wanted to say or write something different, he said at a press conference on Friday. Its difficult if you dont believe what I say. Robin is happy here and Im pleased about that. I didnt know what was coming out Ive only just heard this morning about it. Well take it as it is. He has a couple of years to go on his contract and Im sure that will be something the board look at. Ive always said weve got two outstanding forwards in Wayne and Robin. Both have capabilities of winning games off their own back. Theyre both pivotal international players and the sort of players any side in the world would want in their team. Im delighted to have both of them and, more importantly, that they both want to be Manchester United players. United face Liverpool in a mouth-watering clash at Old Trafford on Sunday and Moyes revealed that Nani is set to return after being sidelined since December with a hamstring injury. Rafael, Javier Hernandez and Jonny Evans could also be back in contention for the encounter with Brendan Rodgers second-placed side. Moyes said: Nani is back. He had a really bad hamstring injury. But he is back and has trained. Hopefully we get him up to speed very quickly. Rafael (da Silva), Javier Hernandez and Jonny Evans are all coming along. They all have a chance of playing on Sunday.

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The Football Weekly, free from FourFourTwo

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 05:17 AM PDT

FourFourTwo, the world's biggest football magazine, is proud to announce the arrival of a new member of the family: The Football Weekly, a brand new cross-platform digital publication… free of charge. The new app, which works on all Apple and Android devices, updates ahead of each weekend's fixtures to bring football fans content on their mobiles. With entirely separate content from the monthly magazine (also now available in a bespoke-for-iPad version), the Weekly brings exclusive interviews, analysis, reaction and previews of the big games. The first issue includes a look at how Brendan Rodgers' Anfield revolution has closely mirrored Fergie's early days at Man United – while the Red Devils' troubles under David Moyes recalls Liverpool's slide under Graeme Souness. There's also exclusive interviews with Manchester City's Joe Hart, Bayern legend Ottmar Hitzfeld and Ghana's secret weapon Majeed Waris, plus Michael 'Zonal Marking' Cox on tactics, satire from Back of the Net, the week's best images – and the ways Tottenham could learn from Arsenal. The Football Weekly is downloadable for free at Google Play and the AppStore and updates every Thursday evening.

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Why your moneys good on Man United against Liverpool, and a big Real Madrid win

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 03:55 AM PDT

Bored by the horses at Cheltenham this week? Or just fancy turning some of your hard-earned winnings into even greater riches? Good, because Bet Butler are here to help you do just that. With the La Liga title race hotting up, Real Madrid must ensure their table-topping points tally keeps increasing. This weekend they travel to struggling Malaga, who have failed to build on last season's run to the Champions League quarter-finals under Manuel Pellegrini and find themselves in the lower reaches of mid-table. Sunday tees up one of England's most hotly contested derbies, when Manchester United host Liverpool at Old Trafford. The pair's seasons have turned out quite differently to pre-season expectations, with the visitors finding themselves 11 points ahead of their noisy rivals in second place. David Moyes could certainly do with all three points if United are to secure European football next season - whichever competition that might be. On Monday night, Roma hope to tighten their grip on second spot when Udinese visit the Stadio Olimpico. Rudi Garcia's men are way off the pace of runaway leaders Juventus - 14 points, to be precise - although they do have a game in hand over third-placed Napoli. With only the top two in Serie A guaranteed Champions League football, it's still all to play for where the Romans are concerned. Malaga vs Real Madrid (Sat, 7pm) Thanks to Barcelona's poor form in 2014,Real Madrid, four points ahead,are in with a fine chance of winning La Liga this season. Saturday's hosts Malaga, meanwhile, are involved in a tight relegation battle involving the whole bottom half, but grabbed a huge win at Osasuna to relieve some of the pressure. Since 2009/10, Malaga have lost 16 of 19 matches against the Big Two, with 14 defeats by more than one goal, including 6 of 9 home matches. After selling their best players last summer, the Andalusian side have lost all four of their home games this term against the current top six. Real Madrid have dropped points at the four teams directly below them this season, but have otherwise won 9 of 10 away matches. Their last six wins in La Liga have all been by at least two goals, and 8 of their last 12 have been by three or more. Real look hungry for goals right now and should be backed on the Asian Handicap -1.5 at 1.80. Nine of Real's last 15 away matches have seen at least four goals, but such is their excellent clean sheet record in 2014 that we prefer the handicap here. Furthermore, Malaga have failed to score in 6 of their 13 home games this season. Karim Benzema has scored more goals against Malaga than any other La Liga side, having netted 7 times in his last 7 appearances against them. This includes scoring in all four starts - he's struck once every 60 minutes over these seven matches. With the Frenchman having started in 17 consecutive league games, scoring in 11, he's worth looking out for in the scorer markets. Man United vs Liverpool (Sun, 1:30pm) Liverpool have been playing like potential champions recently, so it would give Manchester United great pleasure to derail their title challenge. While Liverpool have scored in all 11 league meetings with United since 2008/09, they have still lost at Old Trafford in each of the last four years. United have been fairly dire at home this season, but have played better in their last couple of matches (on the road) with an XI close to their best. Liverpool have conceded more away goals this season than any team in the top 14, winning just 1 of their 6 trips to teams currently in the top eight and losing three. In fact, they conceded at least twice in those five matches they failed to win, and United have lost just 5 of 279 home games in the Premier League when they've scored two or more goals. At Anfield it would be hard not to back Liverpool in their current form, but they still fail to convince on the road, and with the pressure of being title contenders it looks sensible to back United outright at 2.45 or take the Draw No Bet option at 1.75. United's last game against one of the top four was a tedious 0-0 at Arsenal, but with Liverpool's instinct to attack we could see this game open up. 21 of Liverpool's last 23 matches have seen at least three goals, as have 5 of their 6 trips this season to the current top eight. Nine of the last 11 meetings between these teams have seen both sides score, with 8 having at least three goals. While we don't expect Liverpool to be able to keep a clean sheet, it is also hard not to see them scoring - United have seen three or more goals in 16 of the 20 home matches they've conceded in since the start of last season, with 9 seeing at least four. Over 2.5 Goals is a generous looking 1.75, while Over 3.5 Goals is very tempting at 2.80. Roma vs Udinese (Mon, 8pm) Roma have conceded just two goals at home all season. However, a lack of goals at the other end is starting to have an impact. Losing Kevin Strootman to a season-ending injury is another huge blow, and with Daniele De Rossi still suspended, the centre of midfield is beginning to look a bit bare. Udinese have lost only 1 of their last 6 matches, and while it hasn't been a good season they are now 10 points clear of danger. They won't be afraid of playing Roma having won this fixture last season, and have finished in the top five for three consecutive seasons. They've travelled to five of the current top half this term, and while they've lost four times, none were by more than one goal. With Roma having scored just once in their last three games and likely to still be missing Francesco Totti in attack, it's worth noting that their average goals per game is 2.60 with their captain, and just 1.44 without him this season. Against a depleted Roma, Udinese are worth risking on the Double Chance market at 3.00. With both teams scoring in just 1 of Roma's last 10 matches, we could be in for a low-scoring game. Roma have netted at least three times on their own in 4 of their last 5 home matches, but with their significant absentees it would be a surprise if they can replicate that. Six of their last 11 home games against bottom-half teams have seen fewer than three goals, as have all of the last six home games they've failed to win. With Udinese set to make life difficult for the home side, this should be a tighter game than forecast and Under 2.5 Goals is worth backing at 2.05. Missing men We've scoured Europe to find three teams missing important players and begging to be taken on. Charlie Adam (Stoke) Adam has missed 26 of Stoke's 65 games since the start of last season, and while they've won 31% of games with him, this drops to just 15% without. It's led to their points per game falling from 1.26 to just 0.85. Jon Walters is also suspended, and Stoke have failed to score in any of the four games he's missed since the start of last season. West Ham are 1.70 on the Double Chance, while their last two away wins have both been 2-0 scorelines - a huge 17.25 to be repeated here. Yacine Brahimi (Granada) Brahimi is a key attacking midfielder for Granada, and since the start of last season they've scored just 14 goals in the 18 matches he's missed. The last 7 of those games have seen just 7 goals, and 8 of the last 9 have been level at half-time. Under 1.5 Goals is a juicy 2.95. Carlos Zambrano (Eintracht Frankfurt) Zambrano has missed just eight games since the start of last season, but without him Frankfurt have won only once. Only one of those matches was at home, but did see them fail to beat last season's bottom team, and in the last two matches he's missed they've conceded nine goals. Freiburg have won the last two away games they've scored in and are 2.0 on the Asian Handicap +0.5.

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The FourFourTwo Preview: Man United vs Liverpool

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:09 AM PDT

Billed as Unlikely also-rans versus unlikely title contenders. The lowdown Who'd have imagined at the beginning of the season that Liverpool would go into this game as many people's favourites – and as realistic title contenders, no less? Not even in most Reds fans' wildest dreams did they believe that come March their team would have a chance to kill off Manchester United's already-faint hopes of Champions League qualification. But while the need for revolution rather than evolution has become increasingly clear at Old Trafford, Brendan Rodgers has brilliantly juggled a squad seemingly lacking depth, displayed a tactical flexibility that his counterpart has apparently been lacking up to now and brought a feel-good factor to Anfield not seen in 20-odd years. Sure, the Northern Irishman has been lucky with injuries and a lack of European distractions (although Luis Suarez was missing for the first six weeks of the season), but such is the verve Liverpool are playing with that nobody seems to be holding that against them. And yet, this might just be the worst time to visit Old Trafford. In their last two Premier League games, United seem to have stumbled across their best attacking line-up. Gone is the 4-4-2 – which briefly reappeared with disastrous results against Olympiakos in between victories at Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion – to be replaced by a more fluid 4-2-3-1. And despite Liverpool being unbeaten in 2014, United have won their last six homes games between the two. Although you know what they say about derbies… Team news The continued absence of Jonny Evans shouldn't be felt by United after Phil Jones' successful return from a hip injury last week. Nani and Javier Hernandez remain sidelined with hamstring and knee problems respectively but neither would be likely to make the team at present. For Liverpool, defender Mamadou Sakho is fit again, as is Lucas, the Brazilian more likely to return if Rodgers decides his midfield needs reinforcing. Given United's defensive woes, however, the anchorman is likely to remain on the bench, with Liverpool's attack-minded approach continuing. Key battle: Wayne Rooney vs Steven Gerrard England colleagues and good friends, Rooney and Gerrard will be able to do plenty of catching up on Sunday. The latter is mainly deployed in a deep midfield role these days, starting many of Liverpool's attacks with accurate short passes or defence-stretching long ones, as you can see from the 3-0 victory at Southampton which disproved the theory that the Reds struggle to win tough away games. But with Rooney occupying the same area of the field as Gerrard – dropping into the hole to create, score and probe as he did against West Brom – the England skipper may be pre-occupied with his vice-captain and unable to influence Liverpool's attacking game as much as he would like. A fascinating match-up. The managers 4-4-2, 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1: you name it, Rodgers is happy to play it. And while Liverpool have changed little in term of personnel since the two teams shared 1-0 wins in September – United's coming in the League Cup – David Moyes seems to be following his opposite number's lead by giving youth its head and demonstrating more tactical flexibility. Of late, Maraoune Fellaini has provided some long-awaited muscle alongside Michael Carrick in midfield; a fluid front four of Rooney, Robin van Persie, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj has shown glimpses of its potential, while Jones and Chris Smalling were praised by Moyes for their partnership against West Brom. A good performance against Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, and this could be the future. Facts and figures Liverpool have scored in all 11 league meetings with United since 2008/09 but United have won this fixture in each of the last four years. Liverpool have lost 3 of their 6 trips this season to the current top eight, winning only once, and last season won 0 of their trips to the top six despite scoring in each match. United have won 5 of their last 10 home games against top-six teams. 23 of Liverpool's last 27 away matches have had at least 3 goals, including 6 of 8 trips to top-six teams. United have not conceded before half-time in any of their last 9 home games against top-six teams. Best Bet:United @ 2.45 More FFT Stats Zone facts • Find the best odds with Bet Butler FourFourTwo prediction United's season to finally get a kick-start. 2-1. Man United vs Liverpool LIVE ANALYSIS with Stats Zone

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How Brendan Rodgers moved with the times to transform Liverpool from the new Barca into the new Dortmund

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:23 AM PDT

A couple of months into Brendan Rodgers' tenure at Liverpool, left-back Jose Enrique said he should be given backing as he wanted "to bring a style of play like Barca's to the club", and that it wouldn't be achieved overnight. And, over the course of Rodgers' first season, that was the vision he had for the team. Much was made of the progress that Liverpool made; philosophy became the most overused word when referenced by the fans or people related to the team. Liverpool were going to rely on their youth teams and produce the British version of Barcelona – Rodgers had done it Swansea and now he was going to take it to a bigger stage. After all, tiki-taka was the way to play football. This is the 'correct' way to play football, we've been told. The term 'tiki-taka' was coined by Javier Clemente – the godfather of up-and-at-'em style in Iberia – and it was supposed to be disparaging. Instead it became, much like Total Football, a term to define the style that brought you moral high ground. Its rise came about in the second half of the noughties, as crises affected all the major clubs in Europe; the exceptions to that being the English Big Four and Barcelona. Myth busters The Bosman ruling resulted in the rise of player power and superclubs, the result of which was that you never had a squad together long enough to enact philosophies. That led to broken teams – attackers attacked and defenders defended, and that was that. But the increasing turn away from football as a contact sport meant that you could no longer rely on reducers and scary defenders to protect yourself, and thus we saw the rise of pressing by the late noughties. Barcelona's style was ideological as much as practical – theirs was descended from the Dutch school. The English too relied on that, except in their cases it was a British style where you harried opponents and closed them down, like you always had. It was still pressing, but without the hipster glasses and ideological paeans it wouldn't receive the attention it deserved. It was something the British were stereotypically capable of, but the structure brought by the best coaches in the game meant that their huffing and puffing was now part of a system. Some of the greatest wins of that era were the result not of s**t-on-a-stick bus parking, but the sort of pressing that would make Rinus Michels proud: Liverpool destroyed Real Madrid at Anfield by pressing them high; Chelsea were up 3-0 within 20 minutes against Barcelona in 2005 because they started the match like a pack of hungry wolves. And the longest stretch of excellence on the continent by Sir Alex Ferguson came about as he often lined up with two, if not all three, of Carlos Tevez, Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung as part of the front four. Ferguson was never credited as the greatest of tacticians but he never fell behind the latest tactical trends, and his deployment of Park (much like Benitez's deployment of Dirk Kuyt) was a quiet revolution: you defended from the front, often with players whose main job was to win the ball as high up the pitch as possible. You couldn't ask for a better trio to press than Park, Rooney and Tevez, and Ferguson realised this even as the continental giants kept acquiring attackers who only attacked. But for all three of these teams, as well as Barca, pressing was a secondary tactic, a way to regain possession and hold onto it as long as possible. As contact in football reduced, possession became the greatest defensive tactic (for you could not concede without losing the ball) and the greatest attacking tactic (as the opposition got tired chasing the ball around, unable to apply the reducer they could have two decades earlier). But what they did with the ball remained their primary focus. Hard-pressed Enter Jürgen Klopp and the next age of pressing, with a team that relied so completely on it that their work without the ball was secondary to their work with it. As Borussia Dortmund fought their way to a surprise Bundesliga title in 2010/11 the doubters kept asking when they were going to collapse - after all, they were young, too young in fact. When they won the title they were the youngest team to have done it in Germany's history – but what was considered a weakness turned out to be a strength; young minds malleable and egoless enough to listen, and young legs fresh enough to follow up on those instructions. They became that rarest of teams, one that became completely reliant on their work out of possession. They pressed up high, and broke immediately until they had a chance or lost the ball; and then they did it again, and then again. Over the years their style has become more nuanced, gegenpressing if you will, but they are still a team that relies on pressing and verticality (two rather hipster terms but easier to elaborate than most). In a way, they are the team that has come closest to perfecting the English style, or rather the style the English think they do (or ought to) play. Perhaps the greatest compliment to them was paid earlier this season when they took on Pep Guardiola's Bayern. Pep – one of the finest tactical minds around – decided to have his defenders lump long and pump diagonal balls for most of the game's first hour to neutralise Dortmund's pressing; he realised that if his defenders didn't have the ball long enough, Dortmund couldn't press. Pep abandoned tiki-taka because he feared Dortmund's pressing. And lo, the hipsters did weep. Dortmund are the model now, perhaps even more Barcelona. Atletico Madrid under Diego Simeone, for instance, are evolving towards that style, combining their previous expertise in pure counter-attacking to the Dortmund style – both relying on directness; and in Diego Costa they have perhaps the best forward in the world when it comes to both styles. And it is also this style that Liverpool have increasingly adopted this season. Barca-loners We were told that Liverpool would become Barcelona. Through most of Rodgers' first season, the possession stats were thrown at us, as if those are the lone signifiers of the quality or entertainment of football a team plays. Dortmund, for example, finished last season's Champions League with more possession in only three of their 11 matches, yet it would be hard to find anyone who would claim that their style was boring. And Rodgers, to give him credit, has realised that the personnel that he has are built different from a style that he spent years peddling. He may still have his Brentian moments, but Rodgers has shown the tactical flexibility (a variety of formations, all with the specific aim of maximising the opportunities of his front duo) and humility to change his team's style. Liverpool have gone from dominating possession charts (and fighting for European places) to being ninth in the possession table, but challenging for the title. The rise of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge has meant that rather than trying to fit them into his system, Rodgers has adapted his own systems. In the Premier League this season no team has a higher number of through passes per game, no team has scored more goals on the counter-attack, and no team has attempted fewer crosses per game than Liverpool. This is a team that is direct and relies on the break. They play at a tempo which means they're at their best right at the start of a match (the first half against Arsenal being perhaps the best example of this) and the energy spent at the start means that they get worse as they tire – leading to them being a pretty poor second-half team. Rodgers was hired to make Liverpool the English Barcelona, but instead he has made them the English Dortmund. Not too many Liverpool fans would mind that.

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