2nd Leg Strategy

[anfieldanfield]

There's no way Rafa will play Stevie in the center alongside Xabi.

He 'needs' a more defensive player in there as well.

[Jayesh87]

There's no way Rafa will play Stevie in the center alongside Xabi.

He 'needs' a more defensive player in there as well.

I know thats why i said its a shame Rafa won't play it. Shame really as he is our best player and the team should be built around him and with him in the middle he can make things happen which is harder to do when he is drifting about on the wing.

[Harv]

There's no way Rafa will play Stevie in the center alongside Xabi.

He 'needs' a more defensive player in there as well.

The only way Stevie will be central is if he is playing in the "hole"...and TBH i wouldnt be at all surprised to see us go with either Crouch/Kuyt and then Stevie in behind.

Pennant on the right, Gonzalez or Kewell (if he can show something this weekend) on the left.

Xabi and Masher will play again. Im very surprised Momo wasn't in there instead of Masher last night TBH. He destroyed Chelsea last time out.

[tomasjj]

Hmmm....
I would try and compress play the 40-50 meters of the pitch, negating their counters by a pretty high defensive line and a good offside trap, but with more pressure on them than last night.

Also, we have to stop playing SG on the right, not because he wants to play elsewhere and cannot do a job there, but because he doesn't stay on the right.

So, Pennant must play.

Bellers ripped Ferreira to pieces last time when he played the left channel, I would let him do that again.

Masch and Xabi are too similar - bench Mascher put Momo in.

Sami might win more balls in the air against Drogba, but he is too slow to play against a counterattacking team like Chelsea. Drogba is dynamic, and runs a lot. Sami would struggle.

That leaves us with:

Reina
Finnan Carra Agger Arbeloa
Pennant Momo Xabi Bellers
SG
Crouch

Not a world beater team, but what we got.
Kewell on the left would have been great, but he is not ready.
SG in the middle with Xabi is an idea, but Rafa will not do that against such a strong opponent.

[Rhys]

we should play a diamond with alonso being dropped in favour of gerrard in the middle. riise should play on the left with pennant on the right. or if kewell is fit he should play from the start, as he is the only decent lw we have who can cause major problems.

hyypia shouldnt start agger should rafa will tell him to learn from his mistakes and he will.

sissoko shouldnt be played macherano does a similar job but he justs needs up his game from yesterday, plus he has the eye for a pass and is much better at the short ball game.

i cant decide whether arbeloa or riise should start at lb arbeloa seems to be better defenceivly so i would play him.

so:

-----------reina
finnan-carra-agger-arbeloa
---------mascherano------
pennant-------------kewell/riise
----------gerrard-------------
-------kuyt-----crouch------

[AFII]

Hmmm....
I would try and compress play the 40-50 meters of the pitch, negating their counters by a pretty high defensive line and a good offside trap, but with more pressure on them than last night.

Also, we have to stop playing SG on the right, not because he wants to play elsewhere and cannot do a job there, but because he doesn't stay on the right.

So, Pennant must play.

Bellers ripped Ferreira to pieces last time when he played the left channel, I would let him do that again.

Masch and Xabi are too similar - bench Mascher put Momo in.

Sami might win more balls in the air against Drogba, but he is too slow to play against a counterattacking team like Chelsea. Drogba is dynamic, and runs a lot. Sami would struggle.

That leaves us with:

Reina
Finnan Carra Agger Arbeloa
Pennant Momo Xabi Bellers
SG
Crouch

Not a world beater team, but what we got.
Kewell on the left would have been great, but he is not ready.
SG in the middle with Xabi is an idea, but Rafa will not do that against such a strong opponent.

I will never understand why Momo would be a better option than Mascherano. He would do the same work as Mascherano but Chelsea would then be able to close down Gerrard and Alonso and that would leave us with Momo and Pennant as our playmakers.

Do you really want that?

[tomasjj]

I will never understand why Momo would be a better option than Mascherano. He would do the same work as Mascherano but Chelsea would then be able to close down Gerrard and Alonso and that would leave us with Momo and Pennant as our playmakers.

Do you really want that?

Sorry, but Xabi can do the work of Marsher with even more offensive quality.
Momo is a lot more dynamic and harassing than Mascher - much harder to play against.

[tomasjj]

As for my lineup, I reckon Rafa will pick that team, except that he will have Riise instead of Bellamy on left mid.

[Neil Young]

Sorry, but Xabi can do the work of Marsher with even more offensive quality.
Momo is a lot more dynamic and harassing than Mascher - much harder to play against.

...and with, arguably.

I was surprised he didn't play yesterday. Rafa was too attacking I thought.

[tomasjj]

...and with, arguably.

I was surprised he didn't play yesterday. Rafa was too attacking I thought.

I hear you...but I think we need to be nastier in the middle of the park. Momo is the man for that, now as SG has worn his slippers for the last years and stopped crushing the opponents.

Too attacking? In what way?

[AFII]

As for my lineup, I reckon Rafa will pick that team, except that he will have Riise instead of Bellamy on left mid.

I don't think there is any chance at all that Momo will play but that is my opinion. We would lose to much ball possesion and we need to be on top of Chelsea and not chasing them.

[Neil Young]

I hear you...but I think we need to be nastier in the middle of the park. Momo is the man for that, now as SG has worn his slippers for the last years and stopped crushing the opponents.

Too attacking? In what way?

Hindsight I know but we should have played one up front and gone for a nil-nil. I think Rafa thought Chelsea would try to male the game would be more open than last time and played a counter-attacking team to deal with it. We should have simply been defensive and killed the game.

"Should have" - what's the point?

It doesn't matter now.

[tomasjj]

"Should have" - what's the point?

It doesn't matter now.

Oh, it matters a lot - learning.