Topic: West Ham vs Liverpool (Pre Match Thread),Upton Park - Saturday 20/09/2014 5.30pm

[LiverLuke]

West Ham vs Liverpool,
Upton Park,
20/09/14
Kick off - 5:30pm

Noticed there wasn't a pre-match thread for this one. I always look forward to this game as I live locally and a lot of my mates are west ham fans. Should be a tough test for us, like many others i'd like to see us play the diamond with two up top. I think balotelli works a lot better with a partner who moves a lot around him, funnily enough that might just be borini. If we want to keep pace with chelsea we could really do with winning this game, despite how early in the season it is.  I'm going to the game but sitting with the west ham fans which should be.. interesting

Possible Line Ups:

West Ham: Adrian, Jenkinson, Cresswell, Tomkins, Reid, Song, Noble, Zarate, Downing, Sakho, Valencia.

Liverpool: Mignolet; Manquillo, Lovren, Sakho, Moreno; Gerrard, Henderson, Allen; Sterling; Borini, Balotelli.

Liverpool are undefeated in 21 of their last 23 matches against West Ham in all competitions.

Liverpool have won three and drawn one of their last four matches against West Ham.

[kb2x]

I'm going with my west ham mate to this one, sitting in the front row of the east stand... Looking forward to it!

[Zlen]

It'll be difficult.
I hope Allen is back at least.

[Paul JH]

Not remotely confident. I don't know, it's just the way this season has started.
 

[Caston]

West Ham play a more open game this season which can leave them more exposed, and as we seem much better playing away on the counter I can see us having alot of joy in this game.

A narrow win will do for me, but it'll be quite a difficult game

[JRC_]

Little apprehensive about this one, looking forward to the away trip though!

Come on boys!!!

[killer-heels]

They don't have the best of home records and the crowd will be on their back if we get a goal early. Valencia will be a handful though.

I know its a cliche but there are no easy away matches in the Premier League and this one is no different. The key is grinding out a win regardless of the performance.

I think we will go 4-3-3 with maybe Allen (if fit) or Lucas in place of Coutinho and Markovic in place of Lallana.

[Not that Gareth]

Hope we see the diamond start this one, whether that is Balo/Borini, Balo/Lambert or better yet Balo/Sterling with either Lallana or Cou at the tip, Allen and Hendo in the middle with Gerrard anchoring.

Feeling it won't be any of that though and it will be same set up as we saw midweek. Grind it out, get the win and get some fluidity in our game, that's all I'm looking for. We really should be winning this one.

[Jookie]

Unless we draw them in the cups, is this the penultimate match we'll ever play at the Boleyn Ground / Upton Park?

In terms of the game. Hopefully Allen is back. I'd actually play Borini up top with Balotelli with Sterling at the tip of the diamond.  Coutinho and Lallana drop down to the bench. If Allen isn't fit I'd play Coutinho alongside Henderson in the 2 of the midfield diamond.

[Chris~]

Wouldn't be surprised if they set up not to lose, as a third straight loss at home puts Allardyce under even more pressure.

And he also came out with this after the Hull game:

West Ham have conceded in every game this season, and Allardyce said: "That is something we have to think about.
"Attractive football is OK, but you need to have that defensive unit too."

[Dakota]

West Ham play a more open game this season which can leave them more exposed, and as we seem much better playing away on the counter I can see us having alot of joy in this game.

A narrow win will do for me, but it'll be quite a difficult game

Not against us, they won't. I'd bet anything that Fat Sam is going to batten down the hatches.

[Red Sea]

west ham looked vulnerable against hull but will surely up their game, I predict a hard fought match!

[mkingdon]

Like most, I really hope we start with two up top. For me I'd go Balo and Borini, so that Sterling can play at the tip of the diamond.

Behind that I'd go for Gerrard, Henderson and Allen (if fit).

I know it is early doors, but we need some momentum after a stuttering start, and three points here would do just that.

I'm going for a 0-2 victory.

[Caston]

Not against us, they won't. I'd bet anything that Fat Sam is going to batten down the hatches.

Maybe, but their fans hate Allardyce when he plays that way. Hope he sets his team up to attack us, but like you said I can see him going very defensive

[Sgt. Pepper]

I'd start with...



3 French speaking players at the back, 2 Spanish fullbacks, 4 English midfielders, 2 Italian strikers - That's what I call a balanced team

[Petadroli]

I'd start with...



3 French speaking players at the back, 2 Spanish fullbacks, 4 English midfielders, 2 Italian strikers - That's what I call a balanced team

Would be an alright formation for me! Though I think if Allen is fit he will take the place of Lallana.

[MrRaptorTurtle]

I'd start with...



3 French speaking players at the back, 2 Spanish fullbacks, 4 English midfielders, 2 Italian strikers - That's what I call a balanced team

I'd love to see this!

[robertobaggio37]

Hopefully Joe is fit for this one.

[Caston]

Hopefully Joe is fit for this one.

Find out in just over an hour

[G1-tiga]

Something I have been thinking about this game is how it will effect the fan base. Either Chelsea or City have to drop points, therefore with a win we could be either three points behind Chelsea who we have to play home and away yet, or ahead of City who many have tipped for the title.

I know some people will argue 'oh well it's the start of the season' but yeah that's kind of my point. I've read too many comments recently with massive negative connotations when we are four games into the season. A win this weekend puts us in a great position in my opinion. Though a draw or a loss is not the end of the world either.

If you do not agree with that then I'll put it the way that brings my piss to the boil. Manchester United are higher odds than both ourselves and Arsenal to win the title this year after beating QPR. For the sake of sanity we need to set that right as soon as possible.

I think we will do it as well, comprehensive 2-0 and the moaners can go back to waiting for the next mess up to rear their heads.

[Petadroli]

Is Andy Carroll now actually fit for this game? I read a few days ago that he restarted training...

[Caston]

Is Andy Carroll now actually fit for this game? I read a few days ago that he restarted training...

No

[Caston]

'Having lost patience with Mignolet, Liverpool decided to see if a dummy keeper could do any better'

(This is a joke)

[RainbowFlick]

I'd start with...



3 French speaking players at the back, 2 Spanish fullbacks, 4 English midfielders, 2 Italian strikers - That's what I call a balanced team

The UKIP must absolutely hate us.

[JackWard33]

Why do all these line ups include Borini
Bizarre how overly impressed people were with his sub appearances

If we play a diamond I'd play Sterling off Balotelli, Lallana or Coutinho at the top of the diamond rather than suffer the drop in quality of having Borini up there

[C10TINHO]

I'd start with...



3 French speaking players at the back, 2 Spanish fullbacks, 4 English midfielders, 2 Italian strikers - That's what I call a balanced team

Lallana looks really off the pace to me.  Would much rather see joe allen if he is fit for the game. Also remember a midfield 3 of Lucas, Henderson and Allen last year which was doing well and we looked much more mobile. Not many would agree, but i would love to play them 3 again, and drop Gerrard to the bench. I think at the moment we are looking for systems to suite Gerrard rather than whats best for the team.

[hollger]

Fat Sam would have been licking his chops at the way we've struggled against teams that play defensively lately. However, West Ham have been playing with noticeably more adventure than last season and it's fair to say they are trying to play more attractively than they have been. Not sure if that's a credit to Allardyce or more his reaction to try and keep his job in the face of mounting fan unrest (and from the board, too), but I'll go with a bit of both

That's not to say that they're more than capable of reverting to that bus parking strategy mind - and they could well play it versus us.

I'll be happy with another scrappy win

[indlfc]

Not against us, they won't. I'd bet anything that Fat Sam is going to batten down the hatches.

Was a hostile atmosphere last season. Carrol fouling Mig and us conceding. Isn't this the game Lucas came on and we got some control?
Can't remember who scored for us though.

[Dakota]

Was a hostile atmosphere last season. Carrol fouling Mig and us conceding. Isn't this the game Lucas came on and we got some control?
Can't remember who scored for us though.

Stevie scored two penalties.

And yes, that West Ham goal following Big Andy bitchslapping Mignolet should have not stood.

[Caston]

Haven't seen Allen in any training pictures yet.

[C10TINHO]

Mignolet

Flanagan (if fit)
Sakho
Lovren
Moreno

Lucas
Allen
Henderson

Markovic
Sterling
Balotelli

This is a formation i would really like to see although no chance of it happening. We would be really solid in midfield, and this is needed when playing away from home against someone like Westham.  It has also worked well last season as all 3 can play anywhere in the middle, and can interchange. Also sterling and markovic would give us genuine pace on the wings and this is when a 4-3-3 becomes much more effective. It would increase the speed of our attack and will prevent us from slow build up play. I would love if Rodgers tried a formation without Gerrard as he is 33, and cannot be a certain starter anymore.

[Caston]

Why would you drop Manquillo? And Flanagan isn't even training yet

[Sgt. Pepper]

Lallana looks really off the pace to me.  Would much rather see joe allen if he is fit for the game.

I agree but, that's the thing...

Haven't seen Allen in any training pictures yet.

If it's between Coutinho and Lallana (neither look at their best) I'd go with Lallana because it's not lack of confidence/form with him but mostly lack of fitness and game sharpness due to being injured in pre-season. After about 120 minutes in the last two games he could be on his way to full fitness and showing what he's capable of. Then again it could be too soon for him to start 3 games in a week so we might see Coutinho start despite lack of form. Wouldn't surprise or disappoint me either way.

[Hazell]

Haven't seen Allen in any training pictures yet.

Rodgers' press conference is today I think, in about an hour. We'll know who's potentially available then.

[Caston]

Rodgers' press conference is today I think, in about an hour. We'll know who's potentially available then.

Yeah 2pm although he is always about 20 minutes late 

Haven't seen Allen,Lovren or Manquillo in 62 pictures so far but of course that doesn't mean much until Rodgers confirms anything in the conference

[Gerry83]

going for a narrow win for us here but the blueprint seems to be set on how to beat us and fat sam is up there in terms of not being ashamed of the manner in which he wins a football match.

Sit back and defend and hope for a mistake or score against us from a set piece seems to be a common approach. As much as he pains me id like to see GJ (or flanagan) back for this one. They'll (the team and crowd) target the apparent weaker links in our squad and i think that will be manquillo/moreno, simple in terms of playing anywhere as fiesty as upton park. We seem to play better away from home but whether we can shake these last 2 nightmare performances off so quickly remains to be seen.

[Glass Kites]

I'd start with...



3 French speaking players at the back, 2 Spanish fullbacks, 4 English midfielders, 2 Italian strikers - That's what I call a balanced team

Yep, can someone email this over to Brendan and tell him we're happy for him to go ahead with this lineup.

Ta.

[Caston]

As much as he pains me id like to see GJ (or flanagan) back for this one. They'll (the team and crowd) target the apparent weaker links in our squad and i think that will be manquillo/moreno, simple in terms of playing anywhere as fiesty as upton park.

Well Johnson or Flanagan probably aren't available, and they really aren't the weakest links infact they have been our best performers apart from the city mistake

[quinny]

Unless we draw them in the cups, is this the penultimate match we'll ever play at the Boleyn Ground / Upton Park?

I think so. I'll be sad to see it go, always like going to West Ham and it'll be another one of the 'proper' football grounds gone.

[Dakota]

They'll (the team and crowd) target the apparent weaker links in our squad and i think that will be manquillo/moreno, simple in terms of playing anywhere as fiesty as upton park.

First, Ludo was hardly a nightmare performance (Villa, yes) and it's quite disrespectful to their great game/effort to say that in a game where Liverpool created plenty of chances. Second, M&M are by no means weak links in our team at any ground. Third, neither Atletico Madrid nor Sevilla's are known as quiet, unassuming grounds. They're used to feisty.