The most frustrating thing during an exciting season is having to wait so long between games. A lack of European football for the Redmen this season means that it'll be a whole 8 days by the time kick off comes around since Crystal Palace were put to the sword in thrilling style. Liverpool are in a 5 way battle at the top of the League and with so many teams in contention there's always a chance that a rival will drop points. This week it's a certainty with the North London Derby taking place. It means that as long as we take care of business it's another golden opportunity to put the pressure on the teams around us.
Liverpool welcome Watford to Anfield and that's not something we've been able to say too often. They briefly became regulars in the top flight in the 80s under Graham 'Do I not like that' Taylor with a certain John Barnes leading their charge that once led to a 2nd place finish. In the Premier League era we have only played them 3 times at home before. There have been a couple of very routine 2-0 wins but the result that sticks out for me is a horror show of a 1-0 defeat in the early days of 99/00. Gerard Houllier had his first summer in sole charge and stockpiled some array of talent from around Europe. Sadly we were upstaged by a balding journeyman Tommy Mooney. Thankfully it proved to be an early aberration and we went on to have a solid season before exploding to greater things the following year.
Most part time gamblers will have us nailed on to win and we'll be included in many an accumulator. Hopefully we don't let them down. We know full well from our away nightmare last season that Ighalo and Deeney can be a handful and they're currently involved in a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to decide which of them will get the customary goal against us that all Premier Leagues worth their salt manage. Hopefully it will be a Hull or Leicester style consolation rather than a West Brom style panic inducer or something even worse than that. Whilst we will be wary of the damage a cosmopolitan squad well managed by Walter Mazzari can do, we know that if we continue to play with the pace, verve and panache of the last couple of months then we have plenty of weapons of our own that will hurt them.
It's worth taking a closer look at the form table (always nice to do when we're riding high. I can't help but notice that as they were doing this time last year, Watford are punching well above their weight. 11 points from their last 6 is a very decent return and they'll fancy their chances of returning home with a point or more. That's not necessarily a bad thing, we prefer teams who come out and play, hopefully leaving some gaps for our quickfire attackers to exploit.
Selection IssuesIt's almost certain that Loris Karius will continue in goal in place of Simon Mignolet. After several games with very little to do it was nice to see him make an important save against Palace and he'll most likely get the nod again.
Three of the back four pick themselves with Clyne, and the goal machines Matip and Lovren very likely to start. The question mark is at left back. Milner has had a great season so far but Moreno acquitted himself well against Palace and will be on standby again should Klopp decide his attacking enthusiasm is worth utilising against a side who will most likely be on the back foot for a lot of the game. That said, Milner's quality delivery would also be a good asset for us in this game.
In midfield we have a real scrap for places again. Assuming Henderson fills his now customary anchor role we have a battle royale between Lallana, Wijnaldum and Can for the final two spots. My money is on Emre to drop back to the bench for this one but as most of you know by now, I know chuff all.
Up front it's very hard to look beyond the ever improving dance troupe that is Mane , Coutinho and Firmino. Exciting news for all of us with the possible exception of Sturridge and Origi. It must be tough for both of them to watch on from the bench but it's a long season and their time will come. For now, it seems likely that Klopp will stick with his tried and trusted.
PredictionGazing into my crystal ball I see us starting with the following line up:
Karius
Clyne Matip Lovren Milner
Henderson
Lallana Wijnaldum
Mane Firmino Coutinho
I'll predict that Bonfire Weekend will go with a bang and go for a 3-1 win for the Mighty Reds with goals coming from Mane, Wijnaldum and Firmino...Deeney briefly giving the Hornets hope by making it 2-1.
