| Two "crisis clubs" meet at Anfield. |
Pompey travel to Anfield looking to do the double over Liverpool for the first time since the 1947/48 season.
Team News
Ricardo Rocha returns to the side following his two match suspension whilst Anthony Vanden Borre, Aaron Mokoena and Tommy Smith are all available following long term injuries.
Yossi Benayoun faces a fitness test for Liverpool, but Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres are both set to start in a game that Rafael Benitez dare not lose or draw.
Glen Johnson, David James and Steve Finnan should all face their former clubs.
The Pre-Match Takeover Talk
All the talk today has been about Liverpool fan Rob Lloyd heading the consortium that are going to buy Portsmouth and "take the club back to where it deserves to be."
Andrew Andronikou has played down Lloyd's talk and says it "pisses him off" as the administrator is baffled as to why has gone behind his back and gone public with his bid when non-disclosure agreements were signed.
Lloyd is under scrutiny as an individual because his own company has had its own debt problems but this is where the other members of the consortium, South African based group Old Mutual, come in as they supposedly have the funds to keep Pompey going and to satisfy the more aggressive of the club's creditors.
Andronikou has hinted that he believes Lloyd, who appeared on the Secret Millionaire TV show in 2008, is a "chancer" and also has to investigate rumours that he already has ties with another Premier League club.
I don't blame Andrew for being sceptical and it seems like an official takeover is at least a couple of weeks away yet as he has to do his homework and be certain that Pompey will be going into safe and clean hands when it's bought out.
The Match
There is not a single Premier League club who have had it as bad as Pompey this season but Liverpool come close.
Tipped for the title by many, the Reds are struggling in a fight for fourth place, are out of the Champions League and their only hope of silverware comes from the Europa League, where they are 1-0 down to Lille after the first leg in France.
It's quite possible that Rafael Benitez's side won't qualify for Europe at all with Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City all seemingly in better positions to finish higher in the league than the Merseysiders, so they'll be under immense pressure to beat the league's bottom team.
As we're under no pressure, I hope we go there in a positive mood and attack them. We've got nothing to lose and you can be sure that their fans will get restless if we take the lead.
I still think we'll get beaten, but we've got bigger fish to fry in the FA Cup.
Predicted Starting Line-Ups
Liverpool
GK: Pepe REINA
RB: Glen JOHNSON
CB: Jamie CARRAGHER
CB: Daniel AGGER
LB: Emiliano INSUA
RM: Dirk KUYT
CM: Javier MASCHERANO
CM: Steven GERRARD
CM: LUCAS Leiva
LM: Albert RIERA
CF: Fernando TORRES
Pompey
GK: David JAMES
RB: Steve FINNAN
CB: Ricardo ROCHA
CB: Hermann HREIDARSSON
LB: Nadir BELHADJ
CM: Marc WILSON
CM: Michael BROWN
CM: Jamie O'HARA
RWF: John UTAKA
LWF: Quincy OWUSU-ABEYIE
CF: Frederic PIQUIONNE
Last Time: Liverpool 1 Portsmouth 0
This was officially Tony Adams' first game in charge of Pompey and it ended in defeat thanks to Steven Gerrard's second half penalty after Diop's handball in the box.
Pundit Watch
Lawro: Home Win (2-0)
Soccenet: Home Win
My Prediction: Liverpool are an ordinary side but we have been bottom of the league all season for a reason. I expect Liverpool to win but unconvincingly.
Liverpool 1 Portsmouth 0 |
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