Craig Bellamy has been excluded from today's squad due to the effect this terrible news has had on him. Gary Speed will always be remembered as a legend of the game that epitomises everything of a true professional of the sport.
Today will be a difficult day for anyone who had any contact with Gary in their sporting lives or life in general and puts into perspective a lot of things. In my personal opinion both sides can go out today and put on a real spectacle to commemorate the life of Gary Speed and celebrate everything he did for the game and his country.
Many people see Man City as too strong for most teams to compete with, but I think we only need to go back to the same encounter at Anfield last season. In that game Liverpool got at Man City from the off, giving them no time on the ball, constantly biting at their heels when in possession and not giving them time to consider their attacking options as they tried to contain wave after wave of Liverpool attack with a roaring Anfield crowd cheering them on in only the manner the true 12th man of football can. Taking our chances is a key factor today as it will be the difference between making our pressure count and leaving Mancini's men punch-drunk on the ropes as was the case last time these teams met at Anfield.
With the exclusion of Bellamy today, this gives Andy Carroll the perfect opportunity to torment today's opponents as he did last season. Irrelevant to the millions upon millions Sheikh Mansour has spent on every area of that Man City side, their defensive capabilities are still truly questionable. They have fullbacks who love to attack but don't look anywhere near as competent when questions are asked of their defending. Quick interplay will be the key for redmen today with wingers probing and asking questions of the Man City back four constantly. Luis Suarez will be keen to continue where he left off at Stamford Bridge last week and the Uruguayan maverick will want nothing more than to take City's unbeaten record today.
Whilst a lot of people will say Man City are a far better team than the one we faced at Anfield last season I would have to disagree. They have added Aguero but have lost Tevez who in my eyes was a player who would guarantee you goals and assists. They have added Clichy who again fits into the mould of a defender whose weakest part of his game is defending. They have also added Nasri but Liverpool need not to consider who is warming the City bench but the 11 players who are on the pitch.
The crowd and the atmosphere at Anfield will be one of the biggest factors for me, whilst passing and movement like we saw in the first goal at Chelsea would undo any side in the Premier League. City really haven't been tested so far this season domestically and although people (including their own players) are proclaiming this side to better than Barcelona it will be interesting to see how this side performs when under the intense pressure of chasing a game they are easily second best in. Personally I think amongst all the stars City have a lot of those stars have the potential of imploding under pressure (Ballotelli, Toure, Kompany, De Jong) and it will be really interesting how they react to such a situation.
We need not to worry about what threat City pose to us but to let them concern themselves with how they are going to stop the Anfield machine in full effect. It will be interesting to see the line up as a lot of fringe players stood up to be counted at Stamford Bridge and no one could deny them a starting berth. Whether or not this will be the case only time will tell.
A win today on the back of this weekend's results would really allow us to undo the wrongs of dropped points at home against Norwich and Swansea and put us back in the mix for Champions League football. Whilst Dalglish is playing down the importance of today's game in the media, the shrewd footballing man from Glasgow knows the importance to the club and the fans.
These are the games every football fan lives for on a Sunday afternoon and can really offer a glimmer of light to Liverpool fans mourning the death of Gary Speed, although not directly linked to the Anfield club, the fans know how much of a footballing legend the man was and join Craig Bellamy in mourning his passing.
Gary Speed - 1969-2011... true legends are never forgotten... YNWA