What an incredible weekend! Chelsea lost to Aston Villa and we demolished Man United in their own back yard. If I may just put on my conspiracy cap for a second, the stat that Manchester United have not conceded a penalty in over 80 matches is astonishing. Do you mean to tell me that in over 7600 minutes of football, not a single Man Utd defender miss-timed a tackle? That not one ball struck a hand in the box (intentionally or unintentionally)? Shocking! I think this goes to the heart of the situation, and that is the FA stood up for Alex.
But that aside, we were not at our best but we were still better than Man Utd.
So how do we beat them?
I watched the television promo of our match, and I quote, “A nervous Cardiff await the arrival of Liverpool.” I giggled like Lauren Moyes when she sees Wilfred Zaha’s name on her caller ID (I couldn’t resist one last dig) and Cardiff should be nervous. Although unlucky to be beaten last week by a miss-kick in the last minute of the match by the Toffees, Cardiff have not improved at all under the former Man Utd striker. Their last league win at home was against a poor Fulham. In fact, in their last 5 home matches, they only won 2 (beating Fulham and Norwich) drawing 1 and losing the other 2. Compare that to our last 5 away matches, in which we won 4 and drew 1 – beating Man Utd, Southampton, Fulham and Stoke away. Not easy places to go to.
I have not seen anything from Cardiff that tells me that they will upset us in this match. Three points and four goals at least for Liverpool.
And our competitors…
I am starting to believe! Although Brendan Rodgers is playing down our chances of winning the title, I believe it is well within our grasp. At the moment, we are the form team, winning 5 of our last 5 matches. Of course, I hope we win all of our remaining 9 matches, and in doing so, take 3 points away from Chelsea and Man City. This will leave us on 89 points. Assuming that Chelsea only lose to Liverpool in their remaining matches, they will end on 87 points. So finishing ahead of Chelsea is in our hands. When it comes to Man City, if their only loss until the end of the season is to Liverpool, then they will actually finish on 90 points. One point ahead of the Reds, which would leave us in second place. Therefore, Liverpool finishing ahead of Man City requires them to drop points. This is why Hull really upset me over the last weekend. To play against a 10 man team for at least 85 minutes and not win, let alone get a draw, is an embarrassment. However, we require Man City to drop at least one point, and their run to the end of the season is actually in our favour. They still need to play Man Utd, Arsenal and Everton - teams that could cause an upset as they fight for honours. Also, they have to play Fulham, Sunderland, West Brom and Crystal Palace who are all fighting for survival. Remember, we do not need them to lose, but only draw one of these matches and we will equal them on points. It will then go down to goals, and we could have them on that. Now, I have not forgotten about Arsenal. I had them winning all their remaining matches, except for Man City and Chelsea, which would leave them on 83 points and finishing fourth. However, we should cheer the Gunners to beat Chelsea and Man City, because if they do they will end on the same points as Liverpool, but our superior goal difference would mean the title is ours. It is possible, my fellow Reds. Believe.
This weekend, I do see Arsenal beating or drawing with Chelsea. I think the absence of Ramirez, Willian and Mourinho, combined with this being Wenger’s 1000th match, Arsenal will be eager to get a result. Man City should prove far too strong for Fulham, and Spurs and Everton should also win their matches. But let’s hope for upsets.
Follow Kurt Ellis on Twitter @kurtellis2
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