Once again, the international break has proven to be detrimental to Liverpool FC and our players. One would have thought that the England coaching team were aware of Daniel Sturridge’s history of injuries and would have considered this before playing him for 89 minutes in a friendly. It is infuriating, but could also assist Liverpool FC in the long run.
With Sturridge injured, this may force Rodgers’ hand in starting with Lazar Markovic in a front three with Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli. There was also concerns about Jordan Henderson’s fitness, though I believe Adam Lallana is fit and could make his debut.
Aston Villa have started well this season and are undefeated in three matches. Though I do not believe their matches were against the toughest opposition, they did beat Stoke away and draw with Newcastle in St James’ Park. Both results are impressive.
However, their first real challenge this season will be a trip to Anfield. Last season, they took an early lead but the Reds fought back. The matched though ended in a disappointing draw. However, compared to the team that took the field that day, I believe our defence is much stronger. Agbonlahor and Weimann will be a concern with their pace, but I am extremely confident that our back four of Manquillo, Lovren, Sakho and Moreno can manage them. However, Aston Villa’s back four does make me smile. Not wanting to speak poorly of a former player, but I think we know what Aly Cissokho has to offer. Senderos and Hutton have always been a little suspect to me, and although I do rate Ron Vlaar highly, he is very short of pace. We can certainly take advantage of them.
I would like to see Lallana come into the team in place of Henderson, just to give Hendo a little more of a rest. I would like to see Gerrard be played next to him with Coutinho coming back into the team to play in the hole. My desired front three would be Balotelli, Sterling and Markovic and I am going for a Liverpool win.
And our competitors…
Chelsea welcome high flying Swansea to the Bridge and may be in for a tougher challenge than they would expect. However, I still think the Blues will get the three points. Arsenal take on Manchester City and I think the Gunners will be out gunned by an angry City team. WBA will host our neighbours who still need to get a win. I believe they will get their first win at the Hawthorns. Spurs travel to the Stadium of Light and I see them dropping points there, and I say the same for Man United’s trip to QPR.
Follow Kurt on Twitter @kurtellis2
Kurt Ellis is a lifelong Liverpool fan living in South Africa. His first novel, By Any Means, was published by Human & Rousseau Publishers in May 2014. It is a gritty, coming of age crime thriller featuring a young Liverpool FC fan. The novel is available on Amazon. To purchase, you can follow the link below. http://amzn.to/Zj532F