Suarez could not return soon enough for my liking after some extremely lacklustre performances against Swansea and Southampton. Despite what ever your feelings are about the Uruguayan and his push to leave Anfield, we can not deny that he plays with a passion and energy that Liverpool have been lacking of late. In our last match, we picked up exactly where we left off against Swansea. Playing poorly and being outplayed by a team we should be better than. We managed to go from first to fifth in forty-eight hours.
But our focus this week is the Capital One Cup and our match-up with the Red Devils. Man United are coming off an embarrassment when they were demolished by Man City in the league. They will be smarting from that display, but will Moyes choose to put out his strongest team?
The way I see it, the Scot has two options. The first, put out his strongest team and go all out for the win. Moyes will want to put the devastation of being thrashed in the derby behind him and the best way to do this is with a win against Liverpool. But in putting out a strong team, there is a massive risk of losing again. This would be devastating for him so soon after being mutilated by Man City, being beaten by Liverpool and being held by Chelsea. Should they be beaten again by the Reds, the pressure that Moyes will be put under will be immense. His second option is to field a team of youngsters and fringe players. Should they lose, Moyes can use the excuse that he does not take the cup seriously and he was giving his squad players a run. Should they win with these players, his support from Man United players will increase dramatically.
So how do we beat them?
By playing as if we want to win. In other words, we look at the second half performance against Swansea and the full 90 minutes against Southampton, and play completely differently. I would start with Mignolet between the sticks and Sakho and Skrtel at Centre Back. I would play Martin Kelly at right back as he needs to get match fitness and we need cover for Glen Johnson. I would gamble with Andre Wisdom in a Left Back position. If we need to give Jose Enrique a rest, this should be the game we rest him in. I would also rest Steven Gerrard, but have him on the bench and play Henderson, Lucas and Luis Alberto in the midfield. Personally, I have been very disappointed with Alberto’s performance when I have seen him playing. It is time he stepped up to the plate. The front three should consist of Aspas, Suares and Sturridge from the start. Aspas looks like a very intelligent footballer, and with the smart touches I have seen, I think Aspas and Suarez will play extremely well together. I would also keep Sturridge in the team as he needs to return to scoring ways as soon as possible. I believe that our potential front three will be a lethal combination.
Follow Kurt on Twitter @kurtellis2
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