Liverpool’s two most recent league results, perhaps more so than any others this season, have divided opinion amongst fans and journalists alike. Visits to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the Etihad of Manchester City yielded a point each; and perhaps more importantly than that, Brendan Rodgers saw his side issue a remarkable response after the dismal showing against Oldham the previous weekend. The performance against champions Manchester City was especially pleasing; Liverpool dominated proceedings, playing a free-flowing, attacking game from the off. At face value, a two-all draw secured at statistically one of the toughest grounds in the Premier League would appear a fantastic result for Rodgers and his side, as would the draw earned at the Emirates.
Alas, games of football are really as simple as they appear on paper, and these two fixtures were no different. In the Arsenal game, Liverpool led by two goals to nil with half an hour left to play, before being pegged back and eventually finishing the game clinging on desperately to a point. The one goal lead Liverpool held at the Etihad was similarly squandered, and several questions were asked of Liverpool’s mental toughness. Why had they twice failed to hold onto leads, that would have seen them scrapping for Champions League qualification rather than hovering in seventh? The full time whistle in Manchester brought about mixed emotions; despite the ‘rebuilding’ nature of this Liverpool season, this felt very much like two points dropped.
When Liverpool host West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Monday, there will be no such ambiguity. No controversy will surround the full time result. Three points, twinned with a confident, fluid performance, and the two points garnered at Arsenal and City will be looked upon with far more optimism. Any dropped points, or a shaky display, will see the knives sharpened and the manager’s methods questioned once more.
As we have seen so many times this campaign, consistency has very much been Brendan Rodger’s Achilles heel. He will be fully aware that this is exactly the type of game that his side have struggled with; a string of good results has so often been proven to be yet another false dawn, in the harsh light of hindsight. He will want to make sure that his side really have turned a corner of late, that his philosophy has got through to his players, and that consistent good results can now be achieved. There can be no hiding behind the good performances in North London and Manchester. Liverpool must disprove the accusations of mental weakness that have been levelled at them, and to do that they must win games such as the one against West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Liverpool’s job will be made slightly easier by two key injuries for West Brom; Youssouf Mulumbu is out with a knee injury, as is fellow midfielder Zoltan Gera, scorer of the long-range effort that put Liverpool on the road to defeat at the Hawthorns in August, just thirty minutes into Brendan Rodger’s first Premier League game at the club. West Brom also have central defender Goran Popov suspended; the Macedonian was sent of at White Hart Lane for spitting at Tottenham’s Kyle Walker.
Liverpool have in fact been rather lucky with injuries of late; they will however be praying that Daniel Sturridge recovers from his thigh strain, attained against Manchester City, in time to face the Baggies. The new signing looked arguably the best player on the pitch during the game, his pace and the threat he posed up front looking an invaluable asset to the Reds. If he is able to play on Monday, his manager’s life will be made far easier.
New signing Coutinho has been a Liverpool player for a week, but is still most likely unable to start due to fitness issues. He may well appear on the bench, however; if he is able to make his debut, the attacking threat he brings to the table could help stretch a tiring West Brom back line in the latter stages.
If the home team’s game plan goes as it should, the key action areas will very much be in the West Brom defensive third. Liverpool’s strike force looks at least ten times as potent as it did pre-Sturridge’s arrival, and Liverpool have the personnel to cause the West Bromwich defense problems right across the forward line. Alongside Sturridge, the key player for Liverpool will of course be Luis Suarez. There is little left to be said for the Uruguayan; his goal tally this season speaks for itself. He looks rejuvenated now he has a fellow goalscorer amongst the ranks, and it would be overly obvious of me to point out that if West Brom are to get anything, anything at all out of the encounter, they will have to keep Luis Suarez quiet for ninety minutes. An easy thing to say, but as Clint Hill will tell you, a very difficult thing to do.
Liverpool, however, are not the only side with something to prove going into this game. West Brom are enduring a horrific run of form; they have failed to secure a solitary win since a two-one victory against QPR on Boxing Day. In their last four games, the Baggies have amassed one point from a possible twelve, and Steve Clarke’s side that once sat in the Europa League spots are now rooted in ninth place. An unlikely win at Anfield could potentially see them overtake Liverpool, if other results go their way.
Provided the teams immediately above them all drop points, Liverpool could go within six points of fourth spot this weekend. Whether or not Champions League qualification is a realistic ambition is yet to be seen; perhaps of more interest is the fact that Liverpool can go within three points of cross-Stanley Park rivals Everton.
The sides have met twice this season; once in the Capital One Cup, where Nuri Sahin scored a brace to eliminate West Bromwich Albion and cap arguably his best performance in his short time as a Liverpool player. However, the league encounter at the Hawthorns will be far more prominent in the thoughts of Brendan Rodgers and the Liverpool players. The Rodgers era got off to a nightmare start as Liverpool capitulated to a dismal 3-0 defeat, with goals from Gera, Odemwingie and Lukaku and a red card for Daniel Agger highlighting the inadequacies in the Liverpool side. Six months on, Liverpool have an ideal opportunity to show how they have grown as a team since then.
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