We have faced them twice, beat them twice, scored five and conceded none – can we complete an unprecedented third win in a row over Liverpool?
Since our first meeting way back in 1901, we’ve never managed to win three consecutive games against Liverpool.
If we are going to do it, we are going to have to do it without Lanzini, Sakho and maybe Noble this time. However, we do have the likes of Moses, Antonio and Song available, who I hope will make a large impact on the game.
It is not going to be an easy game – do not go into it thinking we have beat them twice already so it will be a walkover, because it is far from it. Liverpool progressed to the Capital One Cup final on Tuesday night after beating Stoke on penalties, which could be a positive or negative for us.
The positive could be that they will be less fresh than our players and we may see that on the pitch. However, they may be buzzing after getting to a final and really have a go at us.
When we played Liverpool at Anfield, it was one of our best performances of the season and if we are going to walk away from there with another win, we will have to match or even better that performance.
As of today, Emenike is yet to sign for us, but a deal is very close, but he is not going to be available in time for the game, which will most likely see Enner start up top, and he deserves it. As for new boy Sam Byram, he is cup tied and he will not be able to feature in the FA Cup this season.
We are going to have to keep a close eye on in-form Roberto Firmino, who has been causing defences problems lately and he has hit a purple patch in his Liverpool career. It will be interesting to see who Bilic starts as centre-backs as Ogbonna, Reid and Collins are all worthy of a start, so we will have to wait and see what Slaven decides.
As for how we can get at Liverpool, I think Antonio is our outlet. He will most likely start out on the right, and he played excellently against Moreno at Upton Park, so I think if we can feed the ball through to him with the likes of Payet and Song, we stand a great chance.
I think it is crucial that we get the first goal, because if they score first, we will have to go at them a bit more, which could cost us another goal, so I reckon it will be a tight game.
Here is how I think we will line up…
It is always hard to predict a football game, but in the FA Cup you never know quite what is going to happen, but I am confident that if we put in the hard defensive work, we have the quality to score and I am going to say 0-2 to the Hammers!
Visit Frank’s blog here, and be sure to follow him on Twitter at @FrankWHUFC. Or you can also visit his new YouTube channel here.
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