Match Preview - Liverpool (h)

[Jourdan]

On Boxing Day, Rafa Benitez’s Reds travel to Pride Park with the Merseyside club looking to pile more misery on the Rams. Derby will be hoping to erase memories of their crushing 6-0 defeat at Anfield in September and build on the encouraging point gained at St. James’ Park on Sunday.

Last Time At Pride Park

Derby 0-1 Liverpool (2001/02)

Recent History

Rafa Benitez’s future as Reds boss is under constant speculation after reported unrest with American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett off the pitch and the club’s indifferent form on the pitch.

Benitez has guided the club to two trophies since joining in 2004 but last season saw the club win no silverware whatsoever. Hicks and Gillett provided Benitez with millions over the summer in an attempt to make the Reds more competitive, particularly in the Premier League. Yet with them floundering in 5th in the league, 10 points adrift of leaders Arsenal and out of the Carling Cup, Benitez’s hopes of avoiding the wrath of the board will rest on his side negotiating the latter stages of the two tournaments he has won whilst at the club. It would seem likely that the club’s 17-year wait for a league title won’t be ended this season at least.

Impact of Summer Signings

Record signing Fernando Torres’ Anfield stint has been jam-packed with goals thus far. The Spaniard has netted 14 times in 21 appearances in all competitions and is the club’s top scorer this season. Rams fans will be very familiar with the forward as he scored two goals during the 6-0 triumph over Derby in September. Fellow striker Andriy Voronin has been somewhat subdued in front of goal, scoring a mere 4 goals in 18 first-team appearances.

Excitement surrounded the arrival of 21-year old Dutchman Ryan Babel on Merseyside. The winger had come up through the ranks at Dutch giants Ajax and has grabbed the headlines at both club and international level since debuting for Ajax in 2004. His rapid progress prompted Benitez to swoop for him in the summer and he has made 24 first team appearances scoring 6 goals, one of which came in the Reds’ win over Derby earlier this year.

Javier Mascherano has continued his steady form for the club since leaving West Ham earlier in the year. Another former Hammer Yossi Benayoun has silenced doubters who predicted he’d fail to live up to the expectations of the Anfield faithful by becoming a significant influence in Liverpool’s successes this season, a prime example being his hat-trick during the club’s spellbinding 8-0 Champions’ League victory at home to Besiktas.

Goalkeeper Charles Itandje, utility man Sebastian Leto and promising central midfielder Lucas Leiva have all struggled to hold down a place in the first team but it is expected they will figure more in the future.

Form

December defeats at home to Manchester United (1-0) and away at Reading (3-1) has effectively ended Liverpool’s title challenge. They sit in 5th place and are 10 points behind league leaders Arsenal and 9 points behind arch-rivals Manchester United with just 1 game in hand. Although there are 21 league games remaining for Liverpool, it seems difficult to look further than Manchester United and Arsenal as title contenders as they are leaving the chasing pack in their wake such is their consistency. December has also seen the Reds crash out of the Carling Cup after losing 2-0 to Chelsea. But there still remains hope of silverware this season with the Stanley Park-based outfit producing scintillating form to reach the last 16 of the Champions’ League after 3 consecutive wins and anticipating a third round FA Cup tie against League One strugglers Luton Town. They head into Wednesday’s game on the back of a resounding 4-1 home win against Portsmouth.

Predicted Line Ups

Derby – Bywater, Mears, Davis, Moore, McEveley, Teale, Barnes, Pearson, Lewis, Miller, Howard

Liverpool - Reina, Aurelio, Hobbs, Hyypia, Arbeloa, Kewell, Gerrard, Mascherano, Babel, Kuyt, Voronin

One to Watch

With Rafa “Rotation” Benitez expected to shuffle the pack tomorrow ahead of a busy festive schedule, it’s possible this player may not step out onto the Pride Park pitch tomorrow. But with this player not taking part during the Rams’ Anfield visit, it seems only fair we get a glimpse to see what all the fuss is about.

Steven Gerrard – The Liverpool captain and midfield maestro has been a fans favourite since bursting onto the scene in 1998. He has developed a reputation for delivering on the big occasions and inspiring many of Liverpool’s finest triumphs in recent years. He has scored in four major finals that Liverpool have gone on to win (UEFA Cup final 2001, League Cup final 2003, Champions’ League final 2005 and FA Cup final 2006). And for England, he found the net in their famous 5-1 win over Germany in the 2002 World Cup Qualifiers and finished with 2 goals in 5 appearances in last year’s World Cup.

Key Battles

Howard vs Hyypia – Fearsome Finnish defender Sami Hyypia will undoubtedly be the man expected to counteract the danger of the imposing Steve Howard. These two players are well known for their aerial ability and know that they will be required to stop each other from causing problems in front of goal.

Barnes vs Mascherano – Lifted by his first Premier League goal, promising midfielder Giles Barnes will be determined to prove his critics wrong and deliver a good enough performance to revive interest from other clubs ahead of the January transfer window. Mascherano will know the key to limiting the Rams’ attacking threat will be by confining the energetic youngster.

Gerrard vs Pearson – Stephen Pearson’s “box-to-box midfielder” tag will be won or lost on Boxing Day as he is likely to come up against one of the Premier League’s most feared midfielders in Steven Gerrard.

Odds (courtesy of Ladbrokes.com on 24/12/2007)

Derby to win – 7/1
Draw – 3/1
Liverpool to win – 1/3

Virtual Betting

3 bets have been placed so far – 2 members are tipping Derby to extend their unbeaten run to 2 games with a win at odds of 15/2. No members are expecting a draw, which has odds of 7/2. 1 member is unsurprisingly banking on a Liverpool victory at 2/7.

Jourdan predicts…0-1