West Bromwich Albion vs liverpool FC - English Premier League
Liverpool team
couldn’t be happier to see the international break approaching. With
Mario Balotelli sputtering and firing blanks for his new club, the absence of Daniel Sturridge
has become increasingly more evident. They desperately need the
Englishman’s finishing touch, and outside of a 2:2 penalty shootout
victory over Middlesbrough in the League Cup, they have scored just 5
goals in their last 5 competitive matches since he landed on the
treatment table. The thinking here is they will not rush him back into
action this weekend, instead opting to rest him until after the
international break. But the Reds can’t take much more bad news if they
hope to find themselves in the top 4 come season’s end, as they
currently sit in 14th place with just 7 points from 6 contests.
After a disappointing 1:0 defeat to Basel in their UCL
midweek game, the hosts must find a way to ignite their stale attack and
solidify their leaky defence. A home match with West Brom is a very
winnable game for the hosts, but they must iron out the small details
and keep focused throughout the full 90 minutes to do so.
West Bromwich have enjoyed quite a
fine few weeks, turning around a poor start to the season that had seen
them claim just 1 point from their first 3 matches. But manager Alan
Irvine finally has his men adapting to the way he wants them to play,
and 3 straight victories in all competitions has the
fans and players alike in great spirits. After snagging a massive 1:0
road win over Tottenham, the Baggies made an impressive late comeback
against Hull City in the Capital One Cup to claim all of the spoils and
then absolutely dismantled Burnley last time out 4:0. Talented young
striker Saido Berahino will be giving England
international manager Roy Hodgson a reason to take notice, as the
hit-man has now scored 3 goals in their last 2 matches, taking his
season tally to 5. The big man in camp was supposed to be record-signing
Brown Ideye, but Berahino has stolen the spotlight and
will be a vital cog in West Brom’s 2014-2015 campaign. While a road
trip to Anfield isn’t typically ideal, the visitors will know that the
hosts are struggling and will be confident of securing at least a point
here.
Saturday, 4 October 2014 14:00 GMT
Anfield Road, Liverpool, United Kingdom
Anfield Road, Liverpool, United Kingdom
