Premier League - Liverpool bid to seize initiative

Eurosport - Sun, 22 Mar 15:45:00 2009

Liverpool head into their match with Aston Villa desperate to seize the initiative in the Premier League title race at Anfield.

FOOTBALL Liverpool Gerrard - 0

The Reds can move to within a point of Manchester United following the champions' shock 2-0 defeat at Fulham and Chelsea's 1-0 reverse at Tottenham Hotspur.

And Liverpool go into the game with top-four challengers Villa on the back of a 4-0 win over Real Madrid and a 4-1 victory at United.

But Rafael Benitez's team will be mindful that the last time they returned to a more modest league encounter, they suffered a major jolt.

Following the high of a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Bernabeu, their Premier League hopes suffered a major blow with a 2-0 loss against Middlesbrough.

While Villa are a more dangerous proposition than Gareth Southgate's team, Liverpool accept that this will be seen as another test of their staying power.

Liverpool's title push has often foundered at home, where they have regularly been stifled.

They remain unbeaten in the league at Anfield but have been held to draws in six of their 14 home games.

The 12 points they have dropped - against Stoke, Fulham, West Ham, Hull, Everton and Manchester City - are likely to prove costly come the end the season.

And Benitez, who is sure for a warm reception at Anfield after signing a new five-year contract, knows that his team can not afford any more slip ups if they are to maintain the pressure on Sir Alex Ferguson's men.

He said: "This week has been really good for us. To beat United away and score four goals is massive. But we cannot say anything if we don't go on to beat Aston Villa.

"If we want to be contenders and stay in the title race, clearly it depends on United. But we also have to win our games, starting with three points against Villa.

"The players know we have to win our games and try to be as close as possible to United. We can be talking and talking but all this doesn't matter unless we win.

"I'll think about Villa and see what the position is in a week. To win the title you always have to be almost perfect, and when you are four points behind and they have a game in hand, clearly you have to win almost every game."

The Spaniard has a full squad, apart from long-term absentee Philipp Degen to select from and although all the attention will be on whether the Reds can stay in touch with United, Villa are also coming under pressure.

Having spent much of the campaign pushing for a top four place, they have slipped out of the Champions League places with a miserable run that has seen them fail to win in seven matches in all competitions.

Although Benitez is assured of plenty of cheers from the Reds supporters, the reception given to Gareth Barry, who came close to moving to Anfield last summer, is likely to be far cooler.

Martin O'Neill knows all about how to come away from Anfield with a share of the spoils after picking up a 2-2 draw at Liverpool last season.

He is calling on a repeat of that performance to pull Villa out of their tail-spin and is sure that he can bring the Reds back down to earth.

He said: "They've had a fantastic victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford, they've beaten Real Madrid, so at this moment their form and results have been terrific.

"But last year we went up there, we fought back from a goal behind to get ourselves in front and conceded a late goal.

"What we have to do is keep hold of that self-belief and the players have got to try and remain as strong as possible. They are certainly capable of doing it."

Follow LIVE coverage of Liverpool v Aston Villa from 16:00 UK time!

AFP

Comment 83 - 102 of 122

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  1. great joke TAYLORKEV........about 5 years ago @#$%

    From mikefrank82, on Sun 22 Mar 10:27PM

  2. No matter what happen to Man U, Man U is still world­ champion, European Champion and England. Man U with a­ game in Hand surely English Premier League tiles is our­ NO.1 target this season.

    From RAY-SMITH, on Sun 22 Mar 10:19PM

  3. CURRENTLY THE WORST PERFORMING TEAM IN THE LEAGUE 6­ GOALS CONCEDED IN 2 GAMES MANURE DIKKHEAD

    From anthony, on Sun 22 Mar 10:19PM

  4. john g - The World Cup has not been held yet for­ 20006.

    Italy were World Champons in 2006.

    From un_too_slow, on Sun 22 Mar 10:10PM

  5. Thanks JohnG

    From mikefrank82, on Sun 22 Mar 10:07PM

  6. A primary teacher starts a new job at a school on­ Merseyside and, trying to make a good impression on her­ first day, explains to her class that she is a­ Liverpool fan.
    She asks her students to raise their­ hands if they, too, are Liverpool fans. Everyone in the­ class raises their hand except one little girl.

    The­ teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says:­ "Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?"­

    "Because I'm not a Liverpool fan," she­ replied.

    The teacher, still shocked, asks:­ "Well, if you're not a Liverpool fan, then who­ are you a fan of?"

    "I'm a Manchester­ United fan, and proud of it," Mary replied.

    The­ teacher could not believe her ears. "Mary, why are­ you a United fan?"

    "Because my mum and dad­ are from Manchester, and my mum is a United fan and my­ dad is a United fan, so I'm a United fan too!"­

    "Well," said the teacher, in an annoyed­ tone, "that's no reason for you to be a United­ fan. You don't have to be just like your parents­ all of the time.

    What if your mum was a prostitute­ and your dad was a drug addict and car thief, what­ would you be then?"

    "Then," Mary­ smiled, "I'd be a Liverpool fan."

    From mikefrank82, on Sun 22 Mar 10:06PM

  7. mkefrank82, just looked down your list i think you will­ find one mistake, world champions are Italy are they­ not? didn't they win the world cup in 20006?

    From john g, on Sun 22 Mar 9:59PM

  8. Apparently Sir Alex Ferguson thought that there was a­ rule, where you could play with 2 goalkeepers in the­ same match

    From un_too_slow, on Sun 22 Mar 9:54PM

  9. WTF why are the manc`s fans in ere anyway? worried!!

    From taylorkev89, on Sun 22 Mar 9:54PM

  10. Don't be too @#$% all united fans. It's just­ that 99% of them give the rest a bad name

    From debbieh76, on Sun 22 Mar 9:47PM

  11. JUSTIN N NOT ME MATE I DID ALL MY GLOATING LAST WEKEND­ 1-4 HAHAHA

    From nicknastardly1, on Sun 22 Mar 9:40PM

  12. Again TaylorKev, holding onto the past, let us not­ forget when the european cup was first introduced it­ was dubbed a "joke" too, look at it now. You­ won the battle at Old Trafford, sure, but the war is­ ours.

    PREMIERLEAGUE TROPHY......... GOOGLE THAT D I C­ K F A C E ITS THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL GET TO SEE IT

    From mikefrank82, on Sun 22 Mar 9:34PM
  13. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I am a strong Chelsea fan but I would like to see­ Liverpool win the match. I want United fans to have­ nothing to laugh at. Liverpool go for­ goalllllllllllllllllssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

    From ONYAGU, on Sun 22 Mar 9:34PM

  14. HA comment 73 u @#$%, havent u realised that united­ lost against fulham and are not 4 points clear with a­ game in hand??
    and a loss and a draw for united puts­ liverpool top by a point if dey win dere games! manure­ fool js lik fergie, cant add

    From neildunne87, on Sun 22 Mar 9:31PM

  15. If Liverpool win convincingly today I think the­ momentum they have built up since Real Madrid will­ definitely give them the psychological advantage going­ into the end of the season. It now looks like it will­ go right to the wire and again I think this favours­ Liverpool as United's last 4 games are by no means­ straightforward, Arsenal, Man City, Wigan(away) and­ Hull (away). The title race has swung Liverpool's­ way but if they don't beat Villa then things change­ again straightaway.

    From chriscunningham92, on Sun 22 Mar 9:29PM

  16. nicknastardly1 - you lot were giving it the biggun in­ the fulham games message board. Must have been­ desperate for a gloat eh ??

    From Justin N, on Sun 22 Mar 9:28PM

  17. To all the Man United fans who keep saying 'history­ counts for nothing' will you still be saying that­ if you ever get more titles than Liverpool ? I­ don't think so.

    From Paul, on Sun 22 Mar 9:26PM

  18. CURRENT World Champions hahahaha thats a mickey mouse­ cup... its got as much worth as a blue peter badge

    all­ i can say is 4-1 hahahaha glory hunter!!!! google most­ leauge titles and select the wikipedia link...

    From taylorkev89, on Sun 22 Mar 9:26PM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    nicknastardly1 - we have nothing to worry about idiot. ­ 4 points clear, superior goal difference. Why worry?

    From Mike S, on Sun 22 Mar 9:22PM

  20. Both Liverpool and Man U will drop unexpected points­ between now and the end of the season. There's­ nothing I'd like to see more than Liverpool winning­ their last 9 games but it ain't gonna happen. Give­ me a scrappy one-nil win today and I'll be happy.

    From Paul, on Sun 22 Mar 9:20PM
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