Video Preview: Wigan v Liverpool

Roberto Martinez will give striker Hugo Rodallega as much time as possible before naming his side to face Liverpool on Wednesday.

Rodallega is Wigan's only injury concern ahead of the visit of the Reds after he suffered a knock during the 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday.

Martinez will assess the Colombian's fitness over the next 24 hours before making a decision on whether or not to risk him in the tie.

Emmerson Boyce, meanwhile, has recovered from a hamstring injury but the game has come too soon for him and he will have to wait until after Christmas before making his return.

Liverpool have no new injury concerns ahead of the trip to the DW Stadium, although Kenny Dalglish must do without Jay Spearing, who is serving his three-match suspension. Other absentees are full-backs Fabio Aurelio and Jack Robinson, although neither would have expected to be in the starting line-up if fit. Dalglish will have a similar match day squad as Sunday at his disposal but may rotate a few personnel to freshen things up during the busy festive period.

Skipper Steven Gerrard is nearing a return to fitness but he is still not ready to take his place following the ankle infection that has kept him on the sidelines for two months.

Referee watch:

Northumberland official Michael Oliver will take charge of his 14th game of the season when the two sides meet. So far Oliver has shown 36 yellow and 2 red cards during games under his control. The 26-year-old has refereed both sides on one previous occasion this season with Wigan enjoying a 2-0 win over QPR in August and Liverpool knocking Brighton out of the Carling Cup 2-1 in September. Oliver was the youngest-ever referee to take charge of a Premier League game, aged just 25 years and 182 days when officiating Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers on 21st August 2010.

Wigan (from): Al Habsi, Caldwell, Alcaraz, Figueroa, Watson, Diame, Moses, Gomez, McCarthy, Di Santo, Jones, Stam, Van Aanholt, McArthur, Lopez, Thomas, Sammon, Maloney, Crusat, Gohouri, Rodallega, McCarthy, Pollitt, Kirkland.

Liverpool (from): Reina, Johnson, Agger, Skrtel, Enrique, Kuyt, Adam, Henderson, Downing, Suarez, Rodriguez, Doni, Kelly, Carragher, Coates, Shelvey, Bellamy, Carroll.

* By pressing play on the video, you’ve agreed with the English FA rules and regulations on its broadcasting. This video is googled and for personal viewing only.

Match Prediction:

Liverpool played really well against Villa on Sunday and earned a well-deserved 2-0 victory, and against an inferior Wigan side there is no excuse for them to lose.

Wigan has allowed 30 goals this season, tied for third worst in the Premier League and have had difficulty keeping opponents from piling up the goals.

Dalglish's Liverpool team have a lot of quality, especially in the midfield, and will cruise to a comfortable win over Wigan in midweek.

Red's Fury™ Prediction: Wigan 0-4 Liverpool

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Source: Setanta Sports

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Liverpool striker handed an eight-match ban and fine by the FA

Liverpool Football Club is very surprised and disappointed with the decision of the Football Association Commission to find Luis Suarez guilty of the charges against him.

The Football Association imposed the punishment, suspended for 14 days pending any appeal from the club, and a £40,000 fine after a ruling by an independent regulatory commission.

   “It is key to note that Patrice Evra himself in his written statement in this case said ‘I don’t think that Luis Suarez is racist’.

“The FA in their opening remarks accepted that Luis Suarez was not racist.”

Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish was fuming at the decision by an independent regulatory commission following a three-day hearing last week.

Club officials will now study the written findings before formally deciding whether to appeal or not. But if he appeals and loses he risks being handed an even longer ban of up to 10 games. Read Liverpool FC Official statement on Luis Suarez here.

An FA statement said:

   “Mr Suarez used insulting words towards Mr Evra during the match contrary to FA Rule E3 (1).

“The insulting words used by Mr Suarez included a reference to Mr Evra’s colour within the meaning of Rule E3 (2).

“Mr Suarez shall be warned as to his future conduct, be suspended for eight matches covering all first-team competitive matches and fined the sum of £40,000.

“The penalty is suspended until after the outcome of any appeal, or the time for appealing expires, or should Mr Suarez decide not to appeal.”

   “Suarez didn’t have to be proven guilty “beyond the benefit of doubt”. This was not English justice, but a sports tribunal. He did not get given the chance to defend himself to a jury of his peers. He faced a small panel, that was not fully independent or without its agendas (such as taking on Sepp Blatter on the issue of racism, and perhaps using this to prove a point). The fact that this was such a tricky issue perhaps made the procedure insufficient; at least John Terry gets to go through a more established process.

“People are wrongly convicted of things all the time, especially with only verbal accusations. Cases are frequently overturned; initial guilty verdicts can be appealed, and are often successful.

“But once tarnished, it sticks.” – excerpt from The Tomkins Times

However, Suarez is available for tonight’s Premier League clash at Wigan but whether he is in the right frame of mind to play remains to be seen.

From an outside point of view looking into this verdicts on Suarez’s charges, it’s only one man’s words against another man. The committee setup by the FA has failed to provide a concrete evidences on the allegation. Luis Suarez will remained “innocent” until be proven guilty of serious offences beyond a reasonable doubt.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

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Barclay’s Premier League News: Two-horse race for 2011/12 title

Former Arsenal and England defender, Martin Keown, joins Shaka Hislop and Robbie Earle to discuss the Premier League title race ahead of the festive season fixtures. Plus, the team of the weekend.

Source: ESPN Soccernet Press Pass

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D-day for Liverpool striker on racism row

Liverpool FC striker Luis Suarez's FA disciplinary hearing could be decided today.

The striker is anxiously awaiting the verdict of the independent three-man panel into allegations of racist abuse made by Patrice Evra.

A decision on the charge was initially expected on Friday but the FA released a statement saying it would be ‘Tuesday at the earliest’ as deliberations continued over the weekend.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Source: Liverpool Echo

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Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool Match Report

After getting back to winning ways last weekend in a 1-0 win over QPR, Liverpool were hoping to build on the win away to Aston Villa. Aston Villa had been struggling recently but they earned a good away win at Bolton last week and would go into the match with confidence. Adding spice to the fixture would be the return of former Villa favourite Downing to his old stomping ground.

THE TEAM

Kenny made a couple of changes to his side with Craig Bellamy coming back into the side and a big surprise with the selection of newly returned Shelvey to the team. The rest of the team had played against QPR the previous week. But Dalglish had a very strong bench to call upon if he needed to make changes with Carragher, Coates, Kuyt, Maxi, Carroll, Doni and Kelly in reserve.

THE MATCH

The home side were the first to threaten when Petrov’s free-kick had Reina scrambling. But Liverpool responded with Downing cutting in from the right before firing a shot which was saved by Guzan.

But then in the 11^th minute Liverpool took the lead when Downing’s corner kick was flicked on by Shelvey and then by Suarez before being blocked by Guzan but the rebound fell kindly to Bellamy who made no mistake from inside the 6 yard box.

With Liverpool’s great start to the match it got better 4 minutes later when Bellamy’s corner from the right was brilliantly headed past Guzan by Skrtel for number two and left Villa with an uphill task.

Villa responded with a couple of long range efforts and a good effort from N’Zogbia who hit Reina’s side netting. But Liverpool were always threatening on the break and almost scored a third after Shelvey saw a stabbed effort saved after a sublime nutmeg by Suarez.

With the score 2-0 to the visitors at the half it was Liverpool who created the first chance of the second half when Agger headed a Bellamy cross off target. Liverpool was going for the jugular now and next it was Bellamy the creator for Suarez who smashed a shot off the Villa crossbar.

Liverpool were in full flow now and Villa were hanging on as the chances kept coming for the visitors. Next Johnson saw a 25 yard effort saved by Guzan. Then Suarez produced a piece of magic only to see his chipped effort hit the inside of Guzan’s post with the stopper stranded.

Villa never looked like getting back into the match as they rarely threatened in the second half with Reina left mostly as a spectator and Liverpool looking the more likely to add to their tally. Liverpool ended up having to settle for two goals in another superb away performance setting them up nicely for the festive fixtures.

SUMMARY

A big surprise with the inclusion of Shelvey to the side, but what a game he had, with confidence flowing through his veins. Liverpool got off to a great start with the two early goals setting them up to play on the counter attack, and how well they attacked with the amount of chances created. Villa did have a few efforts in the first half but in the second half it was one way traffic as Liverpool dominated. It was a great team effort away from home and the win should have been more convincing with Suarez hitting the woodwork twice.

Man Of The Match – Bellamy – his movement and work rate was superb and deserved a goal. He created so many chances with his clever play and he has proved to be a shrewd buy by Kenny.

Written by Jamie McLaughlin, who writes for Anfield News

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Liverpool edge closer to Champions League spot

Craig Bellamy and Martin Skrtel were both on target as Liverpool marked Kenny Dalglish's 350th match in charge with a superb 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

The Wales international got the Reds off to a flyer with a close range finish on 11 minutes before Skrtel doubled the advantage with a thumping header on the quarter of an hour mark.

It set the tone for a one-sided encounter in the Midlands and, although the away team could and should have secured a bigger margin of victory, the result moves them to within three points of third-placed Chelsea ahead of what promises to be a busy festive period.

Going into the Sunday afternoon showdown, Dalglish made two changes to the side that had edged past Queens Park Rangers last time out. Jonjo Shelvey came in for his first start of the season following an impressive loan spell at Blackpool, while Bellamy also returned to the line-up.

The Villans had been struck by a whole host of selection problems in the lead up to the contest - including the loss of joint-top scorers Darren Bent and Gabriel Agbonlahor - and hopes were high that the travelling Kop would return back up the M6 having seen the Reds claim victory on what was a landmark occasion for the King.

However, it was the home team that had the first sight of goal as Stiliyan Petrov teased a free-kick over the wall that had Pepe Reina scrambling down to his right-hand post inside 60 seconds.

Read more: Liverpool FC Official

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Video Highlights: Aston Villa 0-2 Liverpool

Craig Bellamy and Martin Skrtel were both on target as Liverpool marked Kenny Dalglish's 350th match in charge with a superb 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

 

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Rumour Mill: Liverpool heighten up the chase for Lucas’ cover

Just two weeks away for the January transfer window to re-opens.

It has been revealed that Premier League giant Liverpool are eyeing Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra.

The 26-year-old is one of a handful of players in the position to be linked with the Reds, as Kenny Dalglish considers his options following a season-ending injury picked up by Brazilian Lucas Leiva.

Seydou Keita, Cheick Tiote and Sandro have also been placed on the radar, but reports in The Independent claim Liverpool are plotting a loan move on the French international.

Diarra has Barclays Premier League experience from his time at Arsenal, Chelsea and Portsmouth, whilst Tottenham Hotspur were also linked with a move for the player in the summer.

Liverpool also reportedly joining the chase for Newcastle’s £25million-rated ­midfielder Cheick Tiote.

Kenny Dalglish sent a scouting mission to St James’ Park yesterday as the Ivorian, 25, played his first game since October 22, against ­Swansea.

This story has been reproduced from the media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club or Red's Fury™ blog.

Source: Total Football Madness

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