Reading are having that so called second season, drawing and losing their last 4 matches. Boro managed to score last time so their defense is a bit porous but they always manage to find a goal aswell. Apparently in the liverpool daily post it says rafa is considering putting Hobbs in for carra as if he gets booked he will miss the man utd game. That could be the only area of worry and I'd like to see agger back asap, but it is a game I fully expect the team to go and win and not settle and wait for things to happen like in pervious seasons.
I think Hobbs could cope with Kitson and Doyle, particularly if Sami can keep up the good work. Id be more worried if we had to throw hobbs in against United. I reckon a sneaky 2-0 here
To be honest I haven't seen enough of Hobbs to know if he'd cope with Doyle and Kitson. Would be a disaster if Carra did play and got booked, but would be an even greater disaster if Hobbs inexperience ended up costing up points. I'm going to say away win in this one, with Carra to score from a corner...
Hmmm.... this could be a tricky game. Reading are unpredictable, in Doyle and Kitson they have decent forwards, I can see them scoring against us, hopefully with Torres on fire, we will get a few. I wonder has Rafa got it in mind to rest Torres ahead of Marseille and United, also Chelsea in Carling Cup 1/4 final after that. Lets hope not, he should start every game when he is fit...
To be honest, weve always had a good record against Reading (home or away) and with current form - for both teams - i think well win by 3+ goals... As long as Torres continues to start and with the midfield tearing teams asunder i think the Reading game will be a nice warm up for next Tuesday and then the scum...
To be fair there is alot of football coming up and we should be able to beat Reading while not risking Carra and maybe even giving Torres a rest ahead of the next two games, which are obviously massive.
No point in beating United and dropping points at Reading. Strongest team possible should be put in my opinion.
aye true enough. Bruised ribs dont go away in a couple of days though, if carra takes a bad knock pretty soon he could be out for a few weeks
bruised ribs wont keep carra out (tough as old boots)rafa wont mess with defense unless forced,i think carra will play both games
After that Carling Cup game, the sight of Torres name on the teamsheet will scare the sh*t out of the Reading defenders. He gave them a torrid time that night
Carra is fit which is a good thing. Hobbs has potential but thats all at the moment. Playing away in the league against 2 tough strikers is a different thing to a half hour at Anfield when the team is 3 or 4 up
Carra could do with a rest but wouldnt be too confident with sami and hobbs partnership - should be far too strong and 3 pts are there for the taking considering what the rest of the big 4 have on this weekend.Torres to start and take them apart again and then take him off after 70 mins - kewell and babel on the flanks and lucas and stevie in mid and 3 pts wrapped up and then on to the big 2 games. YNWA!
Am I alone in seeing the Reading game (and every league game for that matter) as just as important as the United game? I'm talking about 3 points for a win, leaving aside the obvious sentiment that a win over United is perhaps sweeter than a win against anyone else. To that end, Rafa has to pick his strongest squad; maybe keep Gerrard or Torres on the bench as a precaution, but they have to be available if needed as it's all about getting the 3 points! ________ og kush marijuana
Yeah you're right we need all the points possible, every three points is as important as the other. I think though both Gerrard and Torres should start tomorrow, and then as soon as we have a comfortable lead take them off. Maybe let them rest for the better part of the Marseille game and bring them on for the last 25 minutes if we need them to change things. And then for United, full fookin' force attack.
This is on DigitAlb supersport1 if anyone has it by the way! Is Alonso and Agger fit?? Also,dont think he shud play Torres,maybe for the last 15/20 mins as Marseille and United more important really and we can win with Crouchie or Kuyt upfront not Voronin!lol 3-0 if we're still in good form...
I have to disagree. A win over Utd means they drop 3points which is far more important to us than Reading dropping 3. Anyway, dont really want to think about us not winning either of them.
Not the team i expected to play but we will see what happens: Reina, Arbeloa, Riise, Hobbs, Carragher, Gerrard, Mascherano, Sissoko, Voronin, Torres, Crouch. Subs: Itandje, Hyypia, Kewell, Kuyt, Babel
Rafa showing a lot of confidence in the young Lad Hobbs.big test for him,hope he does well.... i honestly don't see the point in Playing Voronin as a LSM but in Rafa i trust. come on Momo Lad!