 |
| They even have a blue gas canister... #Loyalty |
Well, that's certainly Liverpool's aim as they travel down to Wembley with the blue half of the city on Saturday. A win here for the Reds could send them to their second Wembley final of the season and as many Liverpool fans will admit another trophy in the cabinet would just about balance out the poor league campaign this season.
Injuries for Liverpool mean that Lucas, Adam, Kelly and Robinson are all unavailable but luckily for the Reds Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson have now got some game time under their belts after coming back from injury. Suspensions also mean that goalkeepers Pepe Reina and Alexander Doni will miss out.
For Everton their only real missing puzzle piece is Rodwell who has a hamstring injury. Pienaar is also cup tied but other than that the manager should have a free choice from his squad.
The last time the two sides met in the FA Cup was as recently as 2009. In a season where the Reds finished second in the league Everton actually got the better of them in the FA Cup, victorious in a second leg at Goodison Park.
Everton's route to the semi final saw them beat Tamworth, Fulham, Blackpool and Sunderland whilst Liverpool knocked out Oldham, Manchester United, Brighton and Stoke.
Everton have got the better of Liverpool the last two times in the Cup but Liverpool have recorded wins in the finals of 89 and 86 against the Toffees.
Steven Gerrard has been talking in the run up to the semi final and believes Liverpool have what it takes despite their poor league form "There's still one massive hurdle to get over before we can get to the final. We still believe we can beat anyone, Everton included."
Of course, when it comes to the Cup, form goes out the window, the phrase is coined so often but it's quite simply true and even more so when the stage is neutral.
With Liverpool finally recording a win in the league and players showing reason to be selected with the likes of Maxi and Carroll scoring it will be interesting to see who manager Kenny Dalglish selects to start on Saturday.
With Gulasci being recalled from loan at Hull he will provide cover for Brad Jones who will surely start after replacing Doni against Blackburn. The Australian has a massive task ahead of him but with Liverpool fans already feeling a connection towards the goalkeeper, the Anfield faithful are 100% behind him.
I personally think this one is going to go right to the wire and i expect it to be a fantastic game. I don't want it to go to penalties, who the hell does?! But I'm afraid that is my prediction for this one. Everton have looked very good of late and are more than capable of scoring goals, hopefully Agger and Skrel start together to prevent this but i still think they'll break through.
I fancy Suarez to get himself on the score sheet but as i say i think we'll be relying on our forwards to step up to the spot late on. Here's hoping I'm wrong, which to be honest, wouldn't be a first! Haha.
Enjoy the match folks!!!