UEFA Europa League

Match Preview: Liverpool v. Manchester United, 01.28.12

Liverpool's big week culminates with Manchester United's trip to Anfield in the fourth round of the FA Cup tomorrow, two weeks ahead of their visit to Old Trafford in league. United had the more arduous task in the third round, traveling across town to the Etihad, where they scraped past City in a 3-2 win. Liverpool eventually eased past Oldham Athletic in the last round in a match that was unfortunately more notable for what happened in the stands than what happened on the pitch. Nobody's worried about that for tomorrow, though, right? Right?

Video: Liverpool v. Manchester City Extended Highlights

Because knowing the final score makes Joe Hart's heroics far less frustrating. Because Craig Bellamy is fantastic, even if for the final twenty minutes he was on the pitch it was hard not to worry his knees would explode every time he took off. Because the crowd was absolutely phenomenal ...

Liverpool 2, Manchester City 2: On to Wembley

Liverpool 2 Gerrard 40' (pk), Bellamy 74'
Manchester City 2 de Jong 31', Dzeko 67'

"Would it be a risk to play defensively?" the reporter asked Kenny Dalglish as Liverpool prepared to face Manchester City at Anfield in the second leg of the League Cup semi-finals.

Napoli - Inter Live Blog

Napoli's lineup is very uncertain. Some reports have Campagnaro being rested and Fernandez in, other have Hugo Boss starting. Other reports have Dzemaili in and Inler resting, and with Cavani and Lavezzi confirmed the third tenor will be one of Hamsik or Pandev. Zuniga looks certain to start in place of Dossena.
De Sanctis - Campagnaro/Fernandez, Cannavaro, Aronica - Maggio, Gargano, Inler/Dzemaili, Zuniga - Hamsik/Pandev, Lavezzi - Cavani

Matchday: Liverpool v. Manchester City

Kickoff from Anfield at 7:45PM GMT/2:45PM EST

Match Preview: Liverpool v. Manchester City, 01.25.12

A trip to Wembley and Liverpool's first cup final in nearly five years are on the line tomorrow, with Manchester City heading to Anfield for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final. Liverpool have a 1-0 advantage from the first leg after a Steven Gerrard penalty capped a dominant opening spell for Kenny Dalglish's squad, but there's little illusion that they'll be able to coast into the final, with City more than capable of turning the tie over.

Lucas Returns, January Woes, and Other Tuesday Notes

Say, if I followed you home, would you keep me? Or at least not mace me? And would it make any difference if I could give you Tuesday's news and notes? You don't have to answer now. Just, you know, think about it. And at least give me a bit of warning on the mace front, if that's not too much to ask…

We All Saw It Coming

Siena 1-1 Napoli
Napoli's 2nd straight 1-1 draw against a team in the bottom 1/3 of Serie A should not have come as a surprise. The same tactics were used as in previous matches, and the same result was obtained. Just like Cesena and Bolgona, Napoli fell behind a goal and fought back dramatically to avoid embarrassment. Special mention goes out to Napoli fan Gnaples who made an incredibly accurate prediction. Not only did Gnaples get the score correct, he almost got both goalscorers and the times of the goals spot on. Check after the jump to see the details of this amazing prediction.

Deconstructing Bolton's Goals v. Liverpool

After months of praise for being one of the best defensive units in the Premier League, Saturday's game against Bolton saw Liverpool's normally stout defensive line concede three against the side with the worst home record of any club in the seven leagues that make up the top end of the English footballing pyramid. This, one would infer, is not an especially good thing. However, the bulk of any blame to be laid for Bolton's two goals from open play should be reserved not for the defenders but instead for the midfield duo of Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam, who put in an even worse performance than in the fall against Norwich when Lucas was forced out through suspension. Without further ado, then, on to Saturday's ugliness:

Video: Kenny Dalglish Post-Bolton Interview

There's likely little to emerge in terms of highlights from yesterday's match---on the Liverpool end of things, the only action worth recounting in any way is the play of Craig Bellamy, who was involved in nearly everything positive that Liverpool did, with Daniel Agger the only other squad member worth mentioning for a few forward runs and a thirty-yard bullet that clipped the top of the bar. Other than that, it was a roundly disappointing day, and in the post-match interview Kenny Dalglish left no question as to where he stood about the quality of Liverpool's effort.

City-Spurs Live Blog! (3-2, FT)

It's one of the matches of the season--City and Spurs battle today in a crucial match in Premier League title race. City thumped Spurs at White Hart Lane in September, but surely it can't be such a route today. What will happen? Read on to find out....

Siena - Napoli Live Blog

Same lineup as Bologna. De Sanctis - Campagnaro, Canna, Aronica - Maggio, Inler, Gargano, Dossena - Pandev, Hamsik - Cavani. Siena has three ex-Napoli: Calaio, Mannini, and Contini. Calaio is vice captain and takes penalties. He is also developing a nice striking partnership with Mattia Destro who is on loan from Genoa.

Bolton 3, Liverpool 1: There's Bad, and Then There's This

Bolton 3: Davies 4', Reo-Coker 29', Steinsson 50'
Liverpool 1: Bellamy 37'

Bolton thoroughly dominate Liverpool at the Reebok and coast to a 3-1 victory that boosts them out of the relegation zone. The host's performance was certainly deserving of victory, and Liverpool's was equally deserving of a loss. They were absolutely abysmal, and outside of a few minutes after Craig Bellamy's goal, they looked as though they couldn't be bothered to do anything differently. It was completely indefensible and, even with the shambles that was the early part of last season, easily one of Liverpool's worst performances in recent memory.

Looking Ahead

This is supposed to be a preview of Siena, but we all know what will happen. Napoli will run themselves breathless and fight for every loose ball to maybe scrape a one goal victory against a 17th place team. Ironically, Siena is in between Bologna and Cesena in the standings, which happened to be the last couple of teams that Napoli really struggled against. And if the slimmest of victories doesn't arrive, we know what Mazzarri will say. "We knew Siena would play the game of their lives, and we did well today but the ball wouldn't go in. It's a shame as we deserved more than we got, but even the best of teams can struggle to score at this stadium where Siena defend in numbers." So you'll understand why I'm not overly excited about Sunday, and I prefer to look towards the Champions League.

Matchday: Liverpool v. Bolton

Kickoff from the Reebok at 5:30PM GMT/12:30PM EST

Match Preview: Liverpool v. Bolton, 01.21.11

Liverpool get back in the swing of things to see out a busy January, heading to the Reebok in hopes of getting three points for only the second time in six matches. As has mostly been the case in league over the past month and a half, they won't face an entirely overwhelming opposition, with Bolton only a point above Wigan in 19th. Both sides enter in their own mini-league in the table---Liverpool are five points off the pace in a four-team race for the fourth spot, and Bolton part of a five-team cluster with only three points that separate Wolves in 16th from Wigan in 20th.