Liverpool v Norwich City - Tactical Preview

James Vaughan, Zak Whitbread, Elliott Ward, and ex-Liverpool defender Daniel Ayala are all on Norwich's injury list ahead of their trip to Anfield on Saturday, while Liverpool will have to do without the suspended Lucas Leiva. Paul Lambert’s club have won three of their last four games, having lost only at Old Trafford in the past month. Sitting comfortably in ninth place, there’s no reason to believe that Lambert will look to rotate his squad, so they should stick with the same XI which beat Swansea 3-1 last weekend.  Meanwhile, Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson confirmed their returns to fitness during Liverpool’s 0-1 midweek friendly defeat against Glasgow Rangers, so it seems quite likely that both will regain their starting spots. Martin Kelly and Martin Skrtel, who have been filling in in the absence of Agger and Johnson, offer less of an attacking contribution, so Dalglish will be able to choose a bold and progressive line-up, in search of all three points. A return to the starting line-up for Andy Carroll is also quite possible. In the absence of Lucas, Steven Gerrard and Charlie Adam are likely to take the midfield slots in a 4-4-2 – presumably taking turns to stay back while the other attacks, because neither is a natural holding midfielder. Both will have to exercise discipline, in order to avoid being exposed to Norwich’s counter-attacks. If Dalglish is worried about this threat, it is not inconceivable that he might start Jay Spearing in the defensive midfield role, to give greater balance to the team. Also, if Norwich’s attacking midfielder Wes Hoolahan does a diligent job of dropping deep, Liverpool’s midfield could become outnumbered and struggle to retain possession. It is possible that Jordan Henderson – who played well in his cameo appearance against Manchester United last weekend – will get a start, perhaps in a midfield three, with Stewart Downing (whose form has perhaps been less impressive) being dropped, and Suarez shifted towards the left. Do not rule out a first Premier League start of the season for Craig Bellamy either. These look like the most likely line-ups on Saturday, however: It is interesting to note that Norwich have conceded more penalties (five) than any other team – whilst Liverpool have missed both of theirs so far this season. The Canaries have also conceded the most goals (five) in the last fifteen minutes of the game, so even if Liverpool have to be patient, they can be relatively confident of a home win on Saturday – especially considering the quality of options that Dalglish can deploy from the bench. They will, though, miss the defensive contribution of Lucas Leiva, who has already made more tackles than any other player in the league this season – so Adam and Gerrard will have to raise their defensive game if Liverpool are to truly dominate. Follow Phil on Twitter @CrowdGoBananes

Source: FOOTYMAD