Special: Carling Cup Final Preview

This Sunday Liverpool face championship promotion contenders Cardiff City in the Carling Cup final. This is Liverpool's first major final since out 2006 FA Cup win of West Ham. In this post i will go through each teams road to Wembley, key players and where i think the game will be won or lost

LIVERPOOL FC

THE ROAD TO WEMBLEY 

Round 2: Exeter City 3:1(a)

Round 3: Brighton 2:1 (a)

Round 4: Stoke City 2:1 (a)

Round 5: Chelsea 2:0 (a)

Semi Final: Manchester City 1:0 (a)

Semi Final: Manchester City 2:2 (h) 3:2 on agg. 

As you can see from our road to the final we beat some pretty good teams to get there.The 2-1 win at Stoke, the 2-0 win at Chelsea and of course the 3-2 aggregate win over Manchester City. These games we a great example of our teams ability to perform under pressure, with the 1-0 win over Man City on their own turf being a particular highlight.

KEY PLAYERS:

8. Steven Gerrard

Undoubtedly the most important and influential player at the club, Captain Fantastic is Liverpool Football Club, his passion, class and attitude flow through the team like a shot of adrenaline. A key performer in most of our big games Stevie has proven time and time again that he is one of worlds best midfielders Stevie's vision for success is what this club is built on and he is constantly our go to man if we need that little extra to win the game.  Given that free attacking role he will prove to be a handful for Cardiff and i wouldn't be surprised if he scores on Sunday. Fighting fit and in form Cardiff will need tp be at their best to stop Stevie G from lifting the League Cup.



7. Luis Suarez

Luis Suarez has been great for Liverpool on the pitch since King Kenny signed him 2 January's ago. Suarez's pace, creativity, aggression and winning mentality is exactly what we need up front. With off the field dramas now behind him Luis can focus on his football. This will be his first English final and a perfect chance to prove himself on the big stage. Cardiff will need some kind of game plan to keep Luis quiet, even then i can't see how he won't be involved in some aspect and he could provide that spark upfront that's needed in final games.



39. Craig Bellamy

Craig has undoubtedly been the signing of the season coming for free from money bags Man City. Craig has been outstanding in his second spell at our club, and without his knee problems he would of been an unstoppable force for us. Reading the news today (4 days before the game) it looks as if Craig is fit and ready for the final and i would like to see him start in stead of Downing. Bellamy's pace, range of passing, aggression, tackling and crossing have all be a sight to see. With an eye for goal and a relentless amount of energy i think Craig will be a key player for us come sunday. He also is playing agains one of his former teams and players ussually step up for games like that add that there's a major trophy to win to can only inspire Craig to produce the form that has him touted as Liverpool's player of the season so far.

5. Daniel Agger/37. Martin Skrtel

Agger and Skrtel are like peas and carrots now. After a shaky start as the go to center back pairing Agger and Skrtel have matured into their partnership and are both better defenders because of it. Their recent form has been the key to many of Liverpools wins in recent times. With Skrtel's aerial threat from set pieces, his hard tackling and concentration levels i can't see why he can't have a positive influence on Sundays game. Partnered with Agger who is in the form of his life at the moment  they will need to be at the top of their game too keep the likes of Kenny Miller and Peter Whittingham at bay. If Skrtel and Agger play well we will cruise through this game. LINE UP: Here is how i think we will line up on Sunday.   My Prediction for how we'll start on Sunday; Graphic courtesy of Football Manager 2012  TACTICAL ANALYSIS: Liverpool must keep Kenny Miller and Peter Whitingham quiet through out the entire game. These two players are their biggest threat to us bringing home the cup. I think we should play our natural game, use Bellamy's pace on the left wing to get behind the Cardiff defense. Use Gerrard to link up with Carroll and Suarez as a "front 3" when in possession. Defend tightly and press them as much as we can, with out quality all over the park i am confident we can beat them! CARDIFF CITY  The Road to Wembley: Round 1: 1-3 (a)Cardiff (AET) Round 2: 5-3 (h)Huddersfield Round 3: 2p-2 (h)Leicester Round 4:  1-0 (h)Burnley Round 5: 2-0 (h)Blackburn Semi final (Leg 1):  1-0 (a)Crystal Palace Semi final (Leg 2):  1p-0 (h)Crystal Palace Cardiff run to the cup final hasn't been easy, beating teams like Palace, Blackburn and Leicester with the Leicester and Palace games going to penalties. In the league they are sitting in a playoff spot after a poor month of form only winning 1 from 4.     Will their poor away form translate to a cup final? i doubt it. Cast as underdogs Cardiff will have nothing to lose and Liverpool should be ready for them to throw everything at us. KEY PLAYERS: 9. Kenny Miller Kenny Miller has had a good season for Cardiff. scoring 10 goals in 29 appearances, 1 of those in the League Cup. Kenny is one of those players that on his day can be a real handful. He can create chances out of nothing, and feeding his team mates. He can draw defenders out and provide space for midfielders to exploit. For me if we keep Kenny quiet we are 50% of the way to wining the final.
7. Peter Whittingham  Peter has had an outstanding time at Cardiff leading all the key stats this season with 10 goals and 10 assists Peter will be key to shutting down Cardiff on Sunday. I don't know much about the player to be honest, but if you lead the club stats in the attacking areas you are going to be a threat.  Depending on who Dalglish picks on sunday either Henderson or Adam will need to watch Peter closely and make sure that he is not allow any time on the ball. He looks like Cardiff's string puller, and we cant' let that happen CONCLUSION: In football there's no guarantee's. Our beloved Liverpool might be favorites going into this game but we need to play well in every aspect of the game to lift the trophy on Sunday. Cardiff have nothing to lose, and will go all out to best us. If we play our game with a high tempo and lethal finishing we can win. We have to watch our defending from set pieces, corners specifically as i think that's Cardiff's best chance of scoring against us.  I predict a 2-1 Liverpool win, with Suarez and Gerrard the scorers. I will be cheering my guts out for the lads on sunday, and i hope that you do to!  Thank you for reading my Preview!  You'll Never Walk Alone pics: liverpoolfc.tv, cardifafc.co.uk. wikipedia,