After the dust settled from last week, here we are. On paper this is clearly the biggest challenge Liverpool will have the rest of the way. And, cue hyperbole, each match now is the biggest match of the season. If Liverpool are to have any hope at nicking the title from United they need all three points. It certainly won’t be easy, as Arsenal are currently the top side in the league on current form. Liverpool are right behind them, though, and are looking to continue a goal-scoring glut that’s seen them score eight goals in their past two matches.

Most of the pre-match buildup has been focused on who’s missing–most notably for Liverpool, Steven Gerrard is still struggling to find fitness. His groin has been niggling off and on all year, and it would have been great to have him in this stretch. The side has covered for him admirably and I’m hoping Tuesday will be no different. Gerrard is obviously one of the most influential players in the side, but with the emergence of Yossi Benayoun as a consistent performer Liverpool have missed their captain *less*. All signs point to the rest of the squad being healthy and as a result there should be few surprises in the starting eleven.

Arsenal is missing a hefty amount of their talent, with the latest body count at eight, including Emanuel Adebayor and Robin van Persie. As I mentioned, they’re the top team in the league on current form with 16 points in their last six matches. They’ll undoubtedly miss Adebayor and van Persie, but they are a side that is capable of taking the game to Liverpool. The Reds have struggled to defend on the counter recently and Arsenal are a side with pace and skill to spare. Even missing two strikers Arsenal can put out an imposing attacking side–Fabregas, Nasri, Arshavin, Bendtner, Walcott, Eduardo…big time names with the talent to give Liverpool trouble.

Arsenal are the only side in the top four that Liverpool haven’t defeated this year after doing the double in fine fashion over Chelsea and Manchester United. Robbie Keane salvaged a 1-1 draw earlier in the year with a superb half-volley, but other than that Liverpool were unable to get much going. As we’ve seen recently, though, Liverpool can take it to anybody in Europe. It’s no exaggeration to say that this match could explode with an early goal…let’s just hope that if it does it ends with Liverpool on top.

FULL TIME What a win for Liverpool, Yossi Benayoun the hero on the day. Terrific strike and all three points to the good. Two clear at the top, but United have two in hand. Come on Villa tomorrow!

90′+4 Agger on for Gerrard. He’s played well today, couldn’t find one, but was pivotal in the first half dominance. Seconds now…

90′+2 What a goal for Liverpool! From the man who limped off injured last weekend and was rumored not to be in good graces.

GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL Yossi Benayoun!!!! Ball falls to him on the right side, strokes it past Schwarzer! Liverpool on top!!

90′+1 Schwarzer does his best time wasting. Come on Liverpool…

90′ 4 minutes of added time…and Yossi hits the side netting. So close…

89′ Skrtel clips Dempsey on the break, yellow for Skrtel. Not much in that, Dempsey sure did a good job flailing though.

88′ Good run from Babel to win a corner…Skrtel controls and hits it into a Fulham defender…possession maintained but it’s eventually cleared.

86′ Reina is fouled by Zoltan Gera playing one forward to Torres, and it’s called back. Good timing to ignore the advantage.

85′ Foul called on Insua, who’s been much better this half. Looks like they just got tangled. Babel is booked for dissent, flinging a wicked freestyle at the linesman. Brrrrrrrrat brat!

84′ Alonso flicks one up and over, but Torres is offside.

83′ Corner to Liverpool, been awhile since they scored from a corner…and it still is.

82′ Gerrard fails to control Lucas’ far post cross, goal kick to Fulham.

81′ About 6 chances within 30 seconds for Liverpool, but no goal.

80′Ten to play…the second half has been a flashback, with not much attack and the bulk of possession.

78′ Babel always looks like he’s dragging a rock with one leg while he’s dribbling at pace.

76′ Benayoun for Kuyt, an interesting substitution considering Rafa was said to be pissed at him for playing for Israel and Kuyt has played about every minute this year.

75′ Here’s an interesting one, Yossi Benayoun about to come on for Liverpool…

73′ Gerrard whips one in, Torres can’t get a head to it and Schwarzer pushes it away from Kuyt and Babel. Cleared away, Fulham at the other end, Skrtel heads away an inviting cross.

72′ Corner to Liverpool…not sure how that happened, ball comes to a completely stop and is cleared away.

71′ Fantastic break off a Fulham corner, Babel with a nice little jink on the right, puts it towards goal, where Kuyt is a step behind and Pantsill clears it away.

70′ Torres backs in after controlling from Babel, but his flick towards goal was never going to create anything.

67′ Pantsill fouls Babel from behind…free kick for Liverpool…Xabi floats it far post, Schwartzer and Lucas collide, goal kick.

66′ Arbeloa’s pass can’t find Babel or Torres…Babel was on Torres’ heels to be fair to Arbeloa.

65′ On the roof! On the roof! The gunman was on the roof! Oh, that was a reaction to a tackle by Carragher?

65′ It’s Dossena off, Babel on. Let’s see how his pace impacts the space Liverpool have tried to create.

64′ More great possession and skill by Liverpool, but no joy. Fulham really have done well in defense.

63′ Not a bad left-footed cross by Gerrard, but nobody on the far post. Babel looks to be readying on the bench, probably for Insua/Dossena.

61′ Good work by Skrtel to knock it away from Danny Murphy in the box.

60′ I worry that this one won’t end up 0-0 if Liverpool don’t score.

59′ The resulting free kick ends up with an act of anti-Americanism, Martin Sktrel knees Dempsey in the back after mistiming his jump.

58′ Pantsill comes in studs up on Dossena and catches the inside of his foot with the shank attached to the bottom of his boot.

57′ Appeals for a handball turned down…waiting for the replay to get pissed.

56′ A weak left footed shot by Xabi Alonso after Masch is shown thinking about kittens and butterflies on the bench.

55′ “Dossena misses all three.” There it is.

54′ Insua finds Torres in the middle, soft header on goal is caught comfortably by Schwarzer. Didn’t look to have any momentum there to get anything on it.

53′ Reina tries to find Torres from distance, nothing doing.

50′ Starting fresh here, still looking for a goal.

FIRST HALF AND HALFTIME RECAP WERE DELETED BY WORDPRESS, CAUSING ME TO SINK INTO A DEPRESSION FOR THE FIRST 10 MINUTES OR SO OF THE SECOND HALF. TECHNOLOGY SUCKS.

Mostly the same old story–Liverpool were able to maintain possession for long periods of play, had some legitimate chances, and defended well for the majority of the match. The glaring difference today was the lack of stability in central midfield. With no Alonso and Gerrard, we were often on the receiving end of central midfield dominance, and Kompany and De Jong bossed it for nearly the entire second half. Mascherano didn’t have his best game, and Lucas didn’t make any huge mistakes but was anonymous and had zero positive influence. This game was as clear an example as any how important Alonso has been. Obviously we missed Gerrard, but Xabi consistently creates through the middle, and without him or Gerrard today our central midfield was a black hole.

As a result, we were pushed wide to find any sort of attacking threat. In fairness, this was one of the few games this year where I felt we looked competent wide, it’s just too bad that it was a result of being inept in the center. Arbeloa had a solid game getting forward, but Dossena was again out of his depth. City’s biggest breaks came when Dossena and Arbeloa were caught too far forward, leaving only Carragher and Skrtel at the back. Ireland had a great chance in the 30th minute after Robinho set him up, and luckily we weren’t punished.

We eventually were punished in the 49th, and of course it was Craig Bellamy who was the instigator. Like I mentioned in the live blog, I was glad he didn’t play it up, which seems out of character for him, but his shot deflected heavily off Arbeloa and flew past Reina. Our attack throughout the game came through Riera and Benayoun, who both looked dangerous in spurts, and Kuyt found himself on the flank more than a couple times. It was eventually Benayoun in the 78th who floated one in from the left to Torres, whose mis-hit fell to Kuyt, and the Ugly Dutchman poked it past Shay Given to pull even.

From that point on Liverpool attacked relentlessly and had more than a couple solid chances. Kuyt and Benayoun both hit piledrivers directly at Given, and it looked as though it would be another 3 points won late. Torres did well to get himself close to goal in the final minutes, but his cutback effort was cleared, and Aurelio’s volley was well wide. Soon enough it was another 2 points gone.

If this game was remarkable for anything, I think it was for the lack of urgency by Liverpool for the first 80 minutes. With plenty of pre-game talk about a “must-win,” we seemed disaffected for large spells. It was largely an average effort, particularly for most of the second half, when City had a 1-0 lead and the majority of possession. We were lucky not to concede a second, and again we relied on bit of good fortune to pull ourselves back into it. City’s defense did a good job containing Torres, who played well but often found himself the center of two defenders’ affections. One of the lone bright spots was the continued threat of Benayoun, and I’d be surprised if he didn’t play a role in Madrid on Wednesday. Speaking of which, there’s little time to hang our heads if we want something out of this season. With the Premier League title looking more and more unlikely, our efforts in Europe could be our saving grace.

Spanish clubs interested in El Jefecito: Not really much here, but apparently some Spanish clubs are interested in Masch. Seems like he’s happy at Anfield, I’m hoping there’s nothing in the statement, “then we’ll see what happens.”

Insua back with the squad: I think we’re all happy he’s back, his form was top notch before he left for the U-20s in South America. Not great that he was sent off in their last match, but he’s not injured. A little concerned about this picture, though. He looks too much like another dimunitive Argentinean in the Premier League, who is on his way to your nightmares.

Van der Vaart making shit up: I don’t remember any Liverpool coaches/players talking about having anything other than a healthy respect for Real Madrid. It’ll be a challenge, no doubt, as their form has improved since Juanderful took over, but “frightening” might be a bit of a stretch. Placing an imprint of your ass on the bench apparently makes you supremely bold…or gives you flower-wilting gas.

And finally, we can melodramatically remember better days in the FA Cup.

Have a great weekend all, and roll on next Sunday.

Oh You Beauty match preview: As with most of his stuff, a thorough and in-depth preview for tomorrow by nate, who is apparently allergic to starting proper nouns with a capital letter.

Torres Yes? Torres No?: Of course he’s tired, but at this point he’s our best option up top. Unless the Robbie Keane thing was a big hoax. You know how funny Rafa is and the British media always makes everything so dramatic…who’s with me?

Jilted former attacker #1 watch: The accountant, likely stressed for the upcoming tax season, takes the time to single out Crouch as the one to stop. So hopefully he’ll shut him down before he files his P50.

Jilted former attacker (that’s not so former considering he’s on loan but still has the stones to speak freely) #2 watch: Oldish link but still fun to read considering it ends with “They can’t say anything to me really.” Any bets on his sneaking into the baggage compartment for the return trip to Liverpool?

Jilted former attacker #3 watch: Okay we get it, he wasn’t exactly the apple of Rafa’s eye, Harry liked him all along, shock and surprise for all, blah blah blah. Good luck, hope you find your goal-scoring touch the rest of the year except 24 May.

Irrelevant link for the day: At this point you’ve probably seen this, but some classic lines from this poor kid. Reveling in the misery of a stoned 7 year-old, what a life I lead.

And finally, my hopes for the squad tomorrow?
Reina
Arbeloa-Carragher-Hyypia-Aurelio
Benayoun-Alonso-Mascherano-Riera
Babel
Torres

Largely normal back line, Hyypia to deal with Crouch, wouldn’t mind seeing Babel in support of Torres to create some space and see what he’s got. Will this happen? No. But what a wild idea. I need to calm down.

Lastly, congrats to our Utes’ squad, who beat Chelsea 1-0 last night and booked their place in the quarterfinals of the FA Youth Cup, where they’ll meet Bolton.

Be back later today or tomorrow, maybe a live blog for a game that probably doesn’t deserve it.

History repeated itself between Stoke and Liverpool, at the Britannia stadium this time. Stoke, with their stubborn defence and annoying Olympic-worthy throw-ins equipped with towels at the sidelines to wipe the ball; Liverpool, unable to get behind the generous space that Stoke’s back 4 has left behind for us to exploit, but of course, how can we rely on Kuyt to do justice for almost 60 minutes of the game.

Rafa was either a) high on his medication or b) got his head stuck among the clouds on the fact that he managed to slam S.A.F with some really impressive stats and analysis. Why he chose a 4-5-1 formation in an away game, with Kuyt as lone striker, when Torres and especially Keane has proven they could deliver the goods lately, is beyond my comprehension.

Stoke was the more dangerous side during the first half. Delap went close to scoring, but his shot hit the woodwork. Shawcross almost stole 3 points from us but his goal was ruled offside. Stoke added a lot of pressure with their incessant attackings and new signing, Etherington, who was an instant hit on the pitch and with the fans. Kuyt’s header on the 9th min was off-target, and that was probably Liverpool’s best chance in the first half.

Second half saw Liverpool sustaining most of the possessions, but with Lucas Leiva playing, it’s highly doubtful anything brilliant will come off from midfield. More so since he is quite fond of giving away silly free kicks and losing the ball. Again, not sure why Rafa decided to substitute Riera, to bring in Torres. He should have taken out Leiva or Benayoun, and get Keane in on the action as well. Gerrard almost nicked one in, but like Delap, the woodwork denied him. Wonder what Maradona thinks of our lacklustre performance :\

And so Liverpool missed another golden opportunity to go 6 points clear at the top. Fergie is probably getting a kick out of this, and let’s hope Gene Hackman does good on Super Sunday.

Gerrard was played following his little run-in with the law and produced yet another composed display.

Keane wasted another hatfull of chances as usual and was replaced by Torres after 73 minutes. Nando showed Keane how it’s done here in Anfield after linking up with Gerrard in injury time after Riera put The Reds up after 24 minutes.

Preston put up a good fight but in the end, Liverpool managed to secure passage into the next round, where we will meet our Mersyside rivals, Everton on the weekend of January 24/25 at Anfield. This match comes a week after a similar fixture in the League.

Personally, I’m wondering if Rafa will put as much emphasis on the FA Cup as he does in the League. Would that be spreading our team too thin? What do you think?

It was a scintillating first half at the Emirates. Samir Nasri was Arsenal’s key player, and he was responsible for that long pass to Van Persie, who brilliantly converted, almost like how Dennis Bergkamp would. The Reds answered the challenge, when appropriately, Keane, got the better of body-shop-lovin’ Djourou and slammed one past Almunia, minutes before half time. It was unfortunate that captain Cesc picked up an injury, and was unable to lead the kindergarten to victory.

Sammy Lee does well as caretaker manager, while Rafa is recuperating, though I wish he (or Rafa on the phone) had played 4-4-2, with Keane/N’gog and Kuyt in front, after the Adebayor sent-off. Not sure why Riera was substituted, I felt Babel was unnecessary for the game. Benayoun would have been a better choice.

MOTM for me would be Xabi Alonso. Premier League’s most accurate passer did everything right, created that goal for Keano while Stevie G had a poor game, and everyone else was giving away silly free kicks.

All I want for Christmas now is for Liverpool to maintain pole position.

By the way, what is wrong with our kit!? Grey top and red shorts!? Someone, please fill me in on this mismatch…

It didn’t take long before Liverpool found the net at the 3rd minute through Dirk Kuyt, courtesy of an unselfish assist from former Spurs hitman, Robbie Keane. And although Spurs tried to surge forward, they failed to get any decent shots on goal. Luka Modric, however, came close at the 41st minute, but Pepe Reina was on hand to thwart his effort. There were several moments of brilliant one-two plays from our captain and Keano, but nothing seems to materialize from their exchanges. David Bentley wasted a free kick at the 31st minute and the first half ended with a yellow card booking to Stevie G.

2nd half

Spurs made a couple of tactical substitutions, and in my opinion, Rafa should not have taken Keane off, because Ryan Babel proved to be a waste of space. We needed to kill the game, but instead, squandered our chances time and again, despite the barrages of attacks in the beginning of the second half. Gomes made several goalkeeping blunders, yet we were unable to capitalize. And while we were busy giving the opponents an own goal, Spurs grew stronger and eventually went ahead in stoppage time, with a goal from Roman Pavyluchenko.

The Verdict

I’m pretty much fuming as I am typing this. Realistically, Liverpool will, sooner or later, drop points, and hopefully this will teach us a lesson to try to score as many while we are ahead. In my opinion, Riera had a bad game, Dossena did not seem fit to chase for the ball and Keane needs to be less hesitant in taking shots (c’mon you’re not a Gooner!)

Next Game: UCL Matchday 4, against Atletico Madrid, at Anfield!

As much as I am trying to give an unbiased opinion, you have to realize this is after all a Liverpool FC blog, and so it should be another win for the REDS! Here’s why:

(Disclaimer: Pretty random, meaningless stuff ahead)

1) Aaron Lennon runs funny and Gareth Bale wears a hair pin.

2) Darren Bent and Roman Pavyluchenko cannot play off each other. So with our SOLID back 4, I’m sure we can keep a clean sheet, right Reina?

3) We’re not ARSEnal, so David Bentley won’t try that hard to score against us.

4) Heurelho Gomez is actually Paul Robinson, but with a Brazilian passport and a tan.

5) Because whether or not Torres starts, the crowd will still sing his song (“it’s random like”)

6) Stats don’t lie

7) Keano to score against his old club. Who’s with me?

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m super thrilled that we can now string together the words “league”, “leaders” and “Liverpool” in a single sentence, and I hope it stays that way for weeks to come or maybe till May 09. And why not, Crouchie gave his blessings : ))