Stoke vs Liverpool: Preview - The Final Game

Let’s all take part in a collective sigh of relief… Ahh. Yes, fellow Liverpool fans, one last 90-minute run and it’s the end of the season. But the culmination of this season is somewhat bittersweet, not only are we saying goodbye to this horrid campaign, we also say goodbye to club legend Steven Gerrard.

No, I’m not going to get all soppy about my hero now. There’s time for that after the game and there was time for that preparing for his last home game a week ago. A win against Stoke will secure Liverpool fifth place this season, a feat we’d have rejected twelvemonths ago but here we are, it’s sound a hell-of a lot better seventh. We’ve already secure European football for next season but at least the three points would see us atop Spurs and Southampton, who have had respectively successful seasons.

Liverpool head to the Britannia in below par form having won two of their last six games, with both of those coming at Anfield against Newcastle and QPR. Stoke are in decent form, amassing a point more than Rodgers’ Reds have in their previous six fixtures.

Stoke’s season is over. They’re four points ahead of tenth-placed Everton and five points behind eighth-placed Swansea. Registering 14 losses and 14 wins this season thus far though, Potters’ fans would want to see their side win more games than they’ve lost this season – especially after such a successful campaign.

Bojan is still unavailable for Stoke and it looks as if Stephen Ireland and Victor Moses may also miss this weekend’s game through injuries. Barring obvious exclusions, Jose Enrique and Mamadou Sakho are unfortunately unlikely to feature this weekend through injuries of their own. Mario Balotelli is also a doubt, after injuring his foot in training, but I do hope he makes the bench at least.

There is also big question marks over whether Raheem Sterling will, and indeed should, start. Rodgers has recently said that he expects Raheem to see out the remaining two years on his contract. He also says his relationship with the winger hasn’t changed in light of his Sterling’s agent, Aidy Ward, claiming his client wouldn’t sign a new contract with Liverpool, “even if it was £900k per week” and he that he “wants to join a rival Premier League club”.

Personally, I wouldn’t start Sterling. The thunderstorm going around the media doesn’t bode with Liverpool fans. If what is being said is true, and it certainly seems that way, I, and many other Reds, want Sterling out of our club. We don’t need our final game, Gerrard’s final game, to be tainted by crowd reaction for a 20-year-old. The club is bigger than that.

That being said, considering Rodgers’ recent comments about Raheem, I think he’ll start.

I’d start Rickie Lambert…

But first, I expect Liverpool to go ahead and finish the season with a 3-4-3 formation. It wasn’t a success last weekend but I still think well go ahead and utilise it again once more. I anticipate that Dejan Lovren, Martin Skrtel and Emre Can will form Liverpools’ defence, with the Simon Mignolet in goal.

Central midfield can go one of a few ways, the balanced way: Lucas Leiva and Jordan Henderson or the Brendan Rodgers way: Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard. Which do I think we’ll start this weekend? The latter, of course. I predict that Jordon Ibe, after signing his contract extention, will start along the right flank with Alberto Moreno playing on the opposite side.

Up top, as I said earlier, I think we’ll start Raheem. Although I actually wouldn’t be surprised if we started Lambert. I do think we’ll see him at some point of the game. Supporting Sterling, I expect the usual suspects in the form of a 5’ 6” Brazilian, Phil Coutinho, and a 5’ 7” Englishman, Adam Lallana, with Coutinho taking the left-hand side.

So, with all that being said, here is how I see Liverpool lining up against Stoke:

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Liverpool may be bidding farewell to a few fond faces this summer (besides Stevie G). Lucas is being strongly linked to Inter and local lad Lambert is being linked to Bournemouth. I’d hope, if they are set to leave, they will get on that pitch at some stage although I can’t see Mignolet giving way for Brad Jones. It’d have been nice for Enrique to have been available too… Oh, and I almost forgot. Glen Johnson.

He’s set to run out his contract with Liverpool and regardless of how quickly his form at Liverpool diminished, Glen has been great servant to this club and has been a quality right-back for at least four years of his time at the club. He should be likened in a similar light to Lucas, he’s been with us through two close title races.