Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion Match Preview
The absence of Javier Mascherano was obvious on Monday when Liverpool met Manchester City at Eastlands. The Reds’ performance was a poor one and their 3-0 defeat deserved. Unfortunately for new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson, Mascherano is likely to be out of Liverpool for good now.
Mascherano is rumored to have gone on strike, evidently to force the issue of a move away from Merseyside, and England, before the transfer window closes. Manager Roy Hodgson has vowed that Mascherano won’t be going anywhere unless the right offer comes in.
Barcelona are said to be having trouble with Liverpool’s asking price for the Argentine international and now Inter have entered the fray.
The Reds beat Turkish squad Trabzonspor 1-2 on Thursday and go through to the next round of the Europa league on 3-1 aggregate.
Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani is out of Liverpool, having been a disappointment at Anfield, and now he heads for Juventus on loan with an option to buy.
LATE UPDATE: It appears that Mascherano is Barcelona bound for an estimated 16 million Euros. The Argentine international will sign a four year deal with the Catalan squad.
West Brom manager Roberto di Matteo’s signing of Peter Odemwingie from Lokomotiv Moscow looked a stroke of genius at the weekend as Odemwingie netted the only goal of the match just nine minutes from the end to give the Baggies a highly valued three points against Sunderland on Saturday.
In anticipation of Sunday’s match with Liverpool several first team players were left out of the Baggies Carling Cup tie with Leyton Orient midweek. Nevertheless, the Baggies cruised to a 0-2 victory.
The Baggies have had an offer for Portsmouth’s Marc Wilson turned down, but di Matteo and company are still hopeful that a deal can be done before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
Liverpool vs West Bromwich Albion Match Report
Liverpool beat West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Sunday and Fernando Torres got his goal scoring exploits back on track to beat the Baggies 1-0.
It was a less than dominant display by the Merseyside club. Nevertheless, it was new Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson’s first Premier League win in charge of the Reds and supporters will likely be comforted that the signing of Paul Konchesky from Fulham, as well as Portuguese midfielder Raul Meireles from Porto are the start of a new-look Liverpool.
With Javier Mascherano now decamped for Barcelona and Alberto Aquilani off to Juventus on loan, the new arrivals show that Liverpool is now beginning to take on a Hodgson look.
