Liverpool Book Place At Wembley Semi Final

Suarez dedicated his goal to Fabrice Muamba...

The Reds knocked Stoke out of the FA Cup on Sunday in a 2-1 win. Dalglish's side have now drawn either Everton or Sunderland (depending on the outcome of their replay) in the semi finals at Wembley. The goals came from Luis Suarez and Stewart Downing.

Pulis's side entered the game in the sort of fashion we were all expecting, they got stuck in and attempted to break down the passing movement especially within the Liverpool midfield. It took it's time to work but eventually Stoke did begin to frustrate Liverpool.

Despite Stoke's best efforts, it was Liverpool that grabbed the first goal. A superb finish from Luis Suarez left Stoke keeper Sorensen stunned as the Reds went 1-0 up.

Liverpool couldn't celebrate for long though as Stoke found themselves with a cluster of corners to take advantage of. Despite the fact that their last corner that led to the goal blatantly wasn't one, Liverpool quite frankly should have dealt with the threat better.

The corner was whipped in by Matthew Etherington and it was Andy Carroll who made the mistake of letting Crouch free in to space. The ex Liverpool man easily headed home whilst Liverpool made calls for obstruction to Reina.

In my opinion Reina wasn't really being obstructed and it seemed unlike him to just allow himself to be bossed around, he didn't seem to fight for his place in that corner whereas to me it looked as though he could of and should of.

This didn't matter though because Stoke were now level and to save themselves a replay Liverpool would need another goal from somewhere.

Things stayed level into extra time and at this stage it looked like the game could go either way.

It was refreshing to see the introduction of Maxi Rodriguez and great to see him set up Suarez for Liverpool's first but it was clear that at some stage either himself or Downing would need to be subbed to provide Liverpool with another angle. For me, there was too much focus on balls in from the wing and play needed to be pushed into the centre because Stoke were dealing well with the crosses and corners.

Just before the hour mark the Reds managed to find another goal. An accidental one two between Steven Gerrard and Stewart Downing allowed the number 19 to take another touch and give himself enough space to put his effort past Sorensen. Another great goal for the Reds.

After this goal Stoke introduced Pennant to the play whilst Liverpool took off Maxi and replaced him with Dirk Kuyt. The Reds weren't quite out of danger yet and whilst Kuyt offers options in attack we also know how tenacious he is in getting possession back and also defending where needs be.

Stoke also introduced Cameron Jerome ten minutes later as they tried to enhance their attack. But it was too little too late. Liverpool held on to their 2-1 lead and successfully booked themselves a place in the FA Cup semi finals at Wembley.

Liverpool have drawn Everton or Sunderland. If Everton can get through their replay then what a fantastic day out at Wembley that would be!

Next up for Liverpool is Queens Park Rangers.

Stoke At Anfield In FA Cup

Wembley awaits...

I feel sorry for all those Mother's of Liverpool fans on Sunday because i predict a delivery of card and perhaps garage court flowers before a dash to a television or Anfield for most of your sons and daughters. The Reds face Stoke in the FA Cup and with the prospect of another trip to Wembley looming, everybody is excited for this one.

For Liverpool they are still without Daniel Agger and Glen Johnson whilst Stoke are missing Ricardo Fuller who is serving a ban.

Stoke have had a bit of a bumpy run of form in the league of late, losses to Chelsea and Fulham have been mixed in with wins over Swansea and Norwich. For Liverpool, their 3-0 victory over bitter rivals Everton in the Merseyside derby has hopefully boosted the sides performance. Before this the Reds had lost 3 league games in a row.

Liverpool have beaten Brighton, Manchester United and Oldham to get to this stage of the FA Cup whilst Stoke have pushed aside Crawley Town, Derby and Gillingham .

The last time the two sides met the game ended in a 0-0 draw. Their last meeting in a cup however was in the League Cup in October and Liverpool won 2-1.

Stat Sandwich

• Liverpool have been drawn at home all four times in this season's FA Cup.
• Stoke have kept 6 clean sheets in their last 8 FA Cup matches.
• When Liverpool knocked Manchester United out of the cup this season, this was the first time the Reds had knocked Premier League opposition out in 6 years.

In my opinion if we were facing Stoke at the Britannia then i would be pretty worried. They're comfortable at home and in that sort of atmosphere would probably be able to fluster us. However, Liverpool are at Anfield and just like the Britannia, this is an immense atmosphere to play in, especially in the FA Cup.

With the options to bring in a fresh Craig Bellamy and going on the back of a confidence boosting win, i think Liverpool have the ability and correct mindset to go out and win on Sunday. The Merseyside derby in a sense came at a perfect time because if you can beat the Toffees so confidently then you're bound to feel like you can take on anyone. 

As we all know Stoke are very physical but with the likes of Martin Skrtel and Jamie Carragher in defence, two can certainly play that game. Peter Crouch will surely be on the look out to cause an upset but let's hope the defence remain tight.

Enjoy the match folks!

Sweet Gerrard Hat Trick Stuns Toffees

The captain celebrates...

A much improved performance from Liverpool after their defeat at the hands of Sunderland on the weekend saw the Reds put 3 past David Moyes' Everton side. His team had been going strong but he couldn't get them to pull a performance out of the bag for his 10th anniversary at the club.

Dalglish made some changes to the side, predominantly the dropping of an ineffective Charlie Adam. The midfielder has had a few off games recently and it was nice to see Kenny had saw exactly what the fans did. Spearing took his place in centre midfield alongside Gerrard.

Liverpool made a lively start to the game with the likes of Suarez, Gerrard and even Martin Kelly causing problems in the box. Some frustrating calls for offside sometimes stopped the flow of things but the Reds quickly got back into a rhythm.

Liverpool's first goal came just after the half hour mark. With all the pressure on Tim Howard and none really on Pepe Reina, it was nice to see Liverpool convert a chance whilst they were creating so many, it's been the total opposite of late.

Steven Gerrard saw his chance after the ball splayed back out from Tim Howard. Suarez and Kelly were involved in the build up but it fell to the captain to place a lovely curling effort over and in to the back of the net. A fantastic goal.

Everton attempted to get back into the game before half time but it was only a chance saved by Reina from Stracqualursi that gave them an opportunity.

Just five minutes in to the second half and Steven Gerrard was at it again. After some determination and skill from Luis Suarez, the Uruguayan found himself deep in the box, when spotting an encroaching Steven Gerrard, Suarez left the chance to the number 8 who smashed Liverpool 2-0 up with a firm strike.

1-0 is always a tough score to be sitting on and none more so than in the Merseyside derby and so a second goal so early into the second half was greatly received by the Anfield faithful.

There were some fantastic performances on Tuesday night but i think it's worth picking out Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing. Spearing just never gave up and terrorised Everton whenever they had possession. Kelly was not only composed in defence but superb when pushing forward, he also nearly came close to scoring, thrice. A top performance.

Everton just after the hour mark had realised that plan A wasn't working and so plan B was to bring on 3 substitutes at the same time. Drenthe, Osman and Jelavic all entered the fray.

Liverpool followed suit with the substitutions 10 minutes after when Jordan Henderson was replaced with Dirk Kuyt.

Everton's substitutions didn't quite have the right effect on the game and the main aspect of their introduction ended up seeing a frustrated Drenthe cautioned. It just wasn't happening for Everton on Tuesday night. There was no spark. Leighton Baines even spoiled his performance by being petty towards the end of the game in incidents with Luis Suarez.

To top things off perfectly for Liverpool, Steven Gerrard in his 400th Premier League appearance got himself a hat trick. Well, i say himself, to be honest, Luis Suarez had quite a lot to do with it again.

Gerrard stole possession in midfield and then played a ball through to Suarez in the box. The forward wasn't selfish however and kept control until Gerrard had pushed forward into a wide open position, the Uruguayan then easily set up the captain who confidently put his third past Howard.

A brilliant performance from Liverpool, one that couldn't be more different from the 90 minutes at the weekend. As Gerrard said himself post match, we need to find some consistency and if we can put a few more goals in the back of the net then that's half the battle.

Next up for Liverpool is Stoke in the FA Cup!

Reds Search For Win In Merseyside Derby

LFC Lad: That Fellani's an idiot... and people think my hairdo's bad?!

The Merseyside Derby? On a Tuesday night? Yes please. The Red and Blue side of Liverpool both line up on Tuesday evening after the fixture had to be moved due to the Carling Cup. Liverpool are having a dismal time in the league at the moment whilst Everton as usual have revived their second half of the season.

Liverpool still have a minor doubt hanging over the fitness of Glen Johnson and Everton's only real worry is over Darren Gibson.

A poor performance from Liverpool against Sunderland on Saturday has left many worrying at the prospect of losing 4 games in a row in the Premier League. It's blatantly obvious that the lads need to buck their ideas up for this one and perhaps Kenny may want to rethink his starting line up as he gets ready to face Moyes' boys.

Everton don't need spurring on for this one and have collected some superb results recently in the league pushing aside the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea and Man City but for Liverpool the key thing to remember here is these wins were all at Goodison Park.

We have to go back to 1999 for a win for Everton at Anfield in the league and so the advantage of Liverpool being at home will hopefully aid the faltering Reds.

With Gerrard getting some game time against Sunderland at the weekend i think it's vital that both he and Carragher start in this one. The team at the moment need a kick up the backside and those two men are the best to provide it in a game such as this.

Stat Sandwich

• Gerrard will make his 400th top flight appearance if he plays on Tuesday night.
• The last time Everton scored more than 2 goals at Anfield was in 1964.
• If Jamie Carragher plays it will be his 28th Merseyside Debry in all competitions.

There's no hiding from the fact that Liverpool have been very poor of late but you can't help but think this is the sort of game that will force us to rethink our ideas. Against Arsenal and Manchester United the Reds put in top performances but as always couldn't seem to find those goals.

Here's hoping things change on Tuesday night because it will be unbearable if Liverpool lose. Not forgetting the fact that Everton could leap frog us should this happen.

Enjoy the match folks!