Wednesday Preview

Wednesday Preview


Carling Cup Semifinal First Leg: Ipswich Town v. Arsenal

Not your typical busy mid week matchday across Europe, but there are still a few tasty matchups for us to sink our teeth into. There are a couple of goodies from England.

First comes the first leg of a Carling Cup Semifinal between heavily favored Arsenal and Championship side Ipswich Town. Ipswich have twice knocked Arsenal out of domestic cups, and will look to do so again as Arsene Wenger's team shoot for their first trophy since '05.

One of the keys to Arsenal's run thus far has been Wenger's insistence on playing his first teamers. In year's past we have seen the likes of youngsters such as Craigh Eastmond, John Emmanuel-Thomas, and Fran Merida (now at Atletico Madrid). This season's cup run has featured some of that, but we have seen mainly players solidly within the first team squad.

Bacary Sagna is out of the equation thanks to a boneheaded red card offense against Man City last week. Emmanuel Eboue should slide into his spot. He's a more than adequate replacement when the Gunners are in full-out attack, as they should be today.

Bendtner, Chamakh, and Arshavin were the men up front in Wenger's 4-3-3 in a 1-1 FA Cup draw against Leeds on Saturday. If Wenger's previous squad rotation habits are any indication, we should see the teams' first choice attack of late with Van Persie, Walcott, and Nasri all in the first 11.

As for Ipswich, they are trying to revitalize their dreadful year in the Championship via success in the cup. Roy Keane was fired last week, and former TEAMS boss Paul Jewell will take over the reigns tomorrow after caretaker boss Ian McParland heads up the squad for today's matchup.

With nothing to lose, and a raucous home crowd behind them at Portman Road, this could easily be a good one. Look for Town to try and defend and get out on the counterattack, something that has hurt Arsenal all year long.

EPL: Blackpool v. Liverpool

Blackpool shocked the Reds at Anfield earlier in the year, and Liverpool will be out for revenge for caretaker manager Kenny Daglish's first match at the helm.

Bloomfield Road hasn't been the fortress that Ian Holloway had hoped for thus far, as his team have racked up the majority of their points away from home. If they can find their form at home, they shouldn't have any problems avoiding the drop.

Steven Gerrard is out after being sent off on the weekend for a silly two-footed challenge on Darren Fletcher in Saturday's 1-0 FA Cup loss to Manchester United. That could open up the door for Blackpool playmaker Charlie Adam, who will try and pull the strings in the midfield without Gerrard there to hold possession.

Glen Johnson is still out as he awaits the birth of a child, with Martin Kelly deputizing after a strong performance against the Red Devils. Meanwhile, Joe Cole and Paul Konchesky will take late fitness tests to determine their fate.

This match should come down to a battle of the midfields. With Gerrard gone, Lucas, Maxi Rodriguez, and Dirk Kuyt must pick up the slack. If they can link up nicely and hold possession, it will make things difficult for Holloway's boys, who want to play attacking football despite having inferior talent.

Lucas will have to track Adam early and often throughout the midfield as well. If he has time on the ball he can put a pass on an attackers feet from across the pitch, leaving less-organizes defenses scurrying for position, something we have seen Liverpool do all season long.