Dalglish: We’re not scared of City
The air of invincibility which has enveloped the Premier League leaders for most of the season has evaporated over the festive period.
City have taken just one point from two matches, during which time they have failed to score against West Brom and Sunderland, who inflicted only their second defeat of the campaign at the Stadium of Light on Sunday. They were second best in their encounter at Anfield in late November but escaped with a 1-1 draw and Dalglish draws confidence from all those factors.
“They are a fantastic side but so are we. So we are not going to go there and be scared,” said the Scot, whose team go into the match on the back of a 3-1 win over Newcastle on Friday.
“It is all well and good saying they have loads of money but they have a good team. The money they have everyone else would love to have but unfortunately they don’t.
“We will go and play whichever 11 they put on the pitch and it doesn’t matter how much they cost. But we have the utmost respect for what they have done, we will respect and appreciate their ability. They are a really difficult side to play against and we have our work cut out but we will work hard and fingers crossed we will come home with a result.”
Liverpool have had two days extra to recover since their last outing and, despite City’s vast depth of playing resources, Dalglish has some sympathy for counterpart Roberto Mancini.
“I know people will say he has a massive squad and enough to field two teams, but you have to take the players into consideration because they are the ones who are the main attraction,” added the Reds boss.
“There has to be a bit of common-sense and a game on the first and third (of January) is a bit unreasonable really.’’
Dalglish hopes a new year brings a change of fortune after a frustrating start to the season which has seen performances not matched by their points tally.
“To get 2011 out of the way was good for us because I don’t think we’ve had too much in the matches we have played in the first part of the season,” he said. “We look forward to 2012 and hopefully it will bring us more luck than we got in the first part of this season.”
What may be more significant than luck is the return to fitness of captain Steven Gerrard after two months out with an ankle infection.
The England midfielder has made two substitute appearances, totalling 52 minutes, and scored against the Magpies.
Dalglish may be tempted to give him his first start since late October against City but sounded a word of caution.
“He is a fantastic player but we have to remember that he is still feeling his way back into it,” he said.
Mancini, meanwhile, expects his players to learn the lessons from their shock loss at Sunderland very quickly.
City squandered the chance to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League as they conceded at injury-time goal at the Stadium of Light.
Mancini said: “We missed a big opportunity, a big chance to go three points up on (Manchester) United. I thought we threw three important points out of the window.
“It was important but now it is finished and we can do nothing. But, at the same time, when we arrive back in Manchester, we need to think positively for the next game and for the future.’’
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
