Reds won’t want repeat of Cardiff’s last Anfield league visit
CARDIFF CITY are the visitors at Anfield tomorrow, for the first time in a league game since 1959.
That last visit, 54 years ago almost to the day, saw Liverpool lose 4-0 on December 19th 1959 in a Division 2 fixture. It was Bill Shankly’s first game as boss and served as a demonstration of exactly what kind of work he had in front of him.
It could be Cardiff boss Malky Mackay’s last game in charge of the Welsh club, if he is still boss by then, after their owner reportedly sent him a message telling him to resign or be sacked. Brendan Rodgers spoke out yesterday about Vincent Tan’s conduct as an owner of a Premier League side, echoing the views of many a Cardiff supporter in recent times.
Tan went ahead with a move to change the colour of the home kit for Cardiff despite massive opposition. Cardiff, who used to wear blue as their home colour – to match their nickname of the Bluebirds – now wear red, although of course they’ll need to change that tomorrow.
Mackay chose not to attend his own pre-match press conference as the club’s fans await news on his future. Tan is due to fly into the UK to attend the game at Anfield.
Liverpool will be without long-term absentees Daniel Sturridge, Steven Gerrard and Jose Enrique but will be looking to Luis Suarez to continue his amazing run of goalscoring. The Uruguayan is now on 17 for a season he started later than everyone else. Liverpool are likely to be unchanged from the side that beat Spurs 5-0 on Sunday.
Cardiff are still awaiting news on the fitness of Craig Bellamy, who will no doubt be doing all he can to be fit for a game against his former club, the club he’s had two separate playing spells with.
The two clubs have met twice since that last league clash, both in the League Cup. The first time was in 2007 when the Reds sent the Bluebirds out in the fourth round. The next meeting was in 2012 in the final at Wembley, Liverpool coming home with the cup after a penalty shoot-out.
The two sides first met back in 1922 with Liverpool the 5-1 victors in a First Division. The return visit was a week later in Cardiff, the home side taking the points in a 2-0 win at Ninian Park.
The infographic below, from livefootball.co.uk, shows how the league games have been split since then, along with some comparisons of more recent facts and figures. You can also follow the game itself with them at: livefootball.co.uk/premier-league/2013-2014/regular-season/gameweek-17/liverpool-cardiff-city-1483620/.
Liverpool-vs-Cardiff-City infographic – from livefootball.co.uk