Liverpool V Everton: 7 Things to Expect at Wembley in FA Cup Semifinal

Alrighty, then!

The action shifts back to cup competitions where we find ourselves looking at a huge Merseyside derby.

Liverpool and Everton lock horns in the first semi-final of the FA Cup this Saturday at the Wembley to determine who gets through to the final.

It’s been a tale of swinging fortunes for both Merseyside clubs. Liverpool face an uphill task on their hands to finish in the seventh position at least having previously lost out on the race for the fourth.

Everton, meanwhile, can smirk for the time being as they find themselves in the seventh position, just one point ahead of their bitter rivals in the Premiership table.

But the bragging rights of this season have certainly gone the Liverpool way with the Reds emerging victorious in their two meetings so far, the last one resulting in a memorable night for Steven Gerrard.

While all that adds a bit to the "feel-good" factor for the Reds supporters, this Saturday’s cup tie is by no means going to be a cakewalk for Dalglish’s boys.

Liverpool enter this weekend’s semi-final tie on the back of a horrendous run in the Premier League that saw them lose six of their last eight fixtures. The Reds recorded only their second league victory of 2012 last night against Blackburn Rovers in a rather unconvincing display full of errors.

Having said that, Everton who have rediscovered their goal scoring form of late will definitely look to get one up over their bitter rivals and try to end the season with at least a trophy to show for.

Anyway, scroll over to check out the few things that you can most certainly expect during this Wembley showdown…

Hillsborough Memorial

April 15, 1989 will always be a dark day in the club’s history.

The occasion was the semi-final match of the FA Cup competition between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. However, it also turned out to be the worst nightmare for 96 Liverpool supporters who never made it back home from the stadium.

The Hillsborough stadium disaster remains one of the worst stadium related incidents in footballing history.

Pre-game remembrance ceremonies will take place for which the Red and Blue half of Merseyside will unite.

This year marks the 23^rd anniversary since the disaster took place. As Kenny Dalglish takes his position, emotions are sure to be running high in the Scot’s mind.

A nice little gesture by the other semi-finalists in the competition, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, was agreeing to observe silence on their match day as well.

Team Selection

Right, let’s roll over to the stuff that matters!

Team selection won’t be much of a headache for Kenny Dalglish as he had benched some of the important first XI players for the game against Blackburn Rovers.

People who will make their way back into the starting line-up will include Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez.

The problem, however, is with the defence. Martin Skrtel is a definite starter, but Kenny has to make up his mind between Carragher and Agger.

Carragher will definitely be reluctant to sit out a derby game against Everton. But if Kenny opts for Agger to partner Skrtel then it would most certainly mean Glen Johnson would lose out in favour of Carra.

Johnson had an unimpressive return to action in the game against Rovers and that may work against his favour. The final decision, however, rests with Kenny and let’s wait to see if Carra makes the cut.

Andy Carroll has staked claim on a starting berth with his match winning effort against the Rovers. But, knowing Kenny, don’t place a bet over Carroll starting.

The Maxi Rodriguez situation gives us all a déjà vu, as supporters are yet again uncertain of his playing status. Don’t bet on him starting as well because for all we know it could be Downing in his place.

The Substitute Goalkeeper

So it is finalised.

Brad Jones will start between the sticks on semi-final day and the recalled Peter Gulacsi will take his place on the bench.

Kenny Dalglish’s goalkeeping woes had doubled when Alexander Doni saw red for bringing down Junior Hoilett inside the area.

Brad Jones replaced him but he too flirted with disaster as he ran the risk of a red card when he fouled Yakubu inside the box for the Rovers’ second penalty of the night. Jones, however, got away with a yellow and is now all set to take up his position between the sticks at Wembley.

Earlier this day, news filtered out that Dalglish had recalled 21-year-old Gulacsi, who until then was on loan at Hull City, to the line-up.

Now we know the identities of the Liverpool goalkeepers. Something else that we know is that neither of them have the experience behind them to keep a cool head on this big an occasion.

Let’s wait and see how it unfolds…

Luis Suarez/Steven Gerrard to Score

The best bet that Liverpool have in terms of attack is the presence of duo Gerrard and Suarez.

Suarez has been the leading goal getter for Liverpool this term while Gerrard will be widely expected to carry over the spirit from his hat trick display the last time these two teams met.

Dalglish will pin his hopes on Suarez to trouble and unsettle the Everton defenders and creating space to play his team mates in.

Similarly, Dalglish will expect his skipper to carry the weight of the team on his shoulders.

Stevie G must pull all strings to ensure a Liverpool victory out of this encounter.

As he has shown multiple times in the past, Stevie G steps up to the front on a big occasion. Reds fans can fully expect him to do the same here to make this derby encounter something to remember.

Everton Will Equalise

I should concede the fact that I’m not sure which team would open the scoring, but we can expect goals on both sides.

Being a Reds supporter myself, I’d prefer Liverpool to go into the driver’s seat early. Even if that’s the case, fear not Blue supporters.

Liverpool’s cranky defence lapses have allowed the opponents to take advantage of their vulnerability in the back. The Reds have easily conceded two goal advantages, evident from last night, and at times have went on to lose from being two goals up.

So, being a goal ahead will by no means guarantee a Liverpool victory. But the return of Daniel Agger has added some renewed hope in the supporter minds.

A clean sheet victory is too much to ask. So expect goals on both ends.

Extra Time And/or Penalties

The last time a big cup show down went to extra time; many Liverpool supporters went home without a significant part of their finger nails.

Such was the anxiety during the extra time minutes in the League Cup final encounter against Cardiff City. Every supporter would definitely hope for the game to complete before the normal time runs down.

But given Liverpool’s recent form, I can’t rule out the prospect of extra time influencing the game’s result.

Especially with my earlier prediction of a team equalising, the extra time factor only gets bigger and bigger to becoming a reality.

Still, I know something that the supporters can’t bear to watch one more time—penalties. I think this a pretty interesting stat to share at this point.

Out of the four major competition finals that Liverpool have managed to reach in the last seven years, three of them ended with Liverpool being victorious. And penalty shootouts decided the fate of those three games.

Liverpool won the 2005 Champions League on penalties, the 2006 FA Cup on penalties and the 2012 League Cup on penalties.

Though this is only a semi-final, the magnitude of the game is equivalent of a major final. So brace yourself because anything may go down.

A Liverpool Victory

Is there anything else that matters more than this?

A victory over the bitter rivals not only guarantees them total bragging rights, but a victory would also mean another trip to the Wembley to face one of the London clubs in an epic final clash for the FA Cup.

What’s more?

It would also help reduce the pressure on Kenny Dalglish a bit as he strives to take this team to the finals of another domestic competition this term.

A Liverpool victory will also be a great gesture on the players’ part to the 96 who lost their lives at Hillsborough.