Ah, what a mouthwatering prospect! There is a pretty good chance that Liverpool will beat Portsmouth in the FA Cup 5th Round replay and win a quarter-final match at Anfield against Arsenal. We'll find out March 6th (when Liverpool play Pompey) whether this is going to happen.
I watched Arsenal play Chelsea yesterday (courtesy of Fox Sportsworld) and thought they looked very good indeed. Their passing was scintillating and new boy Jose Antonio Reyes looked worth every one of the £10.5 million they paid for him. They are my second favorite team (behind Liverpool) and I think it'll be a cracking match. In their last meeting earlier this season Liverpool dominated the first half of the match at Anfield and were very unlucky to come away with a draw from an own goal by Sami Hyypia. The second half saw Michael Owen injured and a late goal from Arsenal won it.
Liverpool is now a bit healthier and have climbed into fourth position in the Premier League. Their confidence is coming back and I'm hopeful that they will win the FA Cup again this season. They have key defenders Stefan Henchoz and Jamie Carragher back and I've felt for a while that their first string defence was capable of putting them back into contention for the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup.
Arsenal currently lead the Premier League by a huge five points from Manchester United. I've got bets on Liverpool winning the UEFA Cup and Arsenal the Champions League and the Premier League. I'd love to win the trifecta!
One of the oddities of the schedule, and playing so many cup ties as well as regular season games is that Arsenal just beat Abramovitch's Chelsea at Highbury in the FA Cup and now travels this weekend to Chelsea to play them in a regular season match. Liverpool conversely was scheduled to play Portsmouth in the regular season schedule but this game was postponed so that they could play in the FA Cup.
Lots of chances for revenge. I love this time of year. I'm just glad I'm not a Leeds supporter.
Posted by artandscience at February 18, 2004 07:25 AM