[NoSkillz]

Sat. August 21, 2021

Barclays Premier League
Liverpool (0-1-0, 1 point, 9th) vs. Dover (1-0-0, 3 points, 5th)
Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, UK

Betting Odds: Liverpool: 4-6 (Favourites) Draw: 9-4 Dover: 7-2
Past Meetings: 2W 2D 6L

Liverpool are obviously one of the biggest clubs in the world but we've played well against them lately, with 2 wins and 2 draws in our last four matchups. Prior to that, it was all Liverpool, as they won the first six matches against us. For the first time in well over 20 years, they aren't taking part in Continental play, as they finished 7th in the Premier League last year and lost out on a Europa League spot when Reading, who finished one position back of Liverpool in the BPL, won the FA Cup. Liverpool could only muster a draw against newly promoted Blackpool in their season opener. They were reasonably quiet in the transfer window, spending £7,750,000 on 25 year old French midfielder Axel Parisot, who was bought from Sheffield Wednesday. Their highest valued player is 23 year old DM Adam Hill, who was picked up from Tottenham in 2020 but hasn't played up to his transfer fee.

I'm going to stick with the same tactic that dominated AS Monaco and go with a flat 4-4-2 counter attack. Claudio Contreras is serving the last of his three game domestic suspension for a foul committed last year so Paulus Tjiuoro is back in the lineup. Beyond that, we'll stick with the same lineup, with Shanon Andrea and Wayne Rooney starting up front.

Dover: 4-4-2 Counter
GK - I. Wilke
D - R. Gaucho, P. Tjiuoro, R. Hamon, S. Loucif
M - A. Bamba, A. Rocca, N. Cairney, G. Bolis
S - S. Andrea, W. Rooney
Bench - J. Varga, J. Kuciak, Mancini, S. Spall, S. Nasri, K. Kalfas, P. Moses

Liverpool matches our formation and they have dangerous striker Piotr Parzyszek up front with Raymond de Winter - I think I was able to avoid Parzyszek in all of our matches last year. I tell the team they can win this game and pull aside Andrea ("I have faith") and Bolis ("pick up where you left off") for personal chats.

3' - Andrea gets hurt trying to make a tackle and needs treatment. He takes a fitness hit but will be able to shake it off.

13' - Andrea Rocca gets a yellow card.

23' - On a harmless looking play from well outside the area, Andrea takes a long, curling shot that Liverpool keeper Chris Dunn needs to dive full out to stop. Dunn is a pretty great keeper in this gaming world.

28' - We steal possession in our end and work a counter attack. Bamba dribbles toward the halfway line and sends a delicious through ball to Andrea. He takes it just inside Liverpool's side of half and dribbles up field. He has a defender coming in from the right and just as he approaches, Andrea sends a low, hard right footed shot that goes past Dunn and into the net! Andrea's first Dover goal! DOVER GOAL 1-0

34' - Andrea is at it again, as he dribbles toward the left sideline then makes a great cut back towards the penalty area. He sends a little pass into Bamba and he one times a blast that Dunn just gets a piece of to turn by the post. We do nothing with the corner.

They have a few chances from distance but nothing on target.

HALFTIME - Well, we're leading and taking advantage of all of our chances, as we're outshooting them 8-6 (4-0 on target). However, Liverpool are DOMINATING possession to the tune of 63%. I'm going to change to a control tactic to start the half and will go back to the counter as the game moves toward a conclusion if we're still holding a close lead. Rooney and Rocca both have half-time ratings of 6.0 and aren't playing well according to my assistant. I encourage the team to go out and perform better in the second half.

67' - Nothing much happening. No real chances. I take out Wayne Rooney and bring in young Paul Moses.

72' - Rocca gets hurt but he just takes a fitness hit. I take him out anyway and bring in Mancini. We move back to a counter attacking mentality.

81' - There is nothing happening in this game, which is okay with a 1-0 lead I guess! Cairney now is injured and needs treatment but he can shake it off.

88' - We work a counter attack and Andrea sends the ball up to Moses. He turns on the burners and is dashing all alone down the left sideline but instead of working toward goal, he hesitates long enough for a tracking defender to tackle the ball away. Moses is only 17 and looks a bit out of his element, despite his prodigious talent. Again, I'm glad I'm going slow with him right now.

We close it out. Boring game but it's a win away against Liverpool!

Liverpool 0 - 1 Dover
Goals - Shanon Andrea (7.7)
Assists - Arsene Bamba (7.8)
Man of the Match - Arsene Bamba
Other Dover Notables - Salim Loucif (7.5), Paulus Tjiuoro (7.3), Renato Gaucho (7.1), Neil Cairney (7.4)
Attendance - 59,756

We did better with possession in the second half but still only held 45% of the ball during the match. We outshot them 13-10 (6-1 on target) and their only shot on target was a weak header. A dominating defensive performance with no real Liverpool highlights.

-- Fulham SHOCKED United 3-2 in other action. City squeaked by Derby 1-0 and Arsenal beat Chelsea.



Dover U18 Team Update

-- Our U18s beat Woking 3-0 behind striker Eddie Robinson's two goals. DC Mohamed Lamine Yilmaz scored the other goal.



Injury Update

-- Our two top strikers are both still out with injuries. Giorgos Gesios is about two weeks from returning to full training as he heals from his fractured ribs while Zoltan Bardi is months away from a return due to his torn hammy.



-- DC Matthew Thompson rejects the overtures of Inverness CT due to a poor salary offer. Damn. I don't need him here and will keep trying to find a taker. I lower my demands by a bit and funny enough, it's Inverness again coming with an offer. Good luck getting him to sign with you!



Next Up

-- We host AS Monaco FC in the second leg of the Champions League Best Placed Playoff, where we have a commanding four goal cushion after our huge away win two weeks ago.