Liverpool will face Oldham Athletic at their Anfield Stadium on Friday in the FA Cup 3rd Round. The Reds who have previously won the Cup on seven previous occasions will be firm favourites to beat Oldham, who are currently playing in League One, the Latics have never reached the Cup Final, although they have reached the semi-finals three times, their last semi final appearance was in 1994.
Having not beaten Liverpool at Anfield since 1914, the odds will certainly be stacked against the visitors, who have only beaten the Reds in six of their last twenty nine meetings and this will be the first match between the two teams since 1994, when Liverpool emerged as 3-0 winners.
Oldham are currently in 14th place in League One, two leagues below and in total they stand 51 league places behind the Reds, who are comfortably positioned 6th in the Premier League, but the Latics who are currently managed by former Manchester City player Paul Dickov, will be boosted by the Reds 3-0 defeat at Manchester City earlier in the week and also the prospect that Reds manager Kenny Dalglish may be tempted to rest some of his regular first team players for the game.
Liverpool may be tempted to give first team opportunities to some of their younger players such as England youth international Jonjo Shelvey and Uruguayan Sebastian Coates, more well known players such as Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez have had limited first team opportunities this season, but they may be given the chance to start the game. The Reds captain Steven Gerrard may start the game as he continues to build his fitness following an ankle injury, having made several substitute appearances in recent weeks. Brazilian goalkeeper Doni, who signed from Roma last summer, could replace Pepe Reina to make his first Liverpool appearance, while Martin Kelly and veteran Jamie Carragher may also feature.
Oldham are likely to field their strongest possible tam as they look to stage a major upset with striker Shefki Kuqi, who is Oldham's top scorer this season and Dean Furman will probably captain the side for the Anfield fixture. The Oldham team includes several Liverpool fans including defender Zander Diamond who has visited Anfield once before, having paid for a tour of the famous Stadium.
Having previously won the FA Cup on seven occasions, Liverpool appeared in the first Cup Final in 1914, but lost to Burnley 1-0. The Reds didn't win their first FA Cup final until 1965 and the guidance of manager Bill Shankly. Current manager Kenny Dalglish won the Cup with the Reds in 1986 and 1989, although it is now six years since the Reds have secured any silverware so they will be hoping to win a trophy this season.
Steve Goodwin is an expert author, football fan and retailer of Liverpool merchandise available from the Liverpool Shop all products from the Liverpool Store are available to ship worldwide.
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