Liverpool Live Blog: Reds Make Easy Work of Roy Hodgson’s West Brom, Winning 2-0 in English Premier League

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Oct 29, 2011

Liverpool Live Blog: Reds Make Easy Work of Roy Hodgson's West Brom, Winning 2-0 in English Premier League

Final, 2-0 Liverpool: Liverpool visited West Brom and showed their former manager just how far it's come since January. The Reds have added six players who started today since his dismissal and they were the difference on the day.

90th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: West Brom gets tired of my criticisms and threatens Reina's goal. He punches clear and Bellamy sets up Downing on the counter. The England winger hits the post from the right. 

88th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: We're seeing shots of West Brom fans heading for the exits. Not sure what took so long for them to decide. There's only been one team in this contest from early in the first half. 

82nd minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Bellamy makes his 250th EPL appearance as he comes on for Suarez. Another great performance for the Liverpool talisman. He won the first half penalty that Adam buried. 

81st minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Reds in complete control still. It wouldn't be a bad time for Spearing or Bellamy to get a few minutes of action. 

75th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Credit goes to Liverpool for not dropping to the level of its competition in the first 30 minutes of the second half. The Reds have done a very professional job of keeping the pressure on a weaker opponent and not allowing it back into the contest.

71st minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Cox comes on for the ineffective Tchoyi. You have to wonder what the injured Irish striker Shane Long would have brought to this game.

65th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: This is another great opportunity for Agger and Johnson to build their fitness. Going the distance will make it 180 minutes of game action this week for the Danish center back. Dalglish will rely on him in Carragher's absence. 

62nd minute, 2-0 Liverpool: West Brom makes its first change, but I can't see it being effected. Too many players in stripes are hanging their heads. Carroll and Suarez continue to torment their gracious hosts.  

54th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: Suarez continues to trouble the West Brom defense. It looks like Liverpool will net a third before West Brom gets its first. This wouldn't be a bad game for the Reds to add to their tally of two clean sheets this season. It's called "low-hanging fruit" in some circles. 

49th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: It's been a strange day so far in the league, but it would take a frightening (first and only Halloween reference, hopefully) collapse by the Reds to lose control of this one. We have yet to see the home team mount a serious threat on goal. 

Halftime, 2-0 Liverpool: Hodgson will not be impressed by his team's capitulation during the half. It was caught going forward on the second goal. Olsson's misplaced pass found Lucas with the West Brom defense out of position. 

Carroll's finish may have looked awkward and clumsy, but he picked the perfect spot to put it. 

45th minute, 2-0 Liverpool: And Carroll puts Liverpool ahead by two! It was two first-time passes from Lucas and Suarez in the build-up that sent the big man in alone on Foster's goal. He slots underneath for the former England international and rewards his team for its first half dominance. 

44th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Suarez is down and clutching his left knee. His mistimed tackle on Thomas caught the West Brom defender awkwardly. He's now back up and running. 

38th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Downing has seen his fair share of opportunities on the left side and has not done enough with them. Have we seen his best? If his form dips, who can best do his job?

36th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Suarez misses the target from close range. Skrtel found him with a pass across the face of goal. It was a little behind him and there was pressure, but Suarez will regret missing that one. 

35th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Olsson sees yellow for recklessly unnecessary challenge on Carroll. 

31st minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Lucas wins a free-kick in a dangerous position. It's 20-25 yards out. Who is the Reds' dead ball specialist? Suarez curls it high and wide.

26th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Odemwingie just made the universal signal for a substitution. He doesn't seem to be laboring and we're not sure if he's coming off.

23rd minute, 1-0 Liverpool: The home team is not showing enough creativity, composure or intelligence in central midfield. If it allows Lucas and Adam to continue controlling play in this area, they won't have much chance of taking anything from this game. 

19th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Reds have responded to the goal by sticking to the plan. They came into the game looking to keep Hodgson's men under constant attack and they're doing just that. 

12th minute, 1-0 Liverpool: There will be plenty of debate about the worthiness of the penalty decision, but the linesman (ref's assistant) was pretty adamant about giving it. The referee only needed his confirmation if he was at all undecided. Thomas shouldn't have blocked Suarez in the first place. There was very little danger at that moment and the Uruguayan was dribbling away from goal. 

Ninth minute, 1-0 Liverpool: Adam slots the penalty low and to the left. Foster guessed wrong and the Reds have an early lead. They will continue to create chances. If they take them, they can kill the game off early. 

Eighth minute, 0-0: There's a penalty appeal for Suarez. He was brought down in the box by Thomas. And it's given! Adam steps up to take it. 

Third minute, 0-0: Johnson gets forward and crosses, which is headed out for a corner. What will be his contribution to the attack in his second game back from a hamgsting injury? He didn't give too much against Norwich, but if he can combine with Henderson on the right, it would cause West Brom some serious trouble. 

Pregame: There's no place for Gerrard in the squad, as the Liverpool captain is out with an undisclosed injury. Agger replaces Carragher, who is out with a calf problem, and partners with Skrtel in central defense. 

The presence of Lucas will allow the midfield trio of Adam, Downing and Henderson to provide service to Carroll and Suarez up front. 

For the Baggies, Tchoyi will partner with Odemwingie in the attack. The rest of Hodgson's team remains relatively settled. 

12 p.m.: Good afternoon, everybody. Here are the lineups:

Liverpool

 Pepe Reina (25), goalkeeper
Glen Johnson (2), right back
Daniel Agger (5), center back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Jose Enrique (3), left back
Lucas (21), midfielder
Charlie Adam (26), midfielder
Stuart Downing (19), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Luis Suarez (7), forward
Andy Carroll (9), forward

Substitutes

Doni (32), goalkeeper
Sebastian Coates (16), defender
John Flanagan (38), defender 
Jay Spearing (20), midfielder
Maxi (11), midfielder
Dirk Kuyt (18), forward
Craig Bellamy (39), forward

West Bromwich Albion

Ben Foster (1), goalkeeper
Billy Jones (28), left back
Gareth McAuley (23), center back
Jonas Olsson (3), center back
Steven Reid (12), right back
Chris Brunt (11), midfielder
Youssouf Mulumbu (21), midfielder
Paul Scharner (33), midfielder
Jerome Thomas (14), midfielder
Somen Tchoyi (5), forward
Peter Odemwingie (24), striker

Substitutes

Marton Fulop (13), goalkeeper
Craig Dawson (25), defender
Nicky Shorey (20), defender
Graham Dorrans (17), midfielder
James Morrison (7), midfielder
Zoltan Gera (22), midfielder
Simon Cox (31), striker

12 a.m. ET: Liverpool's payback week concludes Saturday when it meets Roy Hodgson's West Bromwich Albion FC in English Premier League play. The sixth-placed Reds haven't won a league game since the Merseyside derby victory on Oct. 1, but are unbeaten in six games in all competitions.

Roy Hodgson was in charge of Liverpool for 191 days last year, before being fired after only 31 games. He landed comfortably at the Hawthorns and has established the oft-relegated Baggies as a credible EPL team. They finished in 11th place in the EPL last year -– their best ever finish -– and come into Saturday's game in 12th place. 

West Brom has won its last two games and hope for a repeat of last year's 2-1 win in the corresponding game. Its players will undoubtedly look to prove a point for Hodgson in the face of his former employers.

Liverpool avenged last month's league setback at Stoke with a victory over the Potters in Wednesday's Carling Cup round of 16 clash. It was a positive step for the Reds. They went to one of the country's most difficult venues and came from behind to secure victory. Luis Suarez justifiably earned plaudits for his two goals, but the team effort behind the victory gave everyone at the club an extra bounce. The question of "How high was the bounce?" will be answered at West Brom.

Stalwart defender Jamie Carragher will miss the game because of a calf injury. Steve Gerrard should return to the midfield and lead the team as captain. Luis Suarez took a knock against Stoke and limped off the field when he was substituted. It is expected that he will play Saturday.

Join us for Saturday’s Liverpool-West Bromwich Albion game at 12:30 p.m. ET, as the Reds have a point to prove against their former manager.

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