[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

Jeff Astle scores Albion's opener in the FA Cup quarter-final decider against Liverpool, 18th April 1968

Apologies for a very makeshift thread this week; I trust Christmas is keeping us all nice and busy, eh?

Our run of awkward fixtures - which, it must be said, Albion have weathered admirably and with a decent points return - come to an end this weekend with a visit to Anfield.  In actual fact, our performances there in recent years (but for one Suarez-inspired mauling a couple of seasons back) have usually been decent, and with Klopp's rejuvenated side losing to Newcastle last week and Sturridge now out to injury, we may stand a better chance of continuing our unbeaten run than previously thought.  Of course, this will mean trying to keep a lid on the quick passing game that Liverpool enjoy; something that has, against other teams, caused us no end of problems.

Rondon's started to come into his own over the last couple of weeks, and just needs that goal to really boost his confidence; he seems to do well playing alongside Lambert, and wouldn't it be sweet if Rickie could exorcise a couple of demons at Anfield?  With the sides below us picking up unlikely points, we still can't afford to get complacent, and a draw here would do us nicely.

Laurie Cunningham takes Albion's title challenge to Anfield, 3rd February 1979