Kickoff from the DW Stadium at 19:45 GMT, 2:45 EST.
Ways to watch:
Match televised live on Fox Soccer Plus (HD) in the US.
MyP2P.eu
Atdhe.net
ChannelSurfing.net
Liverpool:
Reina
Kelly Carragher Skrtel Konchesky
Lucas Meireles
Kuyt Gerrard Maxi
Torres
Bench: Hansen, Jovanovic, Ngog, Spearing, Poulsen, Shelvey, Eccleston
Noel was spot on earlier with the news, and as both he and Jerod have noted, a little curious. In a world where fitness doesn't exist, the starting eleven makes plenty of sense. With Dirk Kuyt freshly back from injury, though, and everyone looking like they'd run out of gas for the last twenty minutes on Sunday, it's cause for concern. Oh, and yeah, no defenders on the bench.
Wigan:
Al Habsi
Stam Caldwell Alcaraz Figueroa
N'Zogbia Gomez Cleverley Thomas Diame
Rodallega
Bench: Kirkland, Di Santo, Watson, Boselli, Moses, S. Caldwell, McArthur
In the run-up:
Business-type news to start the day for those so inclined, as Liverpool start the search for a new CEO:
New England Sports Ventures (NESV) today confirmed that it has appointed Spencer Stuart, the global executive search firm, to advise on the recruitment of a new Chief Executive Officer for LFC following the departure of Christian Purslow.
The search, which is to begin with immediate effect, will be led by Jonathan Smith at Spencer Stuart and will look at candidates from within the UK and internationally.
The focus for the appointment will be on business leaders with an interest in, and experience of, football.
NESV Principal Owner John Henry and NESV Chairman Tom Werner will be responsible for appointing the new Liverpool FC CEO and hope to be able to complete the process early in the new year.
What I'm liking most so far about NESV, and John Henry in particular (worth watching the full 17 minute interview with Dan Roan if you haven't yet), is that there's little pomp or circumstance when they go about their decision-making. Yes, we read about their every move after it's happened. But there's not some huge build-up every time something happens that affects the structure of the club---they do the work out of the spotlight, and they only announce something when it's a certainty. Early days still, but it's a nice shift from the past few years.
Not much news on the pitch prior to kickoff today---there's still plenty of Pepe Reina non-news to talk about, but I don't know that there's much sense worrying about that right now. I know Roy Hodgson has said something similar, and while I don't know if anyone would accuse me of being a Hodgson lapdog, I'm content with his comments on the matter. I think Reina's been one of the more committed squad members, particularly in the past few seasons, so hopefully the whole thing is just another non-starter.