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Seven games in 21 days, no Daniel Sturridge, no faith in Fabio Borini, and Mario Balotelli remaining something of a long-term question mark. Step forward Rickie Lambert, who is likely to get his chance to impress today against Swansea in the League Cup today after a promising if ultimately futile cameo against Hull City on Saturday.
Liverpool and its strikers may have struggled to find the back of the net so far this season, but Lambert is confident he and his teammates will start to click soon. Maintaining the blistering scoring rate of last season might have been the hope, but in the absence of Daniel Sturridge it's an entirely new group up top, and sometimes these things simply take a bit of time.
"Obviously you want to hit the ground running and you want to score," Lambert said. "The longer it goes on, sometimes the harder it is. It depends on how you are mentally. Sometimes it's hart to stay calm but I'm confident it will come. Like myself, Mario just needs a goal. If it goes in off your backside, it doesn't really matter. Then the confidence flows."
The fans, too, have been waiting on a few goals, no matter how they come, in the hopes it will renew Liverpool's attacking confidence. And alongside questions of individual confidence are questions concerning tactics, formations, and how well the various strikers are—or aren't—working together when they're out on the pitch.
"I think I can forge a partnership with any of the strikers here," he added. "Sometimes it works better with two strikers, sometimes it doesn't. I've come on this season on plenty of occasions either as a one or a two depending on the position. On Saturday it put more pressure on and we created more chances, and it turned out to be a good formation."
