With British teams having made an early exit from European competition this year, there is little domestic interest in this week’s Champions League quarter-final ties. Instead, the focus of much of the English football public will already have switched to the forthcoming FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley.
Some may say that the competition is a distraction from the important business of the Premier League, and others may say that the significance of reaching the final has been diminished by hosting the semi-finals at the home of English football. But that will not stop the remaining four teams giving it everything they have to make it through. In this article we look at four of the men who will be shouldering much of the goalscoring responsibility for their teams at Wembley.
Pavel Pogrebnyak
It is hard to believe that it is just two seasons since Reading were relegated back to the Championship after a one-campaign stay in the Premier League. Looking at the squad now, there are few names that will be recognisable to the Arsenal fans when the two sides meet on Saturday. One man who was with Reading during their stint in the top flight was Russian Pavel Pogrebnyak, who joined the club after a loan spell with Fulham.
Although having scored just seven goals this season, the 31-year-old striker has proven international ability and he will be a handful for the Arsenal defence. Pogrebnyak is strong and powerful and, although lacking in the pace department, has the ability to hold the ball up and bring others into play around him.
Having played for both Reading and Fulham in the top flight, becoming the quickest player to reach five goals in Premier League history whilst at Craven Cottage, Pogrebnyak will not be worried by the Arsenal defence and will not be overawed by the stars around him. If Reading are to stand a chance against the Gunners, then he will be central to their efforts.
Olivier Giroud
Olivier Giroud is made in a similar mould to Pogrebnyak. Strong and durable, the French striker is a handful in the air but is equally adept with the ball at his feet. Giroud, a £13m summer 2012 signing from Montpellier, has been central to much of Arsenal’s good play this season and he has played a key role in their rise up the Premier League table, scoring 13 goals since the turn of the year. Whilst Arsenal and Giroud may still have their eyes on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League, the FA Cup represents their most realistic chance of silverware this season. Having ended their trophy doubt with a win over Hull City at Wembley last season, the Gunners will be desperate to hold on to their prize possession for another year. If they are to manage that, then Giroud could have a big part to play.
The Reading defence will not have come up against an attack like Arsenal’s in recent years. The Royals’ run to the cup final has seen them face a series of Championship and League One opponents and they will not be set for the intensity that Arsenal can deliver. Giroud is a clinical front man who will make Reading pay for any opportunities that they afford him. If he is to be kept out of the headlines, then Reading will need to marshal him closely and will not be able to offer him a yard of space.
If, as looks increasingly likely, Aston Villa avoid the drop this season, there will be two men to thank. The first will be the new manager Tim Sherwood who has restored belief around Villa Park and has begun to get the best out of some of the stars who let Paul Lambert down so badly. The second will be the resurgent Christian Benteke. The Belgian striker has been a key part of Villa’s rise from strong relegation contenders to odds as long as 10/1 with betfair for the drop at the time of writing and he would love nothing more than to round his season off with a Wembley goal against Liverpool. Prior to Sherwood’s arrival at Aston Villa, 24-year-old forward Benteke had scored just three goals this season. He has since scored a further nine, including a hat-trick against QPR. Having reinvigorated Emmanuel Adebayor during his short spell as Tottenham Hotspur manager last season, it looks as though Sherwood could have repeated his magic words with Benteke this time around.
In recent seasons, Benteke has often been linked with moves away from Villa Park. His pace, power and finishing ability have attracted attention from a host of top European clubs and he has established himself as a regular in the Belgian national team. As Villa have struggled in recent seasons, Benteke has excelled and has often looked like a player with far more ability than those around him. There are few players more deserving of success than Benteke. He deserves his moment at Wembley for all his efforts in helping to keep Villa in the top flight despite chronic under investment. If Villa are to get past Liverpool, then expect the Belgian striker to have a big say in proceedings.
Raheem Sterling
Raheem Sterling has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons recently. Whether it be his stalling over a new Anfield contract, or his reported off-the-field activities, the young forward has rarely been out of the press. Thankfully for him and Brendan Rodgers, the bad news has often been cancelled out by reports of outstanding performances on the field. His goal in the recent 2-0 win over Newcastle United, for instance, saw him covering both the back and the front pages of the morning’s papers.
Sterling’s good form has been a real blessing for Rodgers, whose misfiring strike force have looked particularly short on goals this season. In the video below, Rickie Lambert, Mario Balotelli, Fabio Borini and Lazar Markovic are all shown to be shooting wide during a free-kick competition with a ‘fan’. The fan turned out to be YouTube sensation Bas Van Velzen but the Premier League stars were none the wiser and even missed the target when no wall had been set up! If this doesn’t exemplify the problems that Rodgers has up front, then what will?
Sterling has achieved a lot this season, making his Champions League debut and cementing himself in the England starting eleven. The next step for the 20-year-old is to win some silverware. He has recently claimed that he is driven by the prospect of winning trophies. A match-winning performance in Sunday’s semi-final against Villa would be a good way to show the club’s fans that his heart is with the Liverpool cause and that he is driven by success and not money. Sterling certainly has a long way to go in the game, but his attitude could be the one thing that holds him back. If he fires Liverpool to the FA Cup final on Sunday, then all will be forgiven and forgotten….for the time being at least.