Liverpool 0-3 West Brom

Goals:
Gera 43'
Odemwingie 64' (pen)
Lukaku 78'

A little bit of optimism is a dangerous thing. The threatened, bound-to-happen set-back sure happened sooner than expected.

After two frightening minutes where they couldn't get the ball off of West Brom, Liverpool dominated the first half. Suarez is ever dangerous, but fails to convert four chances, while both Johnson and Borini also miss decent opportunities. Then, just before halftime, West Brom open the scoring through Gera, a goal the player couldn't replicate with a gun to his head, with the ball fortunately falling to his feet after Skrtel's clearing header then unerringly, unstoppably volleyed into the roof of the net. New season, meet the old season.

And then came the comedy. Another Suarez missed chance, a free kick curled wide of the post, then two penalties conceded, a red card, and a third goal to rub salt in the wounds.

It all started in the 58th. Gerrard gave the ball away after extended Liverpool possession, trying to find a well-marked Suarez with an unlikely pass, and West Brom stormed down the pitch with Liverpool wholly wide open in the middle as both Lucas and Allen had come forward to join the attack. Morrison found Shane Long with a long through-ball, taking full advantage of Liverpool's high back line, and the striker eluded Skrtel, who over-ran Long trying to mark too closely then comically slipped when Long spun away. Agger retreated, but Long out-paced him, then easily fell over as soon as Agger made contact. A soft penalty, but a penalty nonetheless. You'll hear that expression again soon. With matters compounded by a straight red for Agger, the last man denying a goal-scoring opportunity. Agger should just miss the Manchester City game, a one-match ban rather than three, but he'll be a very big miss in against that class of opposition.

Reina provided a slight ray of hope, saving Long's woeful spot kick, the first he's saved since Rooney's in March 2010. But it didn't last long. Three minutes later, Skrtel again donned the motley and jester's hat, intercepting Ridgewell's cross but failing to control and clear, unforgivably dawdling in his own box then accidentally, softly tripping Long when the striker slipped in to steal the ball. Again, Long went down all too easily, looking for the penalty. Again, Dowd complied. You can criticize Phil Dowd for many things, in today's game and in the past, but the penalties aren't really among them. Both were soft. It's safe to assume neither would be given to Suarez in those situations. But the striker went down when contact was made – even if light contact, even if incidental contact – and the referee blew his whistle. That's what happens. Don't put yourself in those situations. This time, Odemwingie made no mistake from 12 yards out.

Liverpool spent the final 30 minutes just trying to save face. Carragher replaced Downing after the first sending off, Cole replaced Lucas – who had been carded earlier – in the 69th, then Carroll replaced Cole, who seemingly injured his hamstring yet again, in the 79th. Trying to get back in the game, it was a fairly attacking 4-2-3 system, but it was West Brom who attacked. Morrison missed a sitter in the 72nd with Liverpool players caught up the pitch, then Lukaku scored with a point-blank back post header in the 78th after Liverpool once again failed to clear a set play. Suarez nearly notched a consolation in the last ten minutes but unsurprisingly spurned yet another chance, this one even easier than the first five, a free header wide of the far post after Borini's strong run and cross.

It's no surprise after a three-nil loss, but there are few positives to take from that match. Joe Allen played very well, completing 66 of 69 passes (including 24 of 25 in the final third), while Suarez catsed West Brom problems with everything but his shooting. Agger and Skrtel were typically solid until the 58th minute, but Skrtel absolutely fell apart after West Brom's first, and it's probably not coincidence that it happened after Agger departed. That's all I got. More importantly, the failings were failings we've seen before: missing chances despite creating chances and controlling possession, resorting to hoofs and crosses when unable to find a way through West Brom's solid back line, far too little contribution from the flanks – especially the frequent scapegoat Downing – and a failure to cope with opposition set plays coupled with mental errors in defense. Still, Rodgers' system worked in the first half outside of Liverpool's tentative start and dreadful finishing; it was the players who let him down with poor shooting then defensive mistakes.

Once again, another ex-Red punishes his former club. Not a manager, not a player this time, but an assistant manager. And Steve Clarke deserves a hell of a lot of credit. As with Liverpool's successes after his appointment in 2010-11, that win was built on defense, keeping Liverpool off the score-sheet when dominant, then having his side ruthlessly punish their mistakes.

Brendan Rodgers now becomes the sixth-straight Liverpool manager to fail to win his first league match, a streak dating back to Graeme Souness in May 1991. Dalglish lost at Blackpool, Hodgson drew against Arsenal, Benitez drew at Tottenham, Houllier lost against Leeds, and Evans drew at Norwich. Of course, that Souness was the one of those seven managers win their first match shows there's little predictive power in the first league result.

It may be the worst possible start, the worst top-flight opening day defeat since losing 1-6 to Chelsea in 1937, but it is still one match. And no matter how much we wished different, it will take time to turn this team around.

Liverpool at West Brom 08.18.12

10am ET, live in the US on FSC

Last four head-to-head:
0-1 West Brom (h) 04.22.12
2-0 Liverpool (a) 10.29.11
1-2 West Brom (a) 04.02.11
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.29.10

Last three matches:
Liverpool: 3-1 Leverkusen (h) [friendly]; 3-0 Gomel (h); 1-0 Gomel (a)
West Brom: 2-0 Nottingham Forest (a); 3-1 Walsall (a); 1-1 Sheffield Wednesday (a) [all friendlies]

Referee: Phil Dowd

Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Lucas Henderson
Downing Gerrard Borini
Suarez

The Premier League officially starts tomorrow. It seems like it's been ages since the last season ended and yet I can't believe the new season's here so soon. Time flies when you're gossiping about potential signings, I guess.

Whether or not Joe Allen plays seems the only possible deviation from the XI which beat Gomel 3-0 eight days ago.

Allen has only trained for a few days since his move thanks to the midweek internationals. Where he played 90 minutes for Wales. And that's after two weeks of Olympics matches for Great Britain. I'd be surprised if he started tomorrow, no matter how much Rodgers wants him in the team as soon as possible. But needs must, and Rodgers will want the player in the team as soon as possible, so I'm ready to be surprised.

If Allen doesn't start, that midfield place will be filled by either Henderson or Shelvey. Shelvey played there against Gomel and didn't disappoint, but did look almost every bit his age compared to the otherwise full-strength XI. Henderson, slightly more experienced, slightly fresher, seems the more logical choice, but your guess is as good as mine.

Otherwise, I expect Liverpool to continue with the 4-2-3-1 system we've seen in the last two matches. If Henderson's included ahead of Shelvey, both he and Gerrard might play ahead of Lucas, more a 4-1-4-1 than 4-2-3-1 style of 4-3-3, but I suspect the formation deployed against both Gomel and Leverkusen will continue to be the template. Liverpool's back five writes, itself, Lucas' inclusion writes itself, Gerrard should continue to play as an attacking midfielder, and Liverpool don't have many other options for the front three. Borini reportedly picked up a knock earlier in the week which kept him out of Italy's friendly against England, but should be available tomorrow. New signing Oussama Assaidi would be lucky to even make the bench. Liverpool announced the completion of his transfer in the last hour, just after 3pm British time, but he would have to have been registered with the Premier League by 10am today to be included in tomorrow's squad.

This is somewhat shameless self-promotion, but I participated in a Q&A with Kevin Koczwara of LFC Boston yesterday. In it, Kevin rightly pointed out that any improvement in Liverpool's league form will come from beating the likes of West Brom et al given Liverpool's usually decent performances against the league best but woeful disappointment after disappointment against the bottom half of the table.

Liverpool have lost two of the last four meetings against the Baggies, two of the three matches when Albion were managed by current England boss and ex-Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson. Now, West Brom are managed by Liverpool's ex-assistant manager, Steve Clarke. I'm sure that bodes well.

Clarke's first move has been to notably strengthen West Brom's front line, signing Markus Rosenberg from Werder Bremen and bringing in Chelsea's Lukaku on loan. They've also added Ben Foster on a permanent deal, winger Yassine El Ghanassay from Gent, and Argentinean holding midfielder Claudio Yacob. The Guardian's West Brom preview, most of the Baggies' preseason matches, and this Birmingham Mail interview with Clarke suggests Albion will play a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Foster in goal; Reid, Olsson, McAuley, and Ridgewell in defense; Mulumbu and Yacob as the deeper midfielders; Gera, Morrison, and Odemwingie as the attacking line of three; and either Long or Lukaku up front.

Morrison and Olsson picked up knocks during the midweek internationals, but both may be fit in time for tomorrow's match. Rosenberg is less likely to be available, while Graeme Dorrans is on leave because of a family illness. Peter Odemwingie has been the thorn in Liverpool's side in the two losses over the last two seasons, scoring the winner last April and winning both penalties in April 2011.

Prior to those two losses, Liverpool had beaten West Brom in 13 consecutive meetings dating back to 1985, by a combined score of 38-2, and hadn't lost to West Brom since 1981. That's the sort of form Liverpool needs to rediscover against the league's lesser lights. No time like the present to remedy that failing.

Liverpool 0-1 West Brom

Goals:
Odemwingie 75'

If you don't laugh, you're gonna cry.

Countless chances unbelievably missed? Check. Contentious non-penalty decision? Check. Hitting the woodwork? Double check. A defensive mistake leading to Liverpool unconscionably conceding against The. Run. Of. Play? Check check check check check.

Oh, and the countless chances dried up after Liverpool's unlikely concession. It's almost as if Liverpool, with frustratingly little to play for in the league, stopped caring when it was "one of those days" yet again. I know, I'll wait for you to regain your composure after such shocking information.

Only Stoke away comes close for shots somehow spurned with an 'exceptionally harsh loss' chaser. The stats were similarly horrifying. 63-37% possession, 230 more passes attempted and completed, 30 shots to nine, but only six on target to West Brom's three. Of course, the only stat that matters is 0-1.

Since this has happened time and time and time and time again, it's especially worthless to run down the egregiously-long list of missed opportunities. Every starting midfielder or forward wearing red had at least two good chances at goal. Innumerable rebounds were scrambled wide, multiple close calls ran across the face of goal with a Liverpool player a step behind. Maxi's penalty shout in the 20th minute ignored because he fell 'too easily' and he's not Ashley Young. Shots from Henderson and Kuyt off the bar and post respectively within 15 minutes of the second-half restart. 15 Liverpool corners, and I think every single one found a West Brom player.

The most egregious came in the 67th, after what was probably Liverpool's best passing move of the season. But Suarez saw his shot saved, Carroll slipped trying to reach the rebound after Foster weakly punched, and Spearing had his effort from the top of the box cleared off the line before West Brom finally scrambled behind. Just like Liverpool's trip to Stoke, where the home side somehow missed five shots within a minute at the same point of the game. And less than ten minutes later, West Brom were ahead as Johnson, who'd been excellent, stupidly and softly tried the clever short pass after winning possession from Mulumbu, allowing that player to intercept and feed Odemwingie running on goal.

The most unforgivable, however, was Kuyt's in the 10th minute. Yet again, if Liverpool convert an early opportunity, this ceases to be a contest. At worst, it follows the same script as the reverse fixture, a less-than-impressive but easy 2-0 win. At best, it's another Fulham or Birmingham from last season's run-in, matches where Liverpool deployed a similar formation with similar tactics if different personnel. But Kuyt shot wide after he was released by Suarez 12 yards from goal, completely unhindered by any West Brom defender. It set the tone, to say the absolute least.

Because it's Hodgson and his contentious "history" with the club, this will seem far worse than it actually was. And that this is far from the first time we've seen similar certainly doesn't help; once again, it's everything but the goal. But Liverpool did not play badly. Suarez was typically effervescent, Henderson and Spearing were cohesively decent in midfield, Carroll was heavily involved in the buildup if disappointing in the penalty box, and Johnson was one of Liverpool's best players outside of that infinitely costly error. Liverpool looked an actual team with actual tactics rather than a collection of mostly hapless and harmless individuals. Which is an improvement on this season's multitude of low points.

I realize that is little consolation, especially after a loss, and especially after a loss to him. I realize that it has happened often enough to cease being coincidence. Whether Liverpool (read: Dalglish) should have bought or need a new striker is a completely different argument than whether Liverpool (read: Dalglish) were tactically competent, chose the right XI, etc. There have been multiple occasions to question Dalglish's tactics and selection. Today is not one of them.

Losses like this, or at Stoke, are incredibly painful. But they're not the reason Liverpool sits 8th. There's a massive difference in what we've seen from the team today and during the run of despicable home draws early in the campaign compared to other recent nadirs. The campaign was ruined by that interminable loss-after-loss stretch in January through March.

Had this happened far less frequently, you roll your eyes and move on. Shit happens, Liverpool played well, it's football, etc. Unfortunately, it's happened very frequently, which means all those questions and concerns aren't going away anytime soon.

Liverpool v West Brom 04.22.12

11am ET, live in the US on Fox Soccer Plus

Last four head-to-head:
2-0 Liverpool (a) 10.29.11
1-2 West Brom (a) 04.02.11
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.29.10
2-0 Liverpool (a) 05.17.09

Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-1 Everton (n); 3-2 Blackburn (a); 1-1 Villa (h)
West Brom: 1-0 QPR (h); 0-4 City (a); 3-0 Blackburn (h)

Goalscorers (league):
Liverpool: Suarez 8; Bellamy 6; Gerrard 5; Carroll, Maxi 4; Adam, Kuyt, Skrtel 2; Coates, Henderson, Johnson 1
West Brom: Odemwingie 9; Long 7; Morrison 4; Scharner 3; Andrews, Dorrans, Fortune, McAuley, Olsson 2; Brunt, Mulumbu, Reid, Ridgewell, Tchoyi, Thomas 1

Referee: Neil Swarbrick

New referee link; all the ref's previous Liverpool matches, via LFCHistory.net. That website never, ever fails to amaze me. But it's somewhat unnecessary for Swarbrick, who's only done one previous Liverpool match: the 5-1 FA Cup win against Oldham in January.

Guess at a line-up:
Reina
Johnson Skrtel Agger Enrique
Downing Gerrard Spearing Maxi
Suarez Carroll

There will have been eight days since the FA Cup semifinal, with another six until Liverpool travel to Norwich. Which means that Dalglish will most likely deploy the strongest possible XI, with little thought for carving out game time for Liverpool's promising youngsters. All focus from now until May 5 will be on keeping key players fit and preparing the side for its crucial FA Cup final, continuing to build confidence and coherence brick by brick.

After scoring the winner in Liverpool's last two matches, Carroll looks certain to start. And when he starts, Liverpool almost always play 4-4-2; the only matches where both he and Suarez started in a three-man front line were at Newcastle, versus Brighton in the FA Cup, at Fulham, and the first 27 minutes of the match at Spurs until Adam was sent off. It's seemingly not an option Dalglish prefers.

So Suarez and Carroll should play up front, Gerrard will play in central midfield, and everyone else will be fit in around those three cornerstones. I'm guessing Downing and Maxi on the flanks because Downing's looked better on the right recently and because of Maxi's goal-scoring exploits against Blackburn. If Downing does play on the right, Bellamy could also get the nod on the left, but Maxi's been in better form in the last two matches. Considering precedent, Downing on the left with Henderson on the right is just as likely, if not more so. Both Maxi and Bellamy started against Blackburn, but Downing seems almost as likely to start as those three aforementioned cornerstones.

I'd also like to see Shelvey paired with Gerrard in the middle; the Spearing-Gerrard axis has infrequently impressed, rarely looking a true partnership, and Jonjo needs game time. But I doubt Dalglish will feel secure without an out-and-out tackler in midfield, even at home against West Brom.

Reina returns from suspension, while we should also see the return of Liverpool's first-choice back four. There's even less of an excuse for Carragher's involvement than last Saturday – and there was little excuse then – while Coates seems unlikely to step in with both Skrtel and Agger fit and rested.

And then there's West Brom. Have you missed Uncle Roy? He hasn't missed you.

Liverpool's six-month Hodgson experiment gave us first-hand experience with how easy it is to guess his side's tactics. West Brom will play either 4-4-2 or 4-1-4-1, deep and compact, with two solid lines of four and an extra man either to congest the middle or bolster the attack. In attack, Odemwingie and/or Long will hope to profit on the counter or from set plays. Hodgson chose 4-4-2 in the reverse fixture, ever the ambitious gambler at home, but Tchoyi was sucked deeper and deeper by Liverpool pressure, isolating Odemwingie, and West Brom rarely troubled after Liverpool scored one of its few early goals this season.

I suspect we'll see his other variation at Anfield, with a packed midfield including three from Andrews, Mulumbu, Dorrans, and Scharner; Brunt and Thomas on the flanks; and one of the aforementioned strikers on his own in Liverpool's half. Hodgson's one curveball has been to sometimes use a striker as a winger – either Odemwingie, Fortune, or Cox – which may well be the case on Sunday since he'll undoubtedly focus on counter-attacking.

West Brom have a few injury concerns, with Marc-Andre Fortune – who has sometimes replaced Long or Odemwingie as the spearhead – will be a late fitness test, along with center-back Olsson, while midfielders Morrison and Gera and right-back Reid are out.

Albion's win over Liverpool last April was the club's first since 1981, made ever so much more painful by who their recently-appointed manager was. Otherwise, historically, this fixture has been an easy three points for the Reds. However, this campaign has proven time and time again that history is often insignificant and little comes easy. Still, easy would be more than welcome. Obviously. Liverpool simply need to keep winning, using the remaining league fixtures to continuing building confidence before the season's capstone in the FA Cup final. But, as we've seen too often this season, Liverpool can't solely focus on the cups to the detriment of the league either. Otherwise, they'll be punished, and not for the first time. It'd be yet another step backward after two steps forwards. And because of the opponent, it'd again be more painful than most of the previous painful punishments.