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Do Liverpool warrant being FA Cup favourites?

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Daniel Sturridge scoring the equalizer against Palace on Saturday

Daniel Sturridge scoring the equalizer against Palace on Saturday

With just 45 minutes to save the tie, the FA Cup quarter finals looked a long way away on Saturday evening, as the Reds dominated a poor Crystal Palace side but just couldn’t make the possession count.

But with a couple of substitutions and a few tweaks Liverpool were suddenly clicking into gear and scoring two quick-fire goals to send Brendan Rodgers’ men into the last eight of the FA Cup.

Following the draw on Monday night hopes were raised even higher when Roy Hodgson pulled Blackburn Rovers name out of the pot second, giving LFC what – on paper – looks to be a relatively straight-forward tie, whilst Manchester United or Preston were due to take on Arsenal at the same stage.

Suddenly Rodgers’ side looked good money for that favourites tag, knowing that, should Manchester United progress, either Van Gaal’s team or Wenger’s would be missing from the semi finals. A mouth-watering prospect (should Liverpool also progress, of course).

That said, have the Reds really earned the title of favourites? At this point, it may seem irrelevant but having been favourites in every tie so far, the team have struggled to put weaker opposition to bed in each of the past three rounds.

In the third, fourth and fifth rounds, Brendan Rodgers’ charges have only narrowly squeezed past AFC Wimbledon, Bolton and Crystal Palace, all 2-1, whilst actually requiring a replay to navigate past Bolton.

Blackburn Rovers at home will present similar opposition; a weaker side, perhaps intent on securing a lucrative replay and content to ‘park the bus’, as it were.

Of course, football isn’t always as simple as the final result and, in those four FA Cup games so far (three rounds, plus replay) Liverpool have created 87 chances and clocked up an average of 66% possession. It’s fair to say that they dominated all ties.

It’s been a running theme of the season too, with Liverpool failing to convert chances in the absence of Luis Suarez and the injured Daniel Sturridge. But with Sturridge’s return, and return to goal-scoring form, the team can only be more confident in front of goal knowing that a top class striker is now leading the line.

Add to that the likes of Markovic, Lallana and Can are improving by the week, whilst the ever-controversial Mario Balotelli actually appears like he is in the process of turning a corner and you have a Liverpool side that have a very real chance of making the final.

Depending on the outcome of Manchester United vs Arsenal in the quarter finals, a few bookies may well give the winners of that tie the nod, but despite having struggled in front of goal so far, there’s no doubting that this much-improved Liverpool side warrant being considered one of the big favourites for this season’s FA Cup.

Do you think the Reds can go on and win the competition, or will the winner of the big all-Premier League tie be favourites to go on and win the competition? Let us know your thoughts on LFC’s chances after last nights’ draw.

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.