How Do You Get There?
It’s a straight forward journey to Merseyside if you’re travelling from the North East. Once you’ve left the A19 and joined A1(M), stay on there until you’re prompted to join the M1. You only need to keep on the M1 for a short time, as you’ll be leaving to join the M62 after just over 10 miles at junction 42. That will take you right up to Liverpool, where you’ll then merge onto the A5080 where Anfield will begin to be signposted.
There’s a wide variety of parking options around Anfield with any spare piece of land turned into a match day car park. Expect to pay between £5-£10 for the privilege.
Where Should I Go On The Drink?
The pub I always head to when travelling to Liverpool (and Everton) is The Ship & Mitre, located in the city centre. It’s not within walking distance of Anfield, so you’ll need to get a taxi there if you’ve parked/been dropped off close to the ground. If you’re getting the train down it’s handy though, given it’s located just up from Lime Street station. It usually costs around £10 to get to/from The Ship by cab but it’s such a good pub, it’s totally worth it. The selection of all kinds of beer is huge so no one can be disappointed, whatever you’re in to. They also do pretty nice burgers if you fancy a bite to eat as well.
If you don’t want to travel very far, you can always head to The Arkles just outside the stadium, which is known as being Liverpool’s away fans pub. Due to the location, it gets absolutely packed but if you’re ok with that and want somewhere with a more raucous atmosphere then knock yourself out. Similarly, you can find The Flat Iron just down the road, more of a home fans pub but it also welcomes away supporters.
Where Should I Go If I'm At A Loose End?
If you have time to kill and want to go full tourist then you can simply try and do as much Beatles related stuff as possible. You can see the obvious sights such as The Cavern, Strawberry Field and Penny Lane but if you want a comprehensive rundown of their whole history, head to The Beatles Story in Albert Dock. It’s open every day from 10am and tickets are £15.95 for adults.
White Lies play the O2 Academy on Saturday night, if you’re staying over after the match and fancy some music. The post-punk revivalists are touring their fourth album and have just completed a jam packed European tour, so expect them to be bang in form if you decide to catch their anthem packed set.
As well as being a state of the art modern cinema, The Foundation for Art & Creative Technology (FACT) also has galleries and houses innovative exhibitions. The main exhibition at the moment is “No Such Thing As Gravity” but if that’s all a bit too much you can always just take in a movie in a cool setting, with “Arrival” and “I, Daniel Blake” currently showing.
Liverpool also boasts an excellent array of comedy clubs such as The Laughterhouse, Hot Water Comedy Club and The Liverpool Comedy Cellar. All three have impressive line ups on both Friday and Saturday, so be sure to check either venue out if you want some extra laughter after watching Victor Anichebe bully Jurgen Klopp’s men all over the park. Even if you go on Friday, you can still use that thought to warm up your laughing gear.
What Is Their Ground Like?
When The Lads last visited Anfield, Liverpool were in the early stages of expanding the Main Stand. The work was completed in September, increasing the stadiums overall capacity by 8,500 seats and the ground can now hold 54,074 supporters. This redevelopment work means, despite Anfield's history, it's far from becoming rundown and is one of the more "comfortable" older grounds to visit. It hasn't hampered the atmosphere though and, despite being often overblown by the media, The Kop in full voice is still quite the sight to behold.
If you take a lap of Anfield before kick off you can see iconic landmarks such as The Bill Shankly Gates and The Hillsborough Memorial. The former was, of course, erected to honour the legendary Liverpool manager and the latter stands in memory to the victims of tragedy that befell 96 Liverpool supporters during the 1989 FA Cup Semi Final. The gates are located just up from the entrance to the away end, on Anfield Road, while the Hillsborough Memorial now resides outside the redeveloped Main Stand, along with the Eternal Flame.
Away supporters are situated directly opposite The Kop in the lower tier of the Anfield Road end. As you face the pitch, you're at the right hand side, close to The Main Stand. If you fancy a pint in the stadium, alcohol is usually available at Liverpool, with pints of Carlsberg being last season's offering. Once again, David Moyes side will be backed by a sold out away crowd as fans quickly snapped up around 2,500 tickets and they'll be in great voice after two consecutive wins. It'll be a tough game against a fantastic attacking team but hopefully there's an upset on the cards.