Jamie Carragher: 'Final places up for grabs'

Jamie Carragher admits his teammates will be vying for a place in Kenny Dalglish's FA Cup final starting XI when they make the trip to Carrow Road on Saturday afternoon. And Carragher believes the tie against Norwich could be similar to the one at Ewood Park against Blackburn two weeks ago, when gutsy performances gave the manager something to think about when choosing his team to face Everton in the semi-final. However, the vice-captain insists that gathering three points, in order to push the Reds closer to their Merseyside neighbours in the Barclays Premier League, must remain the priority. "It's all to play for in terms of cup final places," said Carragher. "But we're going into these games to get three points because we need to move up the table. Of course, if you perform well in these games, you have a greater chance of playing in the final. "And certainly, we all want to play in the big games. There are two games now before the final and I'm sure the manager will mix it up because the Fulham game is just before the cup final. "Saturday's match could have a similar effect to the Blackburn game. If you look at that game, I think a few of the players forced themselves into the side against Everton through their performances against Blackburn. "We'd like to finish above Everton but I'd rather win the semi-final, like we did against them, than if they were to finish above us." Saturday's opposition have impressed since being promoted to the Premier League at the start of this year. The Canaries came away from Anfield with a point in October and more recently, despite being on the receiving end of a 6-1 hammering by Manchester City at Carrow Road, Paul Lambert's side clinched a memorable 2-1 win away at Tottenham. But how impressed has Carragher been with the Premier League newcomers? "Very impressed," said the centre-back. "I think everyone expected them to go down. Or have a real fight on their hands but they've come through it. They've kept a lot of the players who came up with them. "I think they've got a lot of British players who have come through there as well. Credit to them and credit to their manager - he's probably in the run-in for Manager of the Year. It will be a very difficult game. It was a difficult game at home against them, so it's going to be even more difficult at Carrow Road." A Craig Bellamy goal, on the stroke of half-time, put Liverpool ahead at Anfield against Norwich in the last encounter between the two sides. However, within 15 minutes of the re-start, the visitors drew level thanks to their talisman Grant Holt and the Canaries held on for a point. "Holt scored a good goal for them," recalled Carragher. "A poor goal for us, if you like. But I think their 'keeper played very well. I think it was John Ruddy that day and I remember him making a save from Luis Suarez right at the end. "It was a great save. I think it was probably another one of those similar stories - we had enough chances to win the game. But when it's only 1-0, there's always a chance that they could score. I was impressed with Norwich that day. I think they acquitted themselves very well at Anfield."