Liverpool 0-1 Anzhi Makhachkala

Goals:
Traore 45+1'

Everything works until it doesn't. The story of Liverpool's life, at least for the last three or so years.

Liverpool were clearly content with a 0-0, and lined up accordingly. And understandably so. Look, the starting XI, those available with Liverpool necessarily resting over-used senior players for the far more important league match on Sunday, says everything about squad depth. As rumored yesterday, Rodgers deployed five at the back. It wasn't a Hodgson-esque bus parking – Liverpool at least tried to keep possession rather than punt, retrench, and hope for the best – but demonstrated very little motivation to attack. And, subsequently, had next to nothing in attack. Neither fullback – the sole source of width – went forward consistently, and every player bar Morgan and sometimes Cole looked to quickly get back into position behind the ball as soon as Liverpool lost possession. Anzhi are rather dangerous on the counter-attack, at least going by their league form and the earlier Europa League games, if not the two matches against Liverpool.

It worked to a tee for 45 minutes and 50 seconds. Not counting one set play where Boussoufa floated a dangerous cross to no one, Anzhi were limited to a single chance of their own, of Liverpool's making, when Wisdom conceded possession to Zhirkov, but Jones made an excellent save on Eto'o low shot from the top of the box after the ex-Chelsea winger centered to him in space. Liverpool had nullified Anzhi to such an extent that Hiddink made a tactical change within 30 minutes, removing holding midfielder Ahmedov for the attacking winger Carcela – which helped the home side, but on the whole, Liverpool were still able to contain its opponents.

Of course, Liverpool had next to no opportunities of its own, the best and really only coming midway through the half, when Morgan's wonderful turn, footwork, and throughball put Henderson in on goal. Unconfidently, all too characteristically, the midfielder looked to cut the ball back between three defenders rather than shooting. You will not be surprised to learn it was intercepted and easily cleared. Admittedly, even if he hits the target, it's probably saved; the angle wasn't great and Gabulov charged off his line well. Shoot anyway. Take the chance. A slim opportunity's better than none. We've seen similar far too often from Henderson, and – for all his faults – that's why Shelvey's ahead of him in the pecking order. Not that Shelvey did much better today.

However, Liverpool's second mistake was unsurprisingly punished. Boussoufa found space in front of Henderson and Shelvey, unchallenged on the halfway line, lofting a ball over the top towards Traore. The striker cleverly, easily flicked the ball over and around Coates, as the center-back naively attempted to intercept, then raced towards goal, delightfully chipping the ball over Jones as he rushed out into no man's land before Carragher could get back. With the last kick of the half, Liverpool shoot themselves in the foot yet again.

Liverpool finally registered its first shot on target soon after the restart, Morgan playing a neat one-two with Cole before firing into the near post side netting, but the tempo and tenor remained the same until Rodgers made changes just after the hour mark.

I realize Liverpool's options are incredibly limited, but the substitutions seemed somewhat counterintuitive. Liverpool have next to nothing in attack, so Adam Morgan's the first player taken off for Dani Pacheco – who we all want to see more often but someone who is simply not a striker. Conor Coady was Liverpool's sole defensive midfielder, so he's taken off for Suso – who was probably Liverpool's best player despite featuring for half an hour – leaving Henderson and Shelvey to both sit deeper, negating their ability going forward while also removing a layer of protection against Anzhi's counter-attacks. Meanwhile, Joe Cole remains on the pitch for another 16 minutes.

Granted, Cole also had Liverpool's best chance of the game during those 16 minutes, when Suso's shot from distance was spilled by Gabulov, with Cole first to the rebound but shooting straight at at the keeper. Those were Liverpool's only two shots on target all half.

That Cole chance was sandwiched between two Anzhi opportunities where they really should have extended their lead. First, left-back Tagirbekov found space, crossing for Traore, who easily drifted behind Coates, allowed a free header from ten yards out, remarkably saved by Jones. Two minutes later, the same defender was caught flat-footed high up the pitch when Anzhi countered, as Traore latched onto Jucilei's through-ball to run unhindered on goal, somehow shooting wide when trying to find the low corner. Coates made some difficult stand-up tackles look easy and Traore is an incredibly hard player to mark, but he also nearly cost Liverpool three goals. And did cost Liverpool one.

Any positives? Suso was excellent as an impact sub. Tactically, Rodgers' initial decisions made sense, and Liverpool adapted to the unfamiliar formation surprisingly well considering how rarely it's been used and how raw most of the starting XI were. Downing and Flanagan did well as wing-backs (albeit very defensive wing-backs), Wisdom looked more comfortable with more defensive cohorts, and Adam Morgan and Conor Coady both did decent jobs: Coady on his senior debut, Morgan in only his second appearance. Brad Jones made a couple of crucial, crucial saves.

The negatives? Henderson and Shelvey (the former more than the latter), the substitution of Adam Morgan, Joe Cole playing anywhere, and continued costly defensive mistakes, almost all coming on opposition counter-attacks. Seriously. That really has got to stop.

Of course, the biggest positive is that none of Suarez, Gerrard, Agger, Allen, Skrtel, Sterling, Enrique, Johnson, and Reina even travelled, allowing those crucial players some much-needed rest. And that Liverpool's results in two of the first three group games allowed them to make these changes and incur this loss without really threatening its chances to qualify from the group stage. Both subsequent matches, against Young Boys and at Udinese, will be difficult, but the experience gained and lessons learned should hopefully be more beneficial than the result is costly.

Liverpool at Anzhi Makhachkala 11.08.12

12pm ET, live in the US on FSC

Group Stage matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Anzhi (h); 2-3 Udinese (h); 5-3 BSC Young Boys (a)
Anzhi: 0-1 Liverpool (a); 2-0 BSC Young Boys (h); 1-1 Udinese (a)

Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 1-1 Hearts (h), 1-0 Hearts (a); 3-0 Gomel (h), 1-0 Gomel (a)
Anzhi: 5-0 AZ (a), 1-0 AZ (h); 2-0 Vitesse (a), 2-0 Vitesse (h); 4-0 Honved (a), 1-0 Honved (h)

Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Newcastle (h); 1-3 Swansea (h); 2-2 Everton (a)
Anzhi: 3-1 Terek Grozny (h); 2-1 Krylya Sovetov (h); 1-2 Rubin Kazan (a)

Goalscorers (Europa League):
Liverpool: Shelvey 3; Downing, Suarez 2; Borini, Coates, Gerrard, Johnson, Wisdom 1
Anzhi: Eto'o 7; Traore 3; Shatov 2; Boussoufa, Carcela, Jucilei, Lakhiyalov, Smolov 1

Referee: David Fernández Borbalán (ESP)

Guess at a line-up
Jones
Wisdom Coates Carragher Robinson
Henderson Shelvey
Cole
Downing Yesil Assaidi

Jones, Gulacsi; Flanagan, Wisdom, Robinson, Coates, Carragher, Wilson, Sama; Henderson, Shelvey, Coady, Suso, Cole, Pacheco; Downing, Assaidi, Yesil, Morgan.

That's the squad for tomorrow's match.

No Suarez. No Gerrard. No Allen, Agger, Enrique, Şahin, Skrtel, Sterling, Johnson, or Reina.

Thankfully.

Flanagan's finally involved, but with Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique both fit, Wisdom's appearances may begin to be limited. It also means that, thankfully, Henderson's likely to play in central midfield rather than as a stand-in full back. It wouldn't surprise me to see Wisdom start here, with Johnson finally returning on the right against Chelsea. Otherwise, the defense seems writes itself: Jones in goal, Carragher and Coates in central defense, and Robinson at left back.

The above squad shows that Liverpool's options in midfield – the strongest part of the squad – are limited with Allen, Gerrard, and Şahin not traveling and Lucas out injured for another month or so. Henderson and Shelvey seemingly have to be the two deeper-lying midfielders – assuming that Liverpool continue with two behind one – with Cole, Pacheco, and Suso competing for the attacking midfield slot, and Coady in reserve. Considering Suso's continued importance to the first team and Rodgers not using Pacheco since the league cup match against West Brom, odds are on Joe Cole's inclusion.

Initial rumors had Pacheco left out of the traveling party, which led to me drafting a long screed about Liverpool persisting with Joe Cole for reasons I just do not understand. But, hark the herald angels sing, Pacheco's involved. But Joe Cole will probably start. Rest your voices now for screaming at the television tomorrow. You're gonna need your strength.

Downing and Assaidi should start on the flanks, as in both league cup matches and all three of the group stage games so far. Sandwiched between with be either Yesil or Morgan. The young German has been preferred in these types of matches, but also played 45 minutes in the u21 match on Monday, while Morgan has resumed training with the first team after a stint at Kirkby.

There is, however, a possible curveball. Lord knows you can't believe anything you read on the internet (unless I wrote it), but there's a Twitter rumor going around that Liverpool will play with five at the back. Jones; Flanagan, Wisdom, Coates, Carragher, Downing; Henderson, Coady, Shelvey; Cole; Morgan. I am not vouching for (or against) its credibility. I find that line-up somewhat hard to believe, although it wouldn't be the biggest surprise this season. It didn't seem so unlikely that I immediately ignored and dismissed it. Playing with wing backs, in a more defensive formation, does make sense with a weakened line-up away from Anfield against strong opponents in European competition, and could well be a reaction to how the majority of these players performed last week against Swansea. So fair warning.

Since these two sides last met, Anzhi lost just its second league match of the season, at Rubin Kazan, falling to second in the Russian Premier League. Anzhi played a mostly-full strength XI at Anfield two weeks ago, but I suspect they'll be more attacking at home, with Lacina Traore starting rather than coming off the bench, Eto'o as playmaker rather than out-and-out-striker, and usual holding midfielder Jucilei returning to the squad. Otherwise, most of the names will be familiar from last time out; there are no new injuries to report.

Liverpool's win in the last round, eking out a 1-0 with some big names involved, willing to jeopardize the league match at Everton for three points in the Europa League, means that Liverpool currently top the group at the halfway stage. For all my condemnation of the personnel choices, it gave Liverpool much-needed breathing space in this competition, a competition made more important by Liverpool's loss to Swansea in the league cup. Still, the margin of error remains slim. Liverpool may be two points ahead, but both Udinese and Anzhi have two of their last three matches at home, including tomorrow's, while Liverpool have to travel in its next two matches, the toughest two they'll play.

We wanted to see how the youngsters and reserves would develop in the Europa League. We'll find out an awful lot tomorrow.

Liverpool 1-0 Anzhi Makhachkala

Goals:
Downing 53'

After the first two group stage matches saw a combined 13 goals, this one's a narrow 1-0 decided by an unrepeatable Downing (yes, Downing) strike. Sometimes football truly is unpredictable.

I hope it was worth it. I guess we'll find out Sunday.

Admittedly, I'm slightly biased, because I really don't care if Liverpool qualify for the knockout rounds. I realize that doesn't sound right, and I guess it's not that I don't care. But Liverpool's squad is threadbare – as everyone and their extended family has already noted – and the league is all-important. The Europa League's biggest draw was that Liverpool would be able to better develop its young talent. Well, that young talent is being developed in the league because of Rodgers' willingness to baptize the likes of Sterling, Suso, and Wisdom with fire as well as Liverpool's limited resources and injuries. So playing Gerrard and Suarez, plus Johnson, Skrtel, and Agger, against Anzhi four days before facing Everton makes little sense to me, even if Liverpool pretty much needed a win here in order to qualify thanks to the last home loss against Udinese.

All in all, it wasn't very different from Liverpool's last match: in line-up, tactics, or tone. Liverpool made just three changes from Saturday's XI – bringing in Downing, Assaidi, and Shelvey for Sterling, Suso, and Allen – and once again, Liverpool mostly dominated with little reward. Liverpool couldn't finish for love of money, while Suarez was eminently frustrated by referee, teammates, and his own touch. Suarez, Johnson, and Assaidi all shot too close to the keeper after excellent moves down Liverpool's left, where Liverpool focused its attacks all match long, while Shelvey shot over from Suarez's cut-back and Johnson failed to get a shot off or win a penalty after breaking into the box.

Anzhi made it surprisingly easy for the home side. They were expected to sit back and counter-attack at pace, as they've done to excellent effect in almost every Europa League away match so far. And Anzhi did defend strongly throughout. But the advertised counter-attack was pretty much nonexistent, despite Liverpool without any recognized holding midfielder as both Şahin and Gerrard frequently went forward, trying to find the breakthrough. Maybe I'm pessimistic, but I anticipated far more threat from the Russian Premier League leaders, especially given Liverpool's propensity for conceding on counter-attacks. But Anzhi didn't even take a shot until first-half injury time, a blast from distance by Smolov which didn't come close to displacing even a strand of Brad Jones' wonderful head of hair.

The above is slightly unfair to both Liverpool's midfielders and defense, especially the defense. With Johnson bombing forward relentlessly, Wisdom, Skrtel, and Assaidi were tasked with marking Samuel Eto'o and the midfield runners who eventually joined Anzhi's intermittent attacks. And all three were outstanding, especially Andre Wisdom, who out-muscled Smolov, Boussoufa, and Zhirkov whenever required, while Skrtel and Agger marked Eto'o into oblivion, forcing him to drop deep into midfield to pick up the ball. Which he's used to, often playing in a deeper role at Anzhi. But that's when Lacina Traore also starts; Hiddink's 4-2-3-1 with Eto'o up front played into Liverpool's hands. And while Şahin and Gerrard left Liverpool exposed through the middle at times, it didn't happen very often, as both improved their passing accuracy from recent matches. Gerrard gave the ball away when trying too hard early on, but quickly settled into a more disciplined style. Meanwhile, Şahin misplaced just four passes, of his 75 in total, in the entire match.

Liverpool brought on Sterling for Johnson at halftime – ostensibly in order to give him slightly more rest for Sunday's match but with a few Twitter rumors that he had also picked up a knock – and the substitution made all the difference. But not for the reason you expected. Downing switched to left-back, with Sterling replacing him on the right, and it was at left-back where Downing stunned the world. Sterling was fouled on the right, and Liverpool took the deep free kick short and quick, Şahin to Shelvey, who switched play to Downing on the opposite flank. The the much-maligned (and rightfully so) stand-in left back cut inside past Agalarov, who backed off, before hammering a shot past Gabulov with what we all previously thought was just his standing leg. He's a scoring machine in this competition, with all of two goals. Two winners against Eastern European opposition. Stewart Downing, he scores when he wants.

Liverpool had chances to extend the lead soon after, most notably when Suarez blasted narrowly wide with his weaker foot, then Shelvey scuffed a shot at the keeper after a Liverpool break, set up by Assaidi, but as on Saturday, the away side grew more dangerous as the clock ticked down. Hiddink sending on Traore in the 64th minute helped, but Skrtel and Agger continued to defend excellently, with the gargantuan striker limited to a single, near post opportunity, poked wide with Skrtel draped all over him. More threatening were chances from Boussoufa and two late, late shots by Carcela, but Liverpool held on slightly more comfortably than against Reading, even if the final few minutes were similarly nervy. The standout moment of the last ten minutes was a goal ruled out for Danny Agger, heading the ball out of the keeper's hand then rocketing a shot into the empty net – which is, you know, somewhat illegal, but should have counted anyway solely because it's Agger.

So, job done. Despite the stronger line-up than we're used to in this competition, Liverpool's best players were 18-year-old Andre Wisdom and the ever-dangerous Oussama Assaidi, a constant terror down Liverpool's left, followed closely by Skrtel, Agger, and Şahin.

The last time Gerrard and Suarez played in a Europa League match – the second leg against Hearts – was followed by Liverpool's worst performance of the season to date, the 2-0 home loss against Arsenal. That simply cannot happen again on Sunday. Not only is the Merseyside Derby one of the most important matches of the season at "normal" times, but Everton currently sit six points and eight places ahead of Liverpool in the table. Which has to be remedied as soon as possible.

This result, combined with Udinese's 1-3 loss in Bern, means Liverpool now top the group with six points compared to Anzhi and Udinese's four. The Reds have to travel to both Italy and Russia in the next two Europa League matches, but they're now in pole position to qualify halfway through the stage.

As said earlier, I hope it's worth it.

Liverpool v Anzhi Makhachkala 10.25.12

3:05pm ET, live in the US on FSC

Group Stage matches:
Liverpool: 2-3 Udinese (h); 5-3 BSC Young Boys (a)
Anzhi: 2-0 BSC Young Boys (h); 1-1 Udinese (a)

Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 1-1 Hearts (h), 1-0 Hearts (a); 3-0 Gomel (h), 1-0 Gomel (a)
Anzhi:: 5-0 AZ (a), 1-0 AZ (h); 2-0 Vitesse (a), 2-0 Vitesse (h); 4-0 Honved (a), 1-0 Honved (h)

Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Reading (h); 0-1 Stoke (h); 2-3 Udinese (h)
Anzhi: 2-1 Spartak Moscow (h); 2-0 Dinamo Moscow (a); 2-0 BSC Young Boys (H)

Goalscorers (Europa League):
Liverpool: Shelvey 3; Suarez 2; Borini, Coates, Downing, Gerrard, Johnson, Wisdom 1
Anzhi: Eto'o 7; Traore 3; Shatov 2; Boussoufa, Carcela, Jucilei, Lakhiyalov, Smolov 1

Referee: Bas Nijhuis (NED)

Guess at a line-up
Jones
Johnson Coates Carragher Robinson
Henderson Allen
Shelvey
Downing Suarez Assaidi

Anzhi Makhachkala will be Liverpool's toughest Europa League opponents by some distance, which is saying something considering the Reds are coming off a home loss to Udinese in this competition. However, Sunday's Merseyside Derby means that Liverpool have little choice but to continue with its predominantly second-string lineup, with maybe three or four recognized first-team players starting against the Russian side.

Despite the slim squad and prioritizing the league, I honestly think Suarez may well start. Brendan Rodgers has little choice otherwise, hinting as much last week when discussing Liverpool's striking "options". Suarez won't play every match until Borini's fit/the January transfer window, but he'll play an awful lot of them. Tomorrow seems far too soon for Samed Yesil, especially against opponents of this quality – Samba and Joao Carlos are both excellent, physical center-backs – while the other options are Pacheco in a false nine role (as against Young Boys) or Adam Morgan. The one thing that would preclude Suarez from playing is if the knock he picked up against Reading – limping out of the tunnel after the half-time interval – is more serious than expected. In which case, good luck Samed.

I suspect Suarez will be flanked by the "usual" Europa League starters – two from Assaidi, Downing, Cole, and Pacheco. Unlike Suarez, who's experienced enough to cope with game after game after game, both Suso and Sterling need to be protected from overuse. Personally, I'd vastly prefer Assaidi and Pacheco, but either Downing and Cole will probably start opposite the Moroccan. Downing and Assaidi has been the pairing in the last two group stage matches. Hopefully, he – or Joe Cole – will make use of the opportunity. For a change.

It'll mostly likely be three from a probable for in midfield as well, but I'm far less certain who the three will be. Henderson is basically nailed-on, as in the two previous group stage matches, but he could be joined by Shelvey, Allen, or Şahin. Both Shelvey and Şahin could use the match time – the former after his three-match league suspension, the latter in his continuing quest for form and fitness. At the same time, Allen remains utterly crucial to Liverpool's style of play, with no one else in the squad capable of filling the role that he fills as long as Lucas is injured. The midfield against Young Boys – Suso, Henderson, and Şahin – was obviously overexposed without a clear holder, especially on Zarate's counter-attacking goal. And Anzhi will mostly likely counter at pace through Eto'o and the wingers.

Wisdom is another who probably needs to be rested after consecutive league starts, also suffering from a shoulder injury during the international break. Which means that Johnson probably has to start at right back, as we haven't seen proof that Flanagan even exists anymore other than cameos on Being: Liverpool. Robinson should start every Europa League match, but Enrique's long-awaited return to fitness may mean he plays tomorrow in order to shake off the ring rust. Carragher and Coates has been the default Europa League pairing, but Rodgers may want to consider partnering the Uruguayan with Skrtel because of the threat posed by Eto'o and Lacina Traore. Jones will again start in goal as Reina attempts to recover in time to face Everton.

Guus Hiddink's Anzhi currently leads the Russian Premier League, on 29 points after 12 matches (9W-2D-1L), two points ahead of CSKA Moscow. They're on a 13-match unbeaten run in all competitions, without a loss since August 12 at CSKA and with just two draws – against Zenit and Udinese – during that stretch.

Anzhi have been playing first-choice line-ups in the Europa League so far, with Eto'o – among others – starting all six matches. The usual line-up has been a 4-4-1-1/4-2-3-1 with both Eto'o dropping off Lacina Traore up front; Boussoufa and Shatov on the flanks; Jucilei and Lass Diarra in midfield; Agalarov, João Carlos, Samba, and Tagirbekov or Zhirkov in defense; and Gabulov in goal. Through eight matches, Russians have conceded just one goal in this competition (at Udinese in the first group stage match), while scoring 18 of their own. Other than that draw in Italy, Anzhi have been more impressive away from home, with 1-0 wins against Honved and AZ in the first leg of the qualifying rounds before demolishing them 4-0 and 5-0 respectively in the second away leg.

Lass Diarra will most likely miss both matches against Liverpool through injury, but it's not as if Anzhi are without alternatives. Boussoufa can drop into midfield, with Smolov or Carcela coming in on the flanks, or Anzhi could shift to a 4-3-1-2 system – which they used more often before signing Diarra on deadline day – with Boussoufa in the hole and two from Shatov, Carcela, Zhirkov, and Smolov on the flanks. As we saw when he was at Chelsea, Yuri Zhirkov is equally comfortable on the wing or at full-back.

Samuel Eto'o needs no introduction; even at 31, he's still a world-class striker, Anzhi's top scorer in both the Russian Premier League and Europa League, with 7 goals in each competition. Only two players have scored more through the Russian Premier League's 12 matches. 6'8" Lacina Traore, formerly of CFR Cluj, isn't far behind with six in the league; his height and aerial ability will present a formidable challenge to Coates or Carra if he (or they) start. Liverpool fans will recognize both Zhirkov and Christopher Samba from their time with Chelsea and Blackburn. Oussama Assaidi's international teammate, the versatile Mbark Boussoufa – a Chelsea academy graduate and two-time Belgian Footballer of the Year (winning the award in the two years following Milan Jovanovic, who also you may remember) – has also become one of Anzhi's key players: able to play anywhere in attack, by far Anzhi's most creative player with seven league assists. Only Tagirbekov and Eto'o have played more league minutes so far this season.

Put simply, anything Liverpool get from the Europa League is a bonus. Rodgers knows full well that he'll be judged on league results alone. It would be disappointing were Liverpool to lose tomorrow and/or fail to progress from the group stage, but it wouldn't be the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination, and wouldn't really hinder the club's development as a whole. Like against Udinese, this will one of Anzhi's matches of the season because of the caché Liverpool and Anfield still have around the world, but it's not even Liverpool's most important match this week. Which will be reflected in Rodgers' starting XI. That's not an excuse for any failings which may or may not occur tomorrow, but a warning nonetheless. Expect little, and you're not disappointed if nothing comes to fruition.