2:45pm ET, live in the US on ESPN+
Last four head-to-head:
0-1 Chelsea (a) 05.06.18
1-1 (h) 11.25.17
1-1 (h) 01.31.17
2-1 Liverpool (a) 09.16.16
Last matches:
Liverpool: 3-0 Southampton (h); 3-2 PSG (h); 2-1 Tottenham (a)
Chelsea: 0-0 West Ham (a); 1-0 PAOK (a); 4-1 Cardiff (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Mané 4; Firmino, Salah 2; Milner, Sturridge, Wijnaldum 1
Chelsea: Hazard 5; Pedro 3; Willian 2; Alonso, Jorginho, Kante, Morata 1
Referee: Kevin Friend (LFC History) (WhoScored)
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Clyne Matip Lovren Moreno
Milner Fabinho Keïta
Sturridge Solanke Shaqiri
It ain’t quite the battle of who could care less, but this is at best an amuse-bouche before the weekend.
The League Cup remains the League Cup. Liverpool’s squad is both better and deeper this season, more capable of contesting all four competitions, but this one remains a distant fourth on the list of priorities.
Normally, the tie being against Chelsea would make it more meaningful, if not more important, but that Liverpool subsequently play the same side in the league on Saturday means that no one’s going to want to tip their hands. And after Chelsea comes Napoli and Manchester City. So it seems we're back to the League Cup still being the League Cup.
That said, Klopp’s league cup lineups have often been somewhere between slightly stronger and much stronger than we’ve expected. But it’s hard to see that being the case tomorrow, especially since Liverpool have a surprising amount of actually good players who’ve hardly seen the pitch so far this season.
Guessing a brand new back five may be foolish, but at least one of Clyne or Moreno will come in at full-back, if not both. Matip will keep his place, and Lovren’s supposedly fully fit and ready to go. I’d vastly prefer Alisson stay in goal, but the obviously-out-of-favor Simon Mignolet’s definitely starting according to Klopp so *shrugs vehemently*.
The front six is as much a guessing game. We all would really like to see Fabinho finally start, while both Keïta and Milner were substitutes against Southampton. Firmino’s definitely not starting, and it’s not hard seeing both Mané and Salah left out as well. Maybe one keeps their place, alongside Sturridge and Shaqiri. Maybe it’s the above, with Sturridge ostensibly on the right, where he’s kinda sorta capable of playing. Maybe it’s the above players in a 4-4-2 diamond, with Sturridge and Solanke up front, Shaqiri as the most advanced midfielder, and Milner and Keïta pushing a bit wider than usual – something both are very much able to do.
It’s the League Cup. Who knows.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will almost certainly approach the match similarly. Wholesale changes. Something like Caballero; Zappacosta, Cahill, Christensen, Emerson; Fabregas, Ampadu, Barkley; Moses, Morata, Hudson-Odoi. Rudiger, Pedro, and Loftus-Cheek are probably absent, all recovering from respective injuries. There has been talk that Hazard will play, but I’d be surprised; he’s too important to Chelsea. Similar goes for players like Marcos Alonso, Kanté, Jorginho, and Willian, but honestly have no idea.
Chelsea have started the season well, unbeaten and having won all of their matches until Sunday, when they drew 0-0 at West Ham. Venue notwithstanding, that’s a West Ham side that Liverpool whomped last month. It’s a West Ham side that has won just two matches this season, at Wimbledon in the League Cup and at Everton nine days ago. Maybe these results against Chelsea and Everton are a sign that West Ham are coming together with a vastly different side and new manager. Or maybe it’s a sign that West Ham knew that if they just kept Hazard quiet, they’d have a good chance of getting something from the match. And they did, and then they did. Which might explain why there’s talk Hazard will play tomorrow.
Wholesale changes, including players who've featured far less, may make Chelsea less capable of Sarri-ball, but they will still be a compact, pressing, possession-dominating side. Which could upset a changed Liverpool XI or feed into Liverpool's compact, pressing, blitzkrieg-counter side. I'm honestly curious to see.
So, yeah, League Cup. Another chance to watch a fun Liverpool side, and a chance for players not featuring regularly to stake stronger claims. To see what the players and the side are capable of in situations like these. That’s what the League Cup is for. That's all the League Cup is for, at least at this stage of the competition.
Showing posts with label League Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label League Cup. Show all posts
25 September 2018
24 January 2017
Liverpool v Southampton 01.25.17
Southampton lead 1-0 after the first leg.
3pm ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
0-1 Southampton (a; League Cup) 01.11.17
0-0 (a) 11.19.16
2-3 Southampton (a) 03.20.16
6-1 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 12.02.15
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-3 Swansea (h); 1-0 Plymouth (a); 1-1 United (a)
Southampton: 3-0 Leicester (h); 1-0 Norwich (h); 0-1 Burnley (a)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 0-1 Southampton (a); 2-0 Leeds (h); 2-1 Tottenham (h); 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Southampton: 1-0 Liverpool (h); 2-0 Arsenal (a); 1-0 Sunderland (h); 2-0 Palace (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Mané 9; Firmino, Lallana, Origi 7; Coutinho, Sturridge 6; Milner 5; Can 3; Lovren, Wijnaldum 2; Henderson, Klavan, Matip, Woodburn 1
Southampton: Austin 9; Rodriguez 5; Redmond 4; van Dijk 3; Bertrand, Boufal, Long, Tadic, Ward-Prowse 2; Clasie, Hesketh 1
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Guess at a line-up:
Karius
Clyne Matip Lovren Milner
Lallana Henderson Wijnaldum
Sturridge Firmino Coutinho
If there's going to be a reaction to the failings of the last month, now's absolutely the time for it.
I have seen something like six different personnel suggestions for fixing Liverpool's attack, for how Liverpool should line-up without Sadio Mané and needing to overturn a one-goal deficit. And that's just from different Echo writers.
It should be Sturridge, playing central. It should be Sturridge, playing on the right. It should be Sturridge and Origi. What about Ojo or Woodburn? Can Trent Alexander-Arnold play further forward? What about Milner further forward with Moreno at left-back?
We're all blindly tossing darts at an unmarked board. That's where Liverpool's attack has gotten us of late.
My starting point is that Adam Lallana needs to play in midfield rather than wide right, with Emre Can the most likely to make way. He's been nowhere near as effective in the front three, and Liverpool badly need an effective Lallana.
And if that's the case, it comes down to whether it's Firmino central and Sturridge right or the opposite. I don't think Origi's in the discussion due to form, I don't think two strikers and a diamond midfield is in the discussion either. My belief is Firmino's more important and much, much better when in the middle – literally the only attacker who did anything good on Saturday, almost single-handedly rescuing the game for Liverpool.
So, Coutinho left, Firmino central, and Sturridge on the right, where he's at least capable of cutting inside to shoot on his stronger left foot and has the protection of Lallana and Clyne – better defenders than those on the opposite flank – when he does much less tracking back than anyone else who'd play in that role. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, right, the only time we've seen that front three start a match was 0-2 at Burnley.
Let's hope Liverpool have learned something in the subsequent months.
Otherwise, Joël Matip's finally back, which is no small matter for the defense. Karius will probably keep his place in goal for the cup matches, responsible for keeping this tie at just a 0-1 deficit.
How well Liverpool's attack plays will also have something to do with Southampton's personnel. Specifically, whether or not Virgil Van Dijk is fit.
Van Dijk has owned Liverpool in the last two meetings, in both league and cup. He's the main reason Liverpool have been held scoreless in 180 minutes against Southampton. He picked up an ankle injury in the second half of Saturday's match and seems unlikely to play, but hasn't been completely ruled out. And his possible absence makes Southampton's job even harder considering Jose Fonte's recent exodus to West Ham in search of one last big pay day.
Austin, Boufal, Hesketh, and Targett are definitely out. Steven Davis, who's missed all three matches since the last meeting, is – like van Dijk – doubtful.
So let's guess an XI of Forster; Soares, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Clasie; Redmond, Rodriguez, Tadic. Højbjerg and Harrison Reed are other options in midfield. Shane Long could start up front instead of Rodriguez; both are scoring goals lately.
Southampton, still struggling with the aforementioned injuries, have improved since the win over Liverpool two weeks ago. Coming into that fixture, they were winless in four, including three successive league losses. They proceeded to lose the next match, 1-0 at Burnley (not naming names, but better than some sides have done at Burnley), but beat Norwich in a replay with a much-changed XI then housed Leicester over the weekend, scoring three goals in a match for only the fifth time this season in all competitions and the first time in a little over a month.
Chances are that this match looks a lot more like the league meeting than the last leg. A lot of teams have sat deep and solely defended at Anfield. That was probably the most defensive of any of them, regardless of Klopp's comments post-Sunderland.
And it worked to perfection, not only holding Liverpool scoreless but severely limiting Liverpool's shots and shots on-target. And that was with a front three of Coutinho, Firmino, and Mané.
All Southampton need to do is hold Liverpool scoreless. But Liverpool need to hold Southampton scoreless as well. Away goals only count after extra time, but they still count after extra-time. A one-goal Liverpool lead, no matter the score line, gets us 30 more minutes of football, but if it's anything other than 1-0, Southampton win without penalties.
I remain concerned about Liverpool's ability to score two or more, to get or maintain a two-goal lead. And, considering where we were two months ago, that remains an amazing statement.
3pm ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
0-1 Southampton (a; League Cup) 01.11.17
0-0 (a) 11.19.16
2-3 Southampton (a) 03.20.16
6-1 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 12.02.15
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-3 Swansea (h); 1-0 Plymouth (a); 1-1 United (a)
Southampton: 3-0 Leicester (h); 1-0 Norwich (h); 0-1 Burnley (a)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 0-1 Southampton (a); 2-0 Leeds (h); 2-1 Tottenham (h); 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Southampton: 1-0 Liverpool (h); 2-0 Arsenal (a); 1-0 Sunderland (h); 2-0 Palace (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Mané 9; Firmino, Lallana, Origi 7; Coutinho, Sturridge 6; Milner 5; Can 3; Lovren, Wijnaldum 2; Henderson, Klavan, Matip, Woodburn 1
Southampton: Austin 9; Rodriguez 5; Redmond 4; van Dijk 3; Bertrand, Boufal, Long, Tadic, Ward-Prowse 2; Clasie, Hesketh 1
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Guess at a line-up:
Karius
Clyne Matip Lovren Milner
Lallana Henderson Wijnaldum
Sturridge Firmino Coutinho
If there's going to be a reaction to the failings of the last month, now's absolutely the time for it.
I have seen something like six different personnel suggestions for fixing Liverpool's attack, for how Liverpool should line-up without Sadio Mané and needing to overturn a one-goal deficit. And that's just from different Echo writers.
It should be Sturridge, playing central. It should be Sturridge, playing on the right. It should be Sturridge and Origi. What about Ojo or Woodburn? Can Trent Alexander-Arnold play further forward? What about Milner further forward with Moreno at left-back?
We're all blindly tossing darts at an unmarked board. That's where Liverpool's attack has gotten us of late.
My starting point is that Adam Lallana needs to play in midfield rather than wide right, with Emre Can the most likely to make way. He's been nowhere near as effective in the front three, and Liverpool badly need an effective Lallana.
And if that's the case, it comes down to whether it's Firmino central and Sturridge right or the opposite. I don't think Origi's in the discussion due to form, I don't think two strikers and a diamond midfield is in the discussion either. My belief is Firmino's more important and much, much better when in the middle – literally the only attacker who did anything good on Saturday, almost single-handedly rescuing the game for Liverpool.
So, Coutinho left, Firmino central, and Sturridge on the right, where he's at least capable of cutting inside to shoot on his stronger left foot and has the protection of Lallana and Clyne – better defenders than those on the opposite flank – when he does much less tracking back than anyone else who'd play in that role. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, right, the only time we've seen that front three start a match was 0-2 at Burnley.
Let's hope Liverpool have learned something in the subsequent months.
Otherwise, Joël Matip's finally back, which is no small matter for the defense. Karius will probably keep his place in goal for the cup matches, responsible for keeping this tie at just a 0-1 deficit.
How well Liverpool's attack plays will also have something to do with Southampton's personnel. Specifically, whether or not Virgil Van Dijk is fit.
Van Dijk has owned Liverpool in the last two meetings, in both league and cup. He's the main reason Liverpool have been held scoreless in 180 minutes against Southampton. He picked up an ankle injury in the second half of Saturday's match and seems unlikely to play, but hasn't been completely ruled out. And his possible absence makes Southampton's job even harder considering Jose Fonte's recent exodus to West Ham in search of one last big pay day.
Austin, Boufal, Hesketh, and Targett are definitely out. Steven Davis, who's missed all three matches since the last meeting, is – like van Dijk – doubtful.
So let's guess an XI of Forster; Soares, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Clasie; Redmond, Rodriguez, Tadic. Højbjerg and Harrison Reed are other options in midfield. Shane Long could start up front instead of Rodriguez; both are scoring goals lately.
Southampton, still struggling with the aforementioned injuries, have improved since the win over Liverpool two weeks ago. Coming into that fixture, they were winless in four, including three successive league losses. They proceeded to lose the next match, 1-0 at Burnley (not naming names, but better than some sides have done at Burnley), but beat Norwich in a replay with a much-changed XI then housed Leicester over the weekend, scoring three goals in a match for only the fifth time this season in all competitions and the first time in a little over a month.
Chances are that this match looks a lot more like the league meeting than the last leg. A lot of teams have sat deep and solely defended at Anfield. That was probably the most defensive of any of them, regardless of Klopp's comments post-Sunderland.
And it worked to perfection, not only holding Liverpool scoreless but severely limiting Liverpool's shots and shots on-target. And that was with a front three of Coutinho, Firmino, and Mané.
All Southampton need to do is hold Liverpool scoreless. But Liverpool need to hold Southampton scoreless as well. Away goals only count after extra time, but they still count after extra-time. A one-goal Liverpool lead, no matter the score line, gets us 30 more minutes of football, but if it's anything other than 1-0, Southampton win without penalties.
I remain concerned about Liverpool's ability to score two or more, to get or maintain a two-goal lead. And, considering where we were two months ago, that remains an amazing statement.
10 January 2017
Liverpool at Southampton 01.11.17
2:45pm ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
0-0 (a) 11.19.16
2-3 Southampton (a) 03.20.16
6-1 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 12.02.15
1-1 (h) 10.25.15
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 0-0 Plymouth (h); 2-2 Sunderland (a); 1-0 Manchester City (h)
Southampton: 2-2 Norwich (a); 0-3 Everton (a); 1-2 West Brom (h)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 2-0 Leeds (h); 2-1 Tottenham (h); 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Southampton: 2-0 Arsenal (a); 1-0 Sunderland (h); 2-0 Palace (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Mané 9; Firmino, Lallana, Origi 7; Coutinho, Sturridge 6; Milner 5; Can 3; Lovren, Wijnaldum 2; Henderson, Klavan, Matip, Woodburn 1
Southampton: Austin 9; Rodriguez 4; Redmond, van Dijk 3; Bertrand, Boufal 2; Clasie, Hesketh, Long, Tadic, Ward-Prowse 1
Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Guess at a line-up:
Karius
Clyne Lovren Klavan Milner
Lallana Can Wijnaldum
Firmino
Sturridge Origi
It's the League Cup semifinal – which Liverpool are in for the third-straight season, I'll add. This has to be a full-strength side, or nearly so, with Karius likely to start, even though Liverpool travel to Manchester United on Sunday.
Now, "full-strength" remains slightly difficult to pull off. Coutinho and Matip are back in training, but the former will probably be available off the bench at best, while the latter needs a little longer. Henderson's still out. Milner's not 100%, but I assume he'll still start. And *checks watch* Mané's still away with Senegal for a couple of weeks.
If Coutinho's not ready to start – and while it's not out the question, it seems safe to assume – Liverpool continue to have a hole in the front six. My above guess is just playing the six best available players, even though that makes the 4-3-3 a bit more difficult. Because I'm not entirely sure what a front three of Firmino, Sturridge, and Origi looks like. Sturridge or Origi wide? Something of a diamond?
The only other option seems to be someone else in midfield, whether it's one of the kids – Stewart or Ejaria the more likely candidates, I guess – or possibly Lucas or Milner; neither has played there yet this season, but we know they're both capable having done so in the past.
I remain concerned about Can's discipline as the deepest midfielder and Liverpool's shot creation without Coutinho, but those are known, recurring issues that Liverpool are trying to correct and will continue to try to correct.
Meanwhile, it's not the best time for Southampton either. They're winless in their last four matches. They're missing Austin (their top scorer by some distance), Boufal, Targett, and Pied through injury, Jose Fonte won't play after handing in a transfer request last week, and Cedric Soares is questionable. They remain stingy in defense, because Southampton – they're yet to allow a goal in this competition despite playing three Premier League opponents – but only Middlesbrough and Hull have scored fewer league goals. Not that the league record necessarily matters in a cup tie, but the last time Southampton scored more than once in a league match was October 16, a 3-1 home win over Burnley. In the 19 games in all competitions since, they've done it three times: against Inter (2-1, Europa League), at Arsenal (2-0, League Cup), and at Norwich (2-2, FA Cup).
I suspect you remember when these sides met six weeks ago. That was one of the more-than-a-couple of matches where Liverpool's opponent did nothing but defend. Southampton kept everyone in their own half, took just three off-target shots, and literally never looked like scoring. And it worked, holding Liverpool scoreless as well. Holding Liverpool to just two on-target shots from 15 in total. And Liverpool had Coutinho for that match. Which is another reason why I'm "screw it, start with both Sturridge and Origi up top."
Southampton's starting XI, as with Liverpool, seemingly has to be full-strength. Something like Forster; Soares, Yoshida, van Dijk, Bertrand; Højbjerg, Romeu, Davis; Tadic, Long, Redmond. Maybe Jay Rodriguez up top instead of Long; Clasie and/or Ward-Prowse could start in midfield; and it'll be Martina at right-back if Soares is unavailable. It will be, aside from Charlie Austin's absence, typically Southampton.
That this is only the first leg bears repeating. Whatever happens, there will be at least 90 more minutes at Anfield in two weeks.
That said, start as you mean to continue. Liverpool won the first leg semifinal at Stoke last season, and went on to win the tie, albeit on penalties. Liverpool drew the first leg semifinal against Chelsea in 2014-15, and lost the tie after extra time.
Liverpool have yet to win in 2017, held to annoying draws against both Sunderland and Plymouth. This would be a good time to do so.
Last four head-to-head:
0-0 (a) 11.19.16
2-3 Southampton (a) 03.20.16
6-1 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 12.02.15
1-1 (h) 10.25.15
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 0-0 Plymouth (h); 2-2 Sunderland (a); 1-0 Manchester City (h)
Southampton: 2-2 Norwich (a); 0-3 Everton (a); 1-2 West Brom (h)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 2-0 Leeds (h); 2-1 Tottenham (h); 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Southampton: 2-0 Arsenal (a); 1-0 Sunderland (h); 2-0 Palace (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Mané 9; Firmino, Lallana, Origi 7; Coutinho, Sturridge 6; Milner 5; Can 3; Lovren, Wijnaldum 2; Henderson, Klavan, Matip, Woodburn 1
Southampton: Austin 9; Rodriguez 4; Redmond, van Dijk 3; Bertrand, Boufal 2; Clasie, Hesketh, Long, Tadic, Ward-Prowse 1
Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Guess at a line-up:
Karius
Clyne Lovren Klavan Milner
Lallana Can Wijnaldum
Firmino
Sturridge Origi
It's the League Cup semifinal – which Liverpool are in for the third-straight season, I'll add. This has to be a full-strength side, or nearly so, with Karius likely to start, even though Liverpool travel to Manchester United on Sunday.
Now, "full-strength" remains slightly difficult to pull off. Coutinho and Matip are back in training, but the former will probably be available off the bench at best, while the latter needs a little longer. Henderson's still out. Milner's not 100%, but I assume he'll still start. And *checks watch* Mané's still away with Senegal for a couple of weeks.
If Coutinho's not ready to start – and while it's not out the question, it seems safe to assume – Liverpool continue to have a hole in the front six. My above guess is just playing the six best available players, even though that makes the 4-3-3 a bit more difficult. Because I'm not entirely sure what a front three of Firmino, Sturridge, and Origi looks like. Sturridge or Origi wide? Something of a diamond?
The only other option seems to be someone else in midfield, whether it's one of the kids – Stewart or Ejaria the more likely candidates, I guess – or possibly Lucas or Milner; neither has played there yet this season, but we know they're both capable having done so in the past.
I remain concerned about Can's discipline as the deepest midfielder and Liverpool's shot creation without Coutinho, but those are known, recurring issues that Liverpool are trying to correct and will continue to try to correct.
Meanwhile, it's not the best time for Southampton either. They're winless in their last four matches. They're missing Austin (their top scorer by some distance), Boufal, Targett, and Pied through injury, Jose Fonte won't play after handing in a transfer request last week, and Cedric Soares is questionable. They remain stingy in defense, because Southampton – they're yet to allow a goal in this competition despite playing three Premier League opponents – but only Middlesbrough and Hull have scored fewer league goals. Not that the league record necessarily matters in a cup tie, but the last time Southampton scored more than once in a league match was October 16, a 3-1 home win over Burnley. In the 19 games in all competitions since, they've done it three times: against Inter (2-1, Europa League), at Arsenal (2-0, League Cup), and at Norwich (2-2, FA Cup).
I suspect you remember when these sides met six weeks ago. That was one of the more-than-a-couple of matches where Liverpool's opponent did nothing but defend. Southampton kept everyone in their own half, took just three off-target shots, and literally never looked like scoring. And it worked, holding Liverpool scoreless as well. Holding Liverpool to just two on-target shots from 15 in total. And Liverpool had Coutinho for that match. Which is another reason why I'm "screw it, start with both Sturridge and Origi up top."
Southampton's starting XI, as with Liverpool, seemingly has to be full-strength. Something like Forster; Soares, Yoshida, van Dijk, Bertrand; Højbjerg, Romeu, Davis; Tadic, Long, Redmond. Maybe Jay Rodriguez up top instead of Long; Clasie and/or Ward-Prowse could start in midfield; and it'll be Martina at right-back if Soares is unavailable. It will be, aside from Charlie Austin's absence, typically Southampton.
That this is only the first leg bears repeating. Whatever happens, there will be at least 90 more minutes at Anfield in two weeks.
That said, start as you mean to continue. Liverpool won the first leg semifinal at Stoke last season, and went on to win the tie, albeit on penalties. Liverpool drew the first leg semifinal against Chelsea in 2014-15, and lost the tie after extra time.
Liverpool have yet to win in 2017, held to annoying draws against both Sunderland and Plymouth. This would be a good time to do so.
28 November 2016
Liverpool v Leeds 10.25.16
2:45pm ET, live in the US on beIN Sports.
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 09.22.09
2-2 (a) 02.29.04
3-1 Liverpool (h) 10.25.03
3-1 Liverpool (h) 03.23.03
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-0 Sunderland (h); 0-0 Southampton (a); 6-1 Watford (h)
Leeds: 2-1 Rotherham (a); 0-2 Newcastle (h); 3-2 Norwich (a)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 2-1 Tottenham (h); 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Leeds: 2-2 Norwich aet [3-2 pens] (h); 1-0 Blackburn (h); 1-0 Luton (a); 2-2 Fleetwood aet [5-4 pens] (a)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Coutinho, Firmino, Mané 6; Milner 5; Sturridge 4; Lallana, Origi 3; Can, Lovren 2; Henderson, Klavan, Matip, Wijnaldum 1
Leeds: Wood 12; Antonsson 3; Bartley, Doukara, Hernandez 2; Denton, Jansson, Phillips, Sacko, Vieira 1
Referee: Andre Marriner
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Alexander-Arnold Lucas Klavan Moreno
Grujic Stewart Wijnaldum
Mané Origi Ejaria
It's been a long time since Liverpool faced Leeds, a fixture that used to be a serious rivalry, whether in the 70s, 80s, 90s, or very early 2000s. Leeds, mismanaged to near oblivion, have been bad for far too long, and I'm surprisingly pleased to see them at least getting closer to where they should be.
Pity this meeting couldn't happen under more favorable circumstances.
Coutinho's gonna be out for a while. Ugh. And this match comes too soon for Sturridge, Lallana, or Firmino to recover from their minor injuries.
So tomorrow's XI will probably look a lot like that which faced Tottenham in the last round: a seriously young lineup with 11 changes from Liverpool's previous league outing. 10 of those 11 are available – only Sturridge will be missing from that side – and I wouldn't be surprised to see them all. None of those kids – Alexander-Arnold, Grujic, Stewart, Ejaria, or Woodburn – were involved in today's u-23 match.
Who replaces Sturridge? I think it'll be Mané, with Klopp willing to risk one more senior player, but that could be dangerous given Liverpool's casualty list. Maybe it'll be Woodburn, who made his first appearance on Saturday. Maybe Ojo, who's been in training for two weeks now but is yet to even see the bench for the first team. Maybe Wijnaldum moves into attack with Henderson or Can keeping their place in midfield.
Liverpool *could* pick a stronger XI, with Henderson or Can or Matip or Lovren featuring as well. Klopp has often picked stronger-than-expected sides in cup matches. But the Tottenham game seems a more likely precedent. Liverpool have much, much bigger fish to fry this season and the squad's starting to look a little thin, especially in attack.
Currently fifth in the Championship, Leeds have lost just once in the last eight matches, against league-leading Newcastle. They don't score much – almost wholly reliant on Chris Wood – but they don't concede much either, allowing more than two goals in just two matches this season, and not since the end of August. They've a more than competent manager in Garry Monk, who lost all five of his matches against Liverpool while managing Swansea but gave Liverpool serious problems in four of them. They'll play 4-2-3-1, and they'll come at Liverpool, and it'll be up to Liverpool to deal and respond.
Chris Wood is the clear threat. Just 24 and a New Zealand international, playing well for his country each time I've seen him, he's scored 12 goals in all competitions this season. He had 13 in 37 appearances last season. He's a prototypical Championship striker: incredibly strong but skillful enough and quick enough to cause Premier League defenses problems, and very good from open play.
Otherwise, there's little I'm capable of telling you about their side. Rob Green will be in goal; he's often good for a laugh. Kyle Bartley, formerly of Swansea, will anchor their defense. Two former Premier League players, Liam Bridgett and Pablo Hernandez, will miss the match through injury. They've twice needed penalties to advance in this competition, but both of those saw a fairly heavily changed XI. Maybe it's hubris, but I doubt they'll do that when facing Liverpool, and my best guess is an XI similar to that they've used in the last few fixtures: Green; Ayling, Bartley, Jansson, Taylor; Phillips, O'Kane; Sacko, Roofe, Doukara; Wood.
As with every domestic cup match, it's icing on the cake for most fans. A chance to progress further as long as it's not at the expense of more important matters. A chance to see players we haven't seen enough of, especially the kids we've got such high hopes for.
It's up to those players to take their chance.
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 09.22.09
2-2 (a) 02.29.04
3-1 Liverpool (h) 10.25.03
3-1 Liverpool (h) 03.23.03
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-0 Sunderland (h); 0-0 Southampton (a); 6-1 Watford (h)
Leeds: 2-1 Rotherham (a); 0-2 Newcastle (h); 3-2 Norwich (a)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 2-1 Tottenham (h); 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Leeds: 2-2 Norwich aet [3-2 pens] (h); 1-0 Blackburn (h); 1-0 Luton (a); 2-2 Fleetwood aet [5-4 pens] (a)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Coutinho, Firmino, Mané 6; Milner 5; Sturridge 4; Lallana, Origi 3; Can, Lovren 2; Henderson, Klavan, Matip, Wijnaldum 1
Leeds: Wood 12; Antonsson 3; Bartley, Doukara, Hernandez 2; Denton, Jansson, Phillips, Sacko, Vieira 1
Referee: Andre Marriner
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Alexander-Arnold Lucas Klavan Moreno
Grujic Stewart Wijnaldum
Mané Origi Ejaria
It's been a long time since Liverpool faced Leeds, a fixture that used to be a serious rivalry, whether in the 70s, 80s, 90s, or very early 2000s. Leeds, mismanaged to near oblivion, have been bad for far too long, and I'm surprisingly pleased to see them at least getting closer to where they should be.
Pity this meeting couldn't happen under more favorable circumstances.
Coutinho's gonna be out for a while. Ugh. And this match comes too soon for Sturridge, Lallana, or Firmino to recover from their minor injuries.
So tomorrow's XI will probably look a lot like that which faced Tottenham in the last round: a seriously young lineup with 11 changes from Liverpool's previous league outing. 10 of those 11 are available – only Sturridge will be missing from that side – and I wouldn't be surprised to see them all. None of those kids – Alexander-Arnold, Grujic, Stewart, Ejaria, or Woodburn – were involved in today's u-23 match.
Who replaces Sturridge? I think it'll be Mané, with Klopp willing to risk one more senior player, but that could be dangerous given Liverpool's casualty list. Maybe it'll be Woodburn, who made his first appearance on Saturday. Maybe Ojo, who's been in training for two weeks now but is yet to even see the bench for the first team. Maybe Wijnaldum moves into attack with Henderson or Can keeping their place in midfield.
Liverpool *could* pick a stronger XI, with Henderson or Can or Matip or Lovren featuring as well. Klopp has often picked stronger-than-expected sides in cup matches. But the Tottenham game seems a more likely precedent. Liverpool have much, much bigger fish to fry this season and the squad's starting to look a little thin, especially in attack.
Currently fifth in the Championship, Leeds have lost just once in the last eight matches, against league-leading Newcastle. They don't score much – almost wholly reliant on Chris Wood – but they don't concede much either, allowing more than two goals in just two matches this season, and not since the end of August. They've a more than competent manager in Garry Monk, who lost all five of his matches against Liverpool while managing Swansea but gave Liverpool serious problems in four of them. They'll play 4-2-3-1, and they'll come at Liverpool, and it'll be up to Liverpool to deal and respond.
Chris Wood is the clear threat. Just 24 and a New Zealand international, playing well for his country each time I've seen him, he's scored 12 goals in all competitions this season. He had 13 in 37 appearances last season. He's a prototypical Championship striker: incredibly strong but skillful enough and quick enough to cause Premier League defenses problems, and very good from open play.
Otherwise, there's little I'm capable of telling you about their side. Rob Green will be in goal; he's often good for a laugh. Kyle Bartley, formerly of Swansea, will anchor their defense. Two former Premier League players, Liam Bridgett and Pablo Hernandez, will miss the match through injury. They've twice needed penalties to advance in this competition, but both of those saw a fairly heavily changed XI. Maybe it's hubris, but I doubt they'll do that when facing Liverpool, and my best guess is an XI similar to that they've used in the last few fixtures: Green; Ayling, Bartley, Jansson, Taylor; Phillips, O'Kane; Sacko, Roofe, Doukara; Wood.
As with every domestic cup match, it's icing on the cake for most fans. A chance to progress further as long as it's not at the expense of more important matters. A chance to see players we haven't seen enough of, especially the kids we've got such high hopes for.
It's up to those players to take their chance.
25 October 2016
Liverpool v Tottenham 10.25.16
2:45pm ET, live in the US on beIN Sports.
Last four head-to-head:
1-1 (a) 08.27.16
1-1 (h) 04.02.16
0-0 (a) 10.17.15
3-2 Liverpool (h) 02.10.15
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-1 West Brom (h); 0-0 United (h); 2-1 Swansea (a)
Tottenham: 0-0 Bournemouth (a); 0-0 Leverkusen (a); 1-1 West Brom (a)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Tottenham: 5-0 Gillingham (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Coutinho 5; Firmino, Mané, Milner 4; Lallana 3; Origi, Sturridge 2; Henderson, Klavan, Lovren 1
Tottenham: Son 5; Alli 3; Eriksen, Kane, Lamela 2; Alderweireld, Janssen, Onomah, Rose, Wanyama 1
Referee: Jon Moss
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Alexander-Arnold Matip Klavan Moreno
Grujic Stewart Wijnaldum
Ejaria
Sturridge Origi
Liverpool almost always play a stronger than expected XI in this competition. They did throughout last season, and they did in the first two fixtures this season. But I just can't see that happening tomorrow. Lallana and Wijnaldum are recently back from injury. Emre Can's still working his way to match fitness. Henderson's suspended. Nat King Clyne's played every available minute so far, while Coutinho, Firmino, Mané, and Milner aren't far behind.
So screw it. Let's see the kids. And, because it better suits who's available, let's see a 4-4-2 diamond.
Admittedly, I'd be a bit surprised with this many changes. But Tottenham are also expected to rotate almost its entire XI. Mignolet's certainly coming in. Klavan and Moreno need match time. Grujic, Stewart, and possibly Lucas can come into midfield. Both Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria have been mentioned as possible debutants. Wijnaldum seems the most likely front-six starter to keep his place, having played just 11 minutes against West Brom in his comeback from injury. And since I don't want to pick between Sturridge and Origi, hell, just play them both.
The 4-Diamond-2 worked just fine against Southampton in this competition last season. And, unlike in most other positions, Liverpool don't really have back-up wingers. Ojo's still injured, Woodburn's playing for the u23s. Lallana and Wijnaldum are capable, but usually more needed in midfield. All three of Liverpool's currently-reserve strikers – Ings, Origi, Sturridge – *can* play wide, but it's not something they thrive upon.
Not that form counts for much in a match where both sides will rotate heavily, but Tottenham have underwhelmed lately. Three straight draws, scoring just one goal in those three. But conversely, they've conceded just once in their last five matches. And, somehow, they sit just one point back of Liverpool. It helps when you're the lone unbeaten side left in the division, I guess. Draws are still better than losses.
If Tottenham rotate as heavily as Liverpool, as expected, there will probably be nine or ten changes. Something like Vorm; Trippier, Carter-Vickers, Wimmer, Davies; Dier; N'Koudou, Carroll, Winks, Onomah; Janssen. Maybe it's 4-2-3-1 with Carroll and Winks holding, and either Alli or Eriksen as the #10. Maybe it's Wanyama or Dembele at the base rather than Dier. Maybe youth striker Harrison starts up front rather than Janssen. Even if Spurs start all their kids, they'll still need one or two senior players to fill out the ranks. But like Liverpool, Tottenham's settled XI has played a lot of minutes lately, and Pochettino will want to spell his stars.
Of course, I can't forget that these sides met less than two months ago. And I can't forget that Liverpool should have done better than a draw. And I can't forget that Michel Vorm, who'll come into the Tottenham side, was a big reason why that match finished level. Liverpool and back-up keepers, man.
Incidentally, the same referee from the last meeting – Jon Moss – will also work this one.
This fixture has finished level each of the three times that Klopp and Pochettino have met. Thankfully, I guess, that can't happen today, with extra-time and penalties to come if it's honors even after 90 minutes. No matter who plays, for either side, it's going to be close and contentious, hard-fought between two of the hardest-working sides in the league.
With Liverpool's improvement in the league this season – so far *knocks feverishly on wood* – anything in this competition is gravy atop the Sunday roast. Sure, we'll see the public "we're in it to win it" quotes which are both necessary and ubiquitous, but this competition doesn't have the "we need the matches, we need the time together" impetus it had last season.
It's extra. It's fun. Liverpool have been fun so far this season; still-trying-to-kill-us fun, but fun nonetheless. Let's see more fun, and see where it takes us.
Last four head-to-head:
1-1 (a) 08.27.16
1-1 (h) 04.02.16
0-0 (a) 10.17.15
3-2 Liverpool (h) 02.10.15
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-1 West Brom (h); 0-0 United (h); 2-1 Swansea (a)
Tottenham: 0-0 Bournemouth (a); 0-0 Leverkusen (a); 1-1 West Brom (a)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 3-0 Derby (a); 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Tottenham: 5-0 Gillingham (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Coutinho 5; Firmino, Mané, Milner 4; Lallana 3; Origi, Sturridge 2; Henderson, Klavan, Lovren 1
Tottenham: Son 5; Alli 3; Eriksen, Kane, Lamela 2; Alderweireld, Janssen, Onomah, Rose, Wanyama 1
Referee: Jon Moss
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Alexander-Arnold Matip Klavan Moreno
Grujic Stewart Wijnaldum
Ejaria
Sturridge Origi
Liverpool almost always play a stronger than expected XI in this competition. They did throughout last season, and they did in the first two fixtures this season. But I just can't see that happening tomorrow. Lallana and Wijnaldum are recently back from injury. Emre Can's still working his way to match fitness. Henderson's suspended. Nat King Clyne's played every available minute so far, while Coutinho, Firmino, Mané, and Milner aren't far behind.
So screw it. Let's see the kids. And, because it better suits who's available, let's see a 4-4-2 diamond.
Admittedly, I'd be a bit surprised with this many changes. But Tottenham are also expected to rotate almost its entire XI. Mignolet's certainly coming in. Klavan and Moreno need match time. Grujic, Stewart, and possibly Lucas can come into midfield. Both Alexander-Arnold and Ejaria have been mentioned as possible debutants. Wijnaldum seems the most likely front-six starter to keep his place, having played just 11 minutes against West Brom in his comeback from injury. And since I don't want to pick between Sturridge and Origi, hell, just play them both.
The 4-Diamond-2 worked just fine against Southampton in this competition last season. And, unlike in most other positions, Liverpool don't really have back-up wingers. Ojo's still injured, Woodburn's playing for the u23s. Lallana and Wijnaldum are capable, but usually more needed in midfield. All three of Liverpool's currently-reserve strikers – Ings, Origi, Sturridge – *can* play wide, but it's not something they thrive upon.
Not that form counts for much in a match where both sides will rotate heavily, but Tottenham have underwhelmed lately. Three straight draws, scoring just one goal in those three. But conversely, they've conceded just once in their last five matches. And, somehow, they sit just one point back of Liverpool. It helps when you're the lone unbeaten side left in the division, I guess. Draws are still better than losses.
If Tottenham rotate as heavily as Liverpool, as expected, there will probably be nine or ten changes. Something like Vorm; Trippier, Carter-Vickers, Wimmer, Davies; Dier; N'Koudou, Carroll, Winks, Onomah; Janssen. Maybe it's 4-2-3-1 with Carroll and Winks holding, and either Alli or Eriksen as the #10. Maybe it's Wanyama or Dembele at the base rather than Dier. Maybe youth striker Harrison starts up front rather than Janssen. Even if Spurs start all their kids, they'll still need one or two senior players to fill out the ranks. But like Liverpool, Tottenham's settled XI has played a lot of minutes lately, and Pochettino will want to spell his stars.
Of course, I can't forget that these sides met less than two months ago. And I can't forget that Liverpool should have done better than a draw. And I can't forget that Michel Vorm, who'll come into the Tottenham side, was a big reason why that match finished level. Liverpool and back-up keepers, man.
Incidentally, the same referee from the last meeting – Jon Moss – will also work this one.
This fixture has finished level each of the three times that Klopp and Pochettino have met. Thankfully, I guess, that can't happen today, with extra-time and penalties to come if it's honors even after 90 minutes. No matter who plays, for either side, it's going to be close and contentious, hard-fought between two of the hardest-working sides in the league.
With Liverpool's improvement in the league this season – so far *knocks feverishly on wood* – anything in this competition is gravy atop the Sunday roast. Sure, we'll see the public "we're in it to win it" quotes which are both necessary and ubiquitous, but this competition doesn't have the "we need the matches, we need the time together" impetus it had last season.
It's extra. It's fun. Liverpool have been fun so far this season; still-trying-to-kill-us fun, but fun nonetheless. Let's see more fun, and see where it takes us.
19 September 2016
Liverpool at Derby 09.20.16
2:45pm ET, not live on TV in the US. It's available on BeIN Sports Connect if you have access to that streaming service, maybe also LFCTV GO if you're a subscriber (it's unclear on that front but I wouldn't hold my breath), otherwise streams. I'm not even seeing any delayed showings on US TV.
Last four head-to-head:
2-1 Liverpool (a) 12.26.07
6-0 Liverpool (h) 09.01.07
2-0 Liverpool (h) 04.20.02
1-0 Liverpool (a) 12.01.01
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-1 Chelsea (a); 4-1 Leicester (h); 1-1 Tottenham (a)
Derby: 1-1 Bristol City (a); 0-1 Ipswich (h); 0-2 Newcastle (h)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Derby: 1-1 Carlisle aet [14-13 pens] (h); 1-0 Grimsby (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Firmino 3; Coutinho, Lallana, Mané, Sturridge 2; Henderson, Lovren, Milner, Origi 1
Derby: Anya, Bent, Forsyth, Keogh 1
Referee: Graham Scott
Guess at a line-up:
Karius
Clyne Matip Lovren Moreno
Henderson Can Grujic
Mané Origi Firmino
As much as we'd like to see some changes, a rare start for players we've not seen enough of this season, tomorrow's XI will probably be much the same as the ones which have come before. Liverpool played a strong XI in the last round at Burton, and Liverpool will almost certainly play a strong XI tomorrow at Derby.
The League Cup was important for Liverpool last season, the first sustained statement of intent under Klopp by reaching the final, only to lose on penalties. I assume it will continue to be so, especially without European competition this season.
There will, of course, be a couple of alterations. This seems the perfect time for Loris Karius' debut, healthy after a broken hand, having been on the bench for the last two matches. Hopefully Emre Can's available as well, but even if not, Liverpool have another possibility in Kevin Stewart. Origi will probably start up front, as he did in the last round. Maybe Moreno's released from his cage? And that's probably about it.
I'm guessing the most change comes in midfield. Lallana's run miles upon miles so far this season, while Wijnaldum's not far behind, looking completely spent by the end of Saturday's match. Maybe Henderson joins them as well; Liverpool do have three potential replacements in Can, Stewart, and/or Grujic.
But otherwise, expect to see Firmino back, expect to see Mané keep his place, expect to see a fairly similar back four considering Matip and Lovren need games together and there really isn't much in the way of a replacement for Clyne. Expect Liverpool to pretty much be Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Derby County have scored just two league goals in eight Championship games. Yeah. Two. And two in the two League Cup matches. Liverpool scored more goals in the previous round than Derby has all season. And, having watched Liverpool for multiple years, I can't decide whether that's a good or bad thing. Derby hadn't scored in a league match since August 16th until Ikechi Anya gave them a 1-0 lead just before halftime on Saturday, on pace to win in 90 minutes for the first time in a month. And then they went and screwed it up by conceding an injury-time equalizer. Poor Derby.
But, to be fair and despite that injury time equalizer, they aren't allowing many goals either, having given up two goals in a match just twice: at Barnsley and against Newcastle. They've kept four clean sheets in all competitions, which is three more than Liverpool have.
There are familiar faces in the Derby squad. Former Liverpool players Scott Carson and Tom Ince. Former Liverpool target Will Hughes. James Wilson, on loan from Manchester United. Players who have caused Liverpool trouble in the past: Andreas Weimann (recently back from injury), while at Aston Villa; Bradley Johnson, while at Norwich; and Darren Bent, while at around half the clubs in the country.
Unsurprisingly, having seen little of Derby this season, my best guess at an XI is similar to that which they've used in the last two matches. But there will have to at least a couple of changes with both Vydra and Anya cup-tied. So, let's guess Carson; Christie, Keogh, Pearce, Olsson; Butterfield, Hughes, Bryson, Ince; Bent, Wilson. Maybe Johnson, who hasn't played in a month, comes into midfield. It'll be either Weimann or Bent up front, and maybe both if James Wilson continues to struggle with a minor injury.
Regardless, Derby will probably play 4-4-2, Derby will probably look to counter, Derby will probably defend in two resolute bands of four. And it'll be up to Liverpool to break them down. It's been slowly getting better, but there have been bumps (specifically, bumps named Burnley), and we're still not convinced Liverpool can consistently break defensive sides down.
Despite Derby's record, it'll be a good test of the side. Liverpool needing to break down an unfancied team that's fairly stingy in defense, Derby with absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
It's another chance to prove Liverpool are getting cleverer in these kind of matches. It's another chance to continue to coalesce as a side. And it's another chance to do well in a competition Liverpool clearly want to do well it.
Last four head-to-head:
2-1 Liverpool (a) 12.26.07
6-0 Liverpool (h) 09.01.07
2-0 Liverpool (h) 04.20.02
1-0 Liverpool (a) 12.01.01
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 2-1 Chelsea (a); 4-1 Leicester (h); 1-1 Tottenham (a)
Derby: 1-1 Bristol City (a); 0-1 Ipswich (h); 0-2 Newcastle (h)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: 5-0 Burton Albion (a)
Derby: 1-1 Carlisle aet [14-13 pens] (h); 1-0 Grimsby (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Firmino 3; Coutinho, Lallana, Mané, Sturridge 2; Henderson, Lovren, Milner, Origi 1
Derby: Anya, Bent, Forsyth, Keogh 1
Referee: Graham Scott
Guess at a line-up:
Karius
Clyne Matip Lovren Moreno
Henderson Can Grujic
Mané Origi Firmino
As much as we'd like to see some changes, a rare start for players we've not seen enough of this season, tomorrow's XI will probably be much the same as the ones which have come before. Liverpool played a strong XI in the last round at Burton, and Liverpool will almost certainly play a strong XI tomorrow at Derby.
The League Cup was important for Liverpool last season, the first sustained statement of intent under Klopp by reaching the final, only to lose on penalties. I assume it will continue to be so, especially without European competition this season.
There will, of course, be a couple of alterations. This seems the perfect time for Loris Karius' debut, healthy after a broken hand, having been on the bench for the last two matches. Hopefully Emre Can's available as well, but even if not, Liverpool have another possibility in Kevin Stewart. Origi will probably start up front, as he did in the last round. Maybe Moreno's released from his cage? And that's probably about it.
I'm guessing the most change comes in midfield. Lallana's run miles upon miles so far this season, while Wijnaldum's not far behind, looking completely spent by the end of Saturday's match. Maybe Henderson joins them as well; Liverpool do have three potential replacements in Can, Stewart, and/or Grujic.
But otherwise, expect to see Firmino back, expect to see Mané keep his place, expect to see a fairly similar back four considering Matip and Lovren need games together and there really isn't much in the way of a replacement for Clyne. Expect Liverpool to pretty much be Liverpool.
Meanwhile, Derby County have scored just two league goals in eight Championship games. Yeah. Two. And two in the two League Cup matches. Liverpool scored more goals in the previous round than Derby has all season. And, having watched Liverpool for multiple years, I can't decide whether that's a good or bad thing. Derby hadn't scored in a league match since August 16th until Ikechi Anya gave them a 1-0 lead just before halftime on Saturday, on pace to win in 90 minutes for the first time in a month. And then they went and screwed it up by conceding an injury-time equalizer. Poor Derby.
But, to be fair and despite that injury time equalizer, they aren't allowing many goals either, having given up two goals in a match just twice: at Barnsley and against Newcastle. They've kept four clean sheets in all competitions, which is three more than Liverpool have.
There are familiar faces in the Derby squad. Former Liverpool players Scott Carson and Tom Ince. Former Liverpool target Will Hughes. James Wilson, on loan from Manchester United. Players who have caused Liverpool trouble in the past: Andreas Weimann (recently back from injury), while at Aston Villa; Bradley Johnson, while at Norwich; and Darren Bent, while at around half the clubs in the country.
Unsurprisingly, having seen little of Derby this season, my best guess at an XI is similar to that which they've used in the last two matches. But there will have to at least a couple of changes with both Vydra and Anya cup-tied. So, let's guess Carson; Christie, Keogh, Pearce, Olsson; Butterfield, Hughes, Bryson, Ince; Bent, Wilson. Maybe Johnson, who hasn't played in a month, comes into midfield. It'll be either Weimann or Bent up front, and maybe both if James Wilson continues to struggle with a minor injury.
Regardless, Derby will probably play 4-4-2, Derby will probably look to counter, Derby will probably defend in two resolute bands of four. And it'll be up to Liverpool to break them down. It's been slowly getting better, but there have been bumps (specifically, bumps named Burnley), and we're still not convinced Liverpool can consistently break defensive sides down.
Despite Derby's record, it'll be a good test of the side. Liverpool needing to break down an unfancied team that's fairly stingy in defense, Derby with absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain.
It's another chance to prove Liverpool are getting cleverer in these kind of matches. It's another chance to continue to coalesce as a side. And it's another chance to do well in a competition Liverpool clearly want to do well it.
29 February 2016
Visualized: Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City aet [1-3 pens]
Previous Match Infographics: Augsburg (h), Augsburg (a), Aston Villa (a), Sunderland (h), Leicester (a), Stoke [League Cup] (h), Norwich (a), Manchester Utd (h), Arsenal (h), Stoke [League Cup] (a), West Ham (a), Sunderland (a), Leicester (h), Watford (a), West Brom (h), Sion (a), Newcastle (a), Swansea (h), Bordeaux (h), City (a), Crystal Palace (h), Rubin Kazan (a), Chelsea (a), Southampton (h), Rubin Kazan (h), Tottenham (a), Everton (a), FC Sion (h), Aston Villa (h), Norwich (h), Bordeaux (a), Manchester United (a), West Ham (h), Arsenal (a), Bournemouth (h), Stoke (a)
All data from WhoScored.
Once again, give Liverpool the ball and wait them out. Manchester City definitely learned from the last meeting between these sides.
Liverpool had a shade under 58% possession against City yesterday (although it was 61.1% after 90 minutes), but the larger point still stands. If you sit deep, stay defensively organized, let Liverpool control possession, and congest space in your defensive half, chances are you'll succeed. If you attack Liverpool, giving them space to counter, giving them opportunities to press midfielders and defenders, Liverpool are more likely to score and much more likely to win.
Sitting deep against Liverpool denies space to the sometimes-tricky diminutive attacking midfielders, and doesn't allow strikers like Sturridge to run beyond the defenders. Liverpool's midfield – Can, Henderson, sometimes Lucas and Milner – aren't especially good at creating chances through the middle. Neither Lallana nor Coutinho make runs for throughballs, like that which Sturridge created for Milner in the 56th minute yesterday but Milner put wide.
And when the opposition can counter quickly, it exposes Liverpool's back-line and error-prone goalkeeper. City's goal was a good example: Sterling winning the aerial duel from Mignolet's goal kick, a quick cross-field pass to Agüero one-on-one with Lucas, Fernandinho on the overlap into space where Moreno wasn't, capped off by Mignolet failing to stop a very stoppable shot. But Agüero's chances in the 23rd and 48th minutes, Sterling's chances in the 60th and 80th minutes, and the non-penalty in the 63rd are even better examples.
Comparing where each sides' defensive actions took place in November and yesterday is telling. Liverpool's were much, much deeper than City's at the Etihad and compared to yesterday, and not just because Liverpool's fast start in the last meeting allowed them to sit deep. They denied space in midfield and defense from the opening whistle, and then more so once they took a one-goal lead, after which City quickly grew into the game before Liverpool's second and third.
So what's the solution? Excellent question; I wish I knew. Against different deep defenses, this side's tried pressing more fervently, tried using more crosses, tried using Benteke, tried overloading the middle with midfielders (both attacking and central), tried both higher and deeper defensive lines. Liverpool's switch to two strikers and a diamond midfield late on yesterday seems a definite possibility, but that improvement was also aided by an increasingly frantic end-of-game situation, where space arose because of tiring City legs as well as Liverpool's different formation and personnel. Firmino and Sturridge have pretty much played as two strikers in the three previous matches anyway, succeeding against an absolutely terrible Aston Villa but nowhere near as impressive in both legs against Augsburg.
I suspect it's mostly a matter of more training, more acclimatization to Klopp's tactics, more match time for returning players, and one or two new attackers in the summer. Now that this chance for success is gone, and Liverpool seem certain to finish somewhere between 6th and 8th in the league, it seems time for more experimentation: maybe more of the diamond midfield, more Flanagan and or Brad Smith at full-back, more Ibe, etc., at least in the league, with all of Liverpool's eggs now in the European basket.
But, as said yesterday, even despite these recurring issues in both attack and defense, Liverpool were a penalty lottery away from winning a trophy against the most expensively assembled side in England. Liverpool were a goalkeeper error away from somehow keeping a clean sheet with Lucas and Kolo Toure as center-backs – although mention must also be made of four outstanding goalkeeper saves to go along with said error, perfectly encapsulating Mignolet's peaks and valleys. Liverpool stayed close to a side that's more cohesive, more experienced, and more settled, featuring the most dangerous striker in the league and which both out-shot Liverpool and nearly doubled Liverpool's xG. This Liverpool side is still adjusting to Klopp's tactics (and the return of both Sturridge and Coutinho, who clearly make the side better but also remain rusty) and isn't yet close to being built in Klopp's image.
A trophy would have put some shine on what's been a fairly disappointing and dismal season, as it did in 2011-12. Nonetheless, Liverpool still seem in a much better possession than they were after that season and than they were a year ago.
All data from WhoScored.
Once again, give Liverpool the ball and wait them out. Manchester City definitely learned from the last meeting between these sides.
Liverpool had a shade under 58% possession against City yesterday (although it was 61.1% after 90 minutes), but the larger point still stands. If you sit deep, stay defensively organized, let Liverpool control possession, and congest space in your defensive half, chances are you'll succeed. If you attack Liverpool, giving them space to counter, giving them opportunities to press midfielders and defenders, Liverpool are more likely to score and much more likely to win.
Sitting deep against Liverpool denies space to the sometimes-tricky diminutive attacking midfielders, and doesn't allow strikers like Sturridge to run beyond the defenders. Liverpool's midfield – Can, Henderson, sometimes Lucas and Milner – aren't especially good at creating chances through the middle. Neither Lallana nor Coutinho make runs for throughballs, like that which Sturridge created for Milner in the 56th minute yesterday but Milner put wide.
And when the opposition can counter quickly, it exposes Liverpool's back-line and error-prone goalkeeper. City's goal was a good example: Sterling winning the aerial duel from Mignolet's goal kick, a quick cross-field pass to Agüero one-on-one with Lucas, Fernandinho on the overlap into space where Moreno wasn't, capped off by Mignolet failing to stop a very stoppable shot. But Agüero's chances in the 23rd and 48th minutes, Sterling's chances in the 60th and 80th minutes, and the non-penalty in the 63rd are even better examples.
Comparing where each sides' defensive actions took place in November and yesterday is telling. Liverpool's were much, much deeper than City's at the Etihad and compared to yesterday, and not just because Liverpool's fast start in the last meeting allowed them to sit deep. They denied space in midfield and defense from the opening whistle, and then more so once they took a one-goal lead, after which City quickly grew into the game before Liverpool's second and third.
So what's the solution? Excellent question; I wish I knew. Against different deep defenses, this side's tried pressing more fervently, tried using more crosses, tried using Benteke, tried overloading the middle with midfielders (both attacking and central), tried both higher and deeper defensive lines. Liverpool's switch to two strikers and a diamond midfield late on yesterday seems a definite possibility, but that improvement was also aided by an increasingly frantic end-of-game situation, where space arose because of tiring City legs as well as Liverpool's different formation and personnel. Firmino and Sturridge have pretty much played as two strikers in the three previous matches anyway, succeeding against an absolutely terrible Aston Villa but nowhere near as impressive in both legs against Augsburg.
I suspect it's mostly a matter of more training, more acclimatization to Klopp's tactics, more match time for returning players, and one or two new attackers in the summer. Now that this chance for success is gone, and Liverpool seem certain to finish somewhere between 6th and 8th in the league, it seems time for more experimentation: maybe more of the diamond midfield, more Flanagan and or Brad Smith at full-back, more Ibe, etc., at least in the league, with all of Liverpool's eggs now in the European basket.
But, as said yesterday, even despite these recurring issues in both attack and defense, Liverpool were a penalty lottery away from winning a trophy against the most expensively assembled side in England. Liverpool were a goalkeeper error away from somehow keeping a clean sheet with Lucas and Kolo Toure as center-backs – although mention must also be made of four outstanding goalkeeper saves to go along with said error, perfectly encapsulating Mignolet's peaks and valleys. Liverpool stayed close to a side that's more cohesive, more experienced, and more settled, featuring the most dangerous striker in the league and which both out-shot Liverpool and nearly doubled Liverpool's xG. This Liverpool side is still adjusting to Klopp's tactics (and the return of both Sturridge and Coutinho, who clearly make the side better but also remain rusty) and isn't yet close to being built in Klopp's image.
A trophy would have put some shine on what's been a fairly disappointing and dismal season, as it did in 2011-12. Nonetheless, Liverpool still seem in a much better possession than they were after that season and than they were a year ago.
28 February 2016
Liverpool 1-1 Manchester City aet
Manchester City win 3-1 on penalties 
Goals:
Fernandinho 49'
Coutinho 83'
It's a special talent of Liverpool's to frustrate and disappoint you, then give you hope, and then crush your soul into infinitesimal pieces.
That said, it's also a fair result. Manchester City were the better side, Manchester City had the better chances, Manchester City's defensive organization was superb. Manchester City should have wrapped it up long before Coutinho's late equalizer, except Sterling missed two excellent chances and somehow Moreno wasn't called for a penalty.
Of course, that doesn't make it any easier to stomach.
The late equalizer – and the difference that Lallana and Origi made off the bench – was impressive, but Liverpool were lucky to get it to extra time and penalties. And after beating Carlisle and Stoke on spot-kicks in this competition, Liverpool's luck ran out. Both Mignolet and Caballero guessed right on all but Emre Can's Panenka penalty, but Caballero got his hand to Liverpool's less-than-perfectly hit attempts from Lucas, Coutinho, and Lallana. Mignolet couldn't; Navas, Agüero, and Toure's efforts were just too good.
This is how far Liverpool still have to go. They're close, closer than their record or our usual criticism suggests, but nowhere near close enough.
For 48 minutes, cup final is cup final is cup final: closely fought with chances few and far between. Liverpool had the majority of possession, but only a couple of blocked shots and a mis-hit volley to show for it. I've never seen City get into a deep defensive position so quickly, completely abandoning any attempt at a high line. They clearly remembered November at the Etihad.
Meanwhile, City had the best chance, Agüero behind Liverpool's center-backs on a long ball from defense, amazingly saved onto the post by Mignolet, and a handful of set plays that Liverpool competently dealt with. That Sergio Agüero's shot was the only shot on-target in the first half. Cup finals.
But then, just after halftime, Fernandinho's goal happened, exploiting the space behind Moreno, his wide-box shot somehow under and through Liverpool's goalkeeper. From hero to villain, The Simon Mignolet Story.
From there, Liverpool had to come out. And, as sadly usual, struggled to do so. Liverpool's equalizer was Liverpool's first shot on-target. Before Lallana replaced Moreno and Origi replaced Firmino, in the 72nd and 80th minutes respectively, Liverpool had exactly one half-chance: a Sturridge throughball for Milner, mishit high and wide.
I've no idea how City failed to add a second, routinely exposing Liverpool on the counter-attack with Liverpool needing to chase the game. Sterling screwed two Danger Zone chances wide. Moreno stuck out a leg to trip Agüero in the box but somehow wasn't whistled by Michael Oliver. A smothered shot from distance, a free kick narrowly over.
But Liverpool somehow struck back. The substitutes replaced disappointing players and made an immediate impact. The switch to a 4-Diamond-2 gave Liverpool more control in midfield, with Milner adding better support from left-back. After a spell of possession, Coutinho, Origi, Henderson, and Clyne somehow forced the ball across the top of City's box, aided by a couple of fortunate bounces, eventually out to Sturridge wide on the right, his center finding Lallana at the far post. The substitute's shot hit the post, but ricocheted straight to Coutinho on the penalty spot, squeezing his between two defenders and past Caballero.
A little bit – well, more than a little bit – of luck and multiple players getting into dangerous positions. Getting into the penalty box. And something finally happens.
And then the world went mad. Two miraculous Mignolet saves in the final five minutes, denying both Fernandinho and Toure from close range. Then another, on Agüero, who somehow got in behind Lucas and Toure, in extra time. Origi could have won it with a point-blank header in the 110th minute, wonderfully denied by Caballero. Milner incredibly attempted a back-pass header straight to Agüero, who volleyed over. A UFC match nearly broke out between Lallana and Yaya Toure, after Lallana's bad foul, then Toure's horrific foul, then Toure attempting to piledrive an opponent half his size. Four City set plays in the final two minutes, the last with Fernandinho's almost-free header in the 121st minute directed wide rather than on-target.
Sports are baffling and hysterical and perpetually amazing.
And then penalties happened. Liverpool's 14 of 17 record on spot-kicks meant nothing, and Manchester City win their fourth trophy since Liverpool last won any.
Sports are also the worst.
So here we are. Another close but not close enough performance, another disappointment, in what was almost certainly Liverpool's best chance to avoid disappointment this season. Another match where Liverpool try hard but sputter and break down upon reaching the final third, another match where Liverpool concede because of a goalkeeper error.
But it's still impressive that Liverpool got here after all that's happened this season. The unbalanced squad, the injuries, the managerial change. That Liverpool got to penalties after the first 75 minutes of that match. That Liverpool got that close with Kolo Toure and Lucas as center-backs for 100 minutes of a cup final thanks to Sakho's early concussion – the latter arguably man of the match – with Sturridge clearly less than fit after his consecutive starts, with Firmino and Moreno massively disappointing. That Liverpool were the stronger and better side in extra time shows the strides Liverpool's fitness, at the very least, has made under the new manager.
It's both worse than it seems and better than it seems. And despite the massive disappointment, it still seems as if getting better rather than worse.
Goals:
Fernandinho 49'
Coutinho 83'
It's a special talent of Liverpool's to frustrate and disappoint you, then give you hope, and then crush your soul into infinitesimal pieces.
That said, it's also a fair result. Manchester City were the better side, Manchester City had the better chances, Manchester City's defensive organization was superb. Manchester City should have wrapped it up long before Coutinho's late equalizer, except Sterling missed two excellent chances and somehow Moreno wasn't called for a penalty.
Of course, that doesn't make it any easier to stomach.
The late equalizer – and the difference that Lallana and Origi made off the bench – was impressive, but Liverpool were lucky to get it to extra time and penalties. And after beating Carlisle and Stoke on spot-kicks in this competition, Liverpool's luck ran out. Both Mignolet and Caballero guessed right on all but Emre Can's Panenka penalty, but Caballero got his hand to Liverpool's less-than-perfectly hit attempts from Lucas, Coutinho, and Lallana. Mignolet couldn't; Navas, Agüero, and Toure's efforts were just too good.
This is how far Liverpool still have to go. They're close, closer than their record or our usual criticism suggests, but nowhere near close enough.
For 48 minutes, cup final is cup final is cup final: closely fought with chances few and far between. Liverpool had the majority of possession, but only a couple of blocked shots and a mis-hit volley to show for it. I've never seen City get into a deep defensive position so quickly, completely abandoning any attempt at a high line. They clearly remembered November at the Etihad.
Meanwhile, City had the best chance, Agüero behind Liverpool's center-backs on a long ball from defense, amazingly saved onto the post by Mignolet, and a handful of set plays that Liverpool competently dealt with. That Sergio Agüero's shot was the only shot on-target in the first half. Cup finals.
But then, just after halftime, Fernandinho's goal happened, exploiting the space behind Moreno, his wide-box shot somehow under and through Liverpool's goalkeeper. From hero to villain, The Simon Mignolet Story.
From there, Liverpool had to come out. And, as sadly usual, struggled to do so. Liverpool's equalizer was Liverpool's first shot on-target. Before Lallana replaced Moreno and Origi replaced Firmino, in the 72nd and 80th minutes respectively, Liverpool had exactly one half-chance: a Sturridge throughball for Milner, mishit high and wide.
I've no idea how City failed to add a second, routinely exposing Liverpool on the counter-attack with Liverpool needing to chase the game. Sterling screwed two Danger Zone chances wide. Moreno stuck out a leg to trip Agüero in the box but somehow wasn't whistled by Michael Oliver. A smothered shot from distance, a free kick narrowly over.
But Liverpool somehow struck back. The substitutes replaced disappointing players and made an immediate impact. The switch to a 4-Diamond-2 gave Liverpool more control in midfield, with Milner adding better support from left-back. After a spell of possession, Coutinho, Origi, Henderson, and Clyne somehow forced the ball across the top of City's box, aided by a couple of fortunate bounces, eventually out to Sturridge wide on the right, his center finding Lallana at the far post. The substitute's shot hit the post, but ricocheted straight to Coutinho on the penalty spot, squeezing his between two defenders and past Caballero.
A little bit – well, more than a little bit – of luck and multiple players getting into dangerous positions. Getting into the penalty box. And something finally happens.
And then the world went mad. Two miraculous Mignolet saves in the final five minutes, denying both Fernandinho and Toure from close range. Then another, on Agüero, who somehow got in behind Lucas and Toure, in extra time. Origi could have won it with a point-blank header in the 110th minute, wonderfully denied by Caballero. Milner incredibly attempted a back-pass header straight to Agüero, who volleyed over. A UFC match nearly broke out between Lallana and Yaya Toure, after Lallana's bad foul, then Toure's horrific foul, then Toure attempting to piledrive an opponent half his size. Four City set plays in the final two minutes, the last with Fernandinho's almost-free header in the 121st minute directed wide rather than on-target.
Sports are baffling and hysterical and perpetually amazing.
And then penalties happened. Liverpool's 14 of 17 record on spot-kicks meant nothing, and Manchester City win their fourth trophy since Liverpool last won any.
Sports are also the worst.
So here we are. Another close but not close enough performance, another disappointment, in what was almost certainly Liverpool's best chance to avoid disappointment this season. Another match where Liverpool try hard but sputter and break down upon reaching the final third, another match where Liverpool concede because of a goalkeeper error.
But it's still impressive that Liverpool got here after all that's happened this season. The unbalanced squad, the injuries, the managerial change. That Liverpool got to penalties after the first 75 minutes of that match. That Liverpool got that close with Kolo Toure and Lucas as center-backs for 100 minutes of a cup final thanks to Sakho's early concussion – the latter arguably man of the match – with Sturridge clearly less than fit after his consecutive starts, with Firmino and Moreno massively disappointing. That Liverpool were the stronger and better side in extra time shows the strides Liverpool's fitness, at the very least, has made under the new manager.
It's both worse than it seems and better than it seems. And despite the massive disappointment, it still seems as if getting better rather than worse.
27 February 2016
Liverpool v Manchester City 02.28.16
11:30am ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
4-1 Liverpool (a) 11.21.15
2-1 Liverpool (h) 03.01.15
1-3 City (a) 08.25.14
3-2 Liverpool (h) 04.13.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Augsburg (h); 0-0 Augsburg (a); 6-0 Villa (a)
City: 3-1 Dynamo Kiev (a); 1-5 Chelsea (a); 1-2 Tottenham (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 0-1 Stoke aet [6-5 pens], 1-0 Stoke (a); 6-1 Southampton (a); 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
City: 3-1 Everton (h), 1-2 Everton (a); 4-1 Hull (h); 5-1 Palace (h); 4-1 Sunderland (h)
Goalscorers (League Cup):
Liverpool: Origi 3; Ibe, Sturridge 2; Clyne, Ings 1
City: de Bruyne 5; Agüero, Bony, Iheanacho 2; Fernandinho, Garcia, Navas, Sterling, Toure 1
Referee: Michael Oliver
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Clyne Toure Sakho Moreno
Henderson Can
Milner Firmino Coutinho
Sturridge
We're pretty sure what Liverpool's XI is going to be: the same as the last few matches, with Kolo Toure (or Lovren or Skrtel, if fit) coming into defense in place of Lucas.
We're pretty sure what Liverpool need to do to succeed: actually convert its chances, as they did when facing City in November. Over the last few weeks, Liverpool have defended, pressed, possessed, and created chances. But except for the rout at all-but-already-relegated Aston Villa, Liverpool simply haven't scored.
Of course, scoring goals is easier said than done. Or Liverpool would have solved this problem ages ago.
Maybe the fit-again Lallana replaces Milner, maybe Lucas comes into midfield in the hopes of adding more defensive protection against City's firepower. But I doubt it. We've seen what Liverpool wants to do now that almost everyone's fit again. We've almost, but not quite, seen what Liverpool's capable of. Because we haven't seen Liverpool take advantage of the recent improvements in attack.
When Liverpool actually score goals, Liverpool are actually pretty good. But when they don't, look out – often either a frustrating Sisyphean struggle or a Yakety Sax hot mess.
Amazingly, Liverpool are up against a side that's almost as inconsistent as themselves.
Manchester City lost three straight before their comprehensive 3-1 win at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. It was the first time City have lost three consecutive matches since October-November 2010. There's a bit of fluke involved – ;a contentious penalty decision v Tottenham, a very different and very inexperienced XI in the FA Cup loss at Chelsea – but it also demonstrates Manchester City's capability to disappoint.
Sure, they've had injury issues this season. They've struggled to gel at times. In places, it's an aging and unbalanced squad. But you look at their roster, and you wonder how they're fourth, six points off the league leaders. You wonder how they're not running away with the league. You wonder how that attack hasn't already scored a billion goals.
I know their defense is wacky when Kompany's not involved, and he's missed a lot of time; it's probably not coincidence that Liverpool's 4-1 win at City came with Kompany absent. Agüero and de Bruyne, two crucial players in attack, have missed a lot of time as well. It's still confusing. They're still confusing. But Kompany's back for this, and Agüero's available for this, and City are coming off an impressive 3-1 away win in the Champions League to put them on course to make the quarterfinals for the first time ever. Because of course.
Throughout the season, Pellegrini's experimented with a 4-3-3 that looks more like a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2, with a central midfielder ostensibly on the flanks. Usually, it's been Fabian Delph. Usually, it's less than impressive. But at Kiev, Fernandinho filled that role, and filled it fairly well, adding protection when Toure or Fernando got forward but also linking up with other attackers.
We may see similar tomorrow. That XI, the same as at Kiev, would be Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Toure, Fernando; Silva, Sterling, Fernandinho; Agüero. Or we may see a more orthodox 4-3-3 in an attempt to prevent Liverpool from overrunning central spaces. Or Navas returning to the side in place of Fernando or Fernandinho or even Sterling. City could make changes at both full-back positions, with Zabaleta and Kolarov coming into the side. Caballero's started every domestic cup match in the last two seasons, but I find it hard to believe Joe Hart won't start tomorrow.
City, despite their injury issues – Navas, Bony, and Mangala were back in training after the trip to Kiev, but Delph, de Bruyne, and Nasri remain absent – have options. It's what they do, or don't do, with those options. Just like Liverpool.
So, it's nearly impossible to predict what'll happen tomorrow, not that I've got any great record at predictions anyway. Maybe Liverpool actually score early and often, and we get that wonderful November trip to the Etihad again. Maybe Liverpool control proceedings but sputter in the final third, and we get a replica of 0-1 v Manchester United. Maybe City hit peak City and run riot, something they've done less than usual this season but still somehow always seem capable of doing. Maybe everybody disappoints and it's another damp squib at Wembley. Anything can happen, and to the victor goes the glory.
Just like a cup final should be.
Last four head-to-head:
4-1 Liverpool (a) 11.21.15
2-1 Liverpool (h) 03.01.15
1-3 City (a) 08.25.14
3-2 Liverpool (h) 04.13.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Augsburg (h); 0-0 Augsburg (a); 6-0 Villa (a)
City: 3-1 Dynamo Kiev (a); 1-5 Chelsea (a); 1-2 Tottenham (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 0-1 Stoke aet [6-5 pens], 1-0 Stoke (a); 6-1 Southampton (a); 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
City: 3-1 Everton (h), 1-2 Everton (a); 4-1 Hull (h); 5-1 Palace (h); 4-1 Sunderland (h)
Goalscorers (League Cup):
Liverpool: Origi 3; Ibe, Sturridge 2; Clyne, Ings 1
City: de Bruyne 5; Agüero, Bony, Iheanacho 2; Fernandinho, Garcia, Navas, Sterling, Toure 1
Referee: Michael Oliver
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Clyne Toure Sakho Moreno
Henderson Can
Milner Firmino Coutinho
Sturridge
We're pretty sure what Liverpool's XI is going to be: the same as the last few matches, with Kolo Toure (or Lovren or Skrtel, if fit) coming into defense in place of Lucas.
We're pretty sure what Liverpool need to do to succeed: actually convert its chances, as they did when facing City in November. Over the last few weeks, Liverpool have defended, pressed, possessed, and created chances. But except for the rout at all-but-already-relegated Aston Villa, Liverpool simply haven't scored.
Of course, scoring goals is easier said than done. Or Liverpool would have solved this problem ages ago.
Maybe the fit-again Lallana replaces Milner, maybe Lucas comes into midfield in the hopes of adding more defensive protection against City's firepower. But I doubt it. We've seen what Liverpool wants to do now that almost everyone's fit again. We've almost, but not quite, seen what Liverpool's capable of. Because we haven't seen Liverpool take advantage of the recent improvements in attack.
When Liverpool actually score goals, Liverpool are actually pretty good. But when they don't, look out – often either a frustrating Sisyphean struggle or a Yakety Sax hot mess.
Amazingly, Liverpool are up against a side that's almost as inconsistent as themselves.
Manchester City lost three straight before their comprehensive 3-1 win at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday. It was the first time City have lost three consecutive matches since October-November 2010. There's a bit of fluke involved – ;a contentious penalty decision v Tottenham, a very different and very inexperienced XI in the FA Cup loss at Chelsea – but it also demonstrates Manchester City's capability to disappoint.
Sure, they've had injury issues this season. They've struggled to gel at times. In places, it's an aging and unbalanced squad. But you look at their roster, and you wonder how they're fourth, six points off the league leaders. You wonder how they're not running away with the league. You wonder how that attack hasn't already scored a billion goals.
I know their defense is wacky when Kompany's not involved, and he's missed a lot of time; it's probably not coincidence that Liverpool's 4-1 win at City came with Kompany absent. Agüero and de Bruyne, two crucial players in attack, have missed a lot of time as well. It's still confusing. They're still confusing. But Kompany's back for this, and Agüero's available for this, and City are coming off an impressive 3-1 away win in the Champions League to put them on course to make the quarterfinals for the first time ever. Because of course.
Throughout the season, Pellegrini's experimented with a 4-3-3 that looks more like a 4-2-3-1/4-4-2, with a central midfielder ostensibly on the flanks. Usually, it's been Fabian Delph. Usually, it's less than impressive. But at Kiev, Fernandinho filled that role, and filled it fairly well, adding protection when Toure or Fernando got forward but also linking up with other attackers.
We may see similar tomorrow. That XI, the same as at Kiev, would be Hart; Sagna, Kompany, Otamendi, Clichy; Toure, Fernando; Silva, Sterling, Fernandinho; Agüero. Or we may see a more orthodox 4-3-3 in an attempt to prevent Liverpool from overrunning central spaces. Or Navas returning to the side in place of Fernando or Fernandinho or even Sterling. City could make changes at both full-back positions, with Zabaleta and Kolarov coming into the side. Caballero's started every domestic cup match in the last two seasons, but I find it hard to believe Joe Hart won't start tomorrow.
City, despite their injury issues – Navas, Bony, and Mangala were back in training after the trip to Kiev, but Delph, de Bruyne, and Nasri remain absent – have options. It's what they do, or don't do, with those options. Just like Liverpool.
So, it's nearly impossible to predict what'll happen tomorrow, not that I've got any great record at predictions anyway. Maybe Liverpool actually score early and often, and we get that wonderful November trip to the Etihad again. Maybe Liverpool control proceedings but sputter in the final third, and we get a replica of 0-1 v Manchester United. Maybe City hit peak City and run riot, something they've done less than usual this season but still somehow always seem capable of doing. Maybe everybody disappoints and it's another damp squib at Wembley. Anything can happen, and to the victor goes the glory.
Just like a cup final should be.
27 January 2016
Visualized: Liverpool 0-1 Stoke aet [6-5 pens]
Previous Match Infographics: Norwich (a), Manchester Utd (h), Arsenal (h), Stoke [League Cup] (a), West Ham (a), Sunderland (a), Leicester (h), Watford (a), West Brom (h), Sion (a), Newcastle (a), Swansea (h), Bordeaux (h), City (a), Crystal Palace (h), Rubin Kazan (a), Chelsea (a), Southampton (h), Rubin Kazan (h), Tottenham (a), Everton (a), FC Sion (h), Aston Villa (h), Norwich (h), Bordeaux (a), Manchester United (a), West Ham (h), Arsenal (a), Bournemouth (h), Stoke (a)
Now that we're at the semi-final stage, WhoScored is finally collecting stats in this competition.
(Nota Bene: Here's the formation diagram usually included in match reviews.)
Two sides that fully canceled each other out. Or, should have, had one of the linesman actually done his job. A match that was high in intensity and low on quality. A match that featured an absolutely garbage attacking performance from both sides, although some credit is due to the defenses, with Liverpool's attacking issues both familiar and frustrating.
Who cares? Liverpool are going to Wembley.
Liverpool were Liverpool, Stoke were Stoke (and more Tony Pulis' Stoke than Mark Hughes' Stoke), and a second leg semi-final was a second leg semi-final. Hard-fought and closely-matched, and not especially fun to watch, for either supporters or neutrals.
Almost the same side which scored five on Saturday probably wouldn't have scored in this match were it still going. Just 12 shots in 120 minutes. Just three inside the box. Just one in the Danger Zone. Just two on-target, both from Roberto Firmino. Just one marginally threatening: one of those Firmino shots, from Henderson's layoff on a set play, saved onto the post by Butland.
That's not good. That's really, really not good. Liverpool's attack hasn't been good in most matches under Klopp (or Rodgers, for that matter), but I'm still struggling to think of a less impressive performance. Maybe the 0-2 loss at Newcastle, where Liverpool took just 10 shots and put just one on-target – Lovren in the last minute – but even then, half of those shots came inside the box and Liverpool had a perfectly good (in fact, great) goal from Moreno wrongly ruled out.
It wasn't Liverpool's finishing which nearly cost the side, as is more often the case, but Liverpool's ability to create, Liverpool's decision-making, and Liverpool's shot selection. Stoke defended deep and defended well, but nine of 12 shots coming from outside the box – including all four before Stoke's goal – also demonstrates Liverpool's priority on defense. Or, at least, lack of prioritizing the attack. Take the speculative shot and maybe you'll get lucky, but more importantly, make sure you're in place to press then get back and defend.
Still, that wouldn't have mattered had the linesman done his job just before halftime. Sure, Liverpool still conceded from the first shot on-target – yes, again – but otherwise, it was a reasonably competent display in defense. Liverpool coped with Stoke's set plays, Liverpool coped with Stoke's crosses and long balls, Liverpool coped with Crouch's height.
Mark Hughes had obviously watched Liverpool's matches since the last meeting, starting Peter Crouch for just the fifth time this season – all in cup competition – to unsettle Liverpool's defense with height, crosses, set plays, and hoofs, with Jon Walters also coming into the side to muscle defenders and offer an option running in behind. But Liverpool's back line (which kept a surprisingly high line) did enough, winning the second ball if not the aerial duel enough, and blocking enough dangerous efforts (Sakho, most notably on Walters in the 55th minute, but also on Walters in the 62nd and Crouch in the 114th) when they didn't.
Stoke created just four shots from set plays: two very off-target headers from Bojan and Crouch, and two very off-target shots from distance by Johnson and Afellay.
And, again, that first Stoke shot on-target was very offside, and that was the one lovely attacking move of the match. For either side. Stoke had two other good chances: a hoof over the high back line to Walters in the first half, pushed wide of the far post, and van Ginkel's scramble through the middle in extra time off the woodwork – the second, after the "goal," of Stoke's two clear-cut chances. Liverpool, unsurprisingly, created none.
Then, Liverpool's rightfully criticized goalkeeper saved two Stoke penalties, while six of Liverpool's seven players kept their nerves (and Can's penalty didn't miss by much). Jack Butland, who has been one of the best keepers in the league this season, didn't get a hand to any of Liverpool's spot kicks, and went the wrong way on six of the seven; Mignolet saved two and nearly saved another, guessing the right way on five. Shoot-outs are weird.
But Liverpool have precedent here. Liverpool have now won 14 of the 17 shoot-outs they've been involved in, a record going back to 1974. And two of those losses have been in the last six years: against Northampton Town and Besiktas. That's remarkable. Unbelievable. And probably more than a little bit lucky. But winning begets winning.
If Liverpool play like that in most matches, Liverpool won't win most matches: slightly better than usual in defense, but very, very bad in attack. But this wasn't most matches. This was a knife-edge cup semifinal and Liverpool, despite losing on the day, still won.
And winning begets winning. And winning begets Wembley.
Now that we're at the semi-final stage, WhoScored is finally collecting stats in this competition.
(Nota Bene: Here's the formation diagram usually included in match reviews.)
Two sides that fully canceled each other out. Or, should have, had one of the linesman actually done his job. A match that was high in intensity and low on quality. A match that featured an absolutely garbage attacking performance from both sides, although some credit is due to the defenses, with Liverpool's attacking issues both familiar and frustrating.
Who cares? Liverpool are going to Wembley.
Liverpool were Liverpool, Stoke were Stoke (and more Tony Pulis' Stoke than Mark Hughes' Stoke), and a second leg semi-final was a second leg semi-final. Hard-fought and closely-matched, and not especially fun to watch, for either supporters or neutrals.
Almost the same side which scored five on Saturday probably wouldn't have scored in this match were it still going. Just 12 shots in 120 minutes. Just three inside the box. Just one in the Danger Zone. Just two on-target, both from Roberto Firmino. Just one marginally threatening: one of those Firmino shots, from Henderson's layoff on a set play, saved onto the post by Butland.
That's not good. That's really, really not good. Liverpool's attack hasn't been good in most matches under Klopp (or Rodgers, for that matter), but I'm still struggling to think of a less impressive performance. Maybe the 0-2 loss at Newcastle, where Liverpool took just 10 shots and put just one on-target – Lovren in the last minute – but even then, half of those shots came inside the box and Liverpool had a perfectly good (in fact, great) goal from Moreno wrongly ruled out.
It wasn't Liverpool's finishing which nearly cost the side, as is more often the case, but Liverpool's ability to create, Liverpool's decision-making, and Liverpool's shot selection. Stoke defended deep and defended well, but nine of 12 shots coming from outside the box – including all four before Stoke's goal – also demonstrates Liverpool's priority on defense. Or, at least, lack of prioritizing the attack. Take the speculative shot and maybe you'll get lucky, but more importantly, make sure you're in place to press then get back and defend.
Still, that wouldn't have mattered had the linesman done his job just before halftime. Sure, Liverpool still conceded from the first shot on-target – yes, again – but otherwise, it was a reasonably competent display in defense. Liverpool coped with Stoke's set plays, Liverpool coped with Stoke's crosses and long balls, Liverpool coped with Crouch's height.
Mark Hughes had obviously watched Liverpool's matches since the last meeting, starting Peter Crouch for just the fifth time this season – all in cup competition – to unsettle Liverpool's defense with height, crosses, set plays, and hoofs, with Jon Walters also coming into the side to muscle defenders and offer an option running in behind. But Liverpool's back line (which kept a surprisingly high line) did enough, winning the second ball if not the aerial duel enough, and blocking enough dangerous efforts (Sakho, most notably on Walters in the 55th minute, but also on Walters in the 62nd and Crouch in the 114th) when they didn't.
Stoke created just four shots from set plays: two very off-target headers from Bojan and Crouch, and two very off-target shots from distance by Johnson and Afellay.
And, again, that first Stoke shot on-target was very offside, and that was the one lovely attacking move of the match. For either side. Stoke had two other good chances: a hoof over the high back line to Walters in the first half, pushed wide of the far post, and van Ginkel's scramble through the middle in extra time off the woodwork – the second, after the "goal," of Stoke's two clear-cut chances. Liverpool, unsurprisingly, created none.
Then, Liverpool's rightfully criticized goalkeeper saved two Stoke penalties, while six of Liverpool's seven players kept their nerves (and Can's penalty didn't miss by much). Jack Butland, who has been one of the best keepers in the league this season, didn't get a hand to any of Liverpool's spot kicks, and went the wrong way on six of the seven; Mignolet saved two and nearly saved another, guessing the right way on five. Shoot-outs are weird.
But Liverpool have precedent here. Liverpool have now won 14 of the 17 shoot-outs they've been involved in, a record going back to 1974. And two of those losses have been in the last six years: against Northampton Town and Besiktas. That's remarkable. Unbelievable. And probably more than a little bit lucky. But winning begets winning.
If Liverpool play like that in most matches, Liverpool won't win most matches: slightly better than usual in defense, but very, very bad in attack. But this wasn't most matches. This was a knife-edge cup semifinal and Liverpool, despite losing on the day, still won.
And winning begets winning. And winning begets Wembley.
25 January 2016
Liverpool v Stoke 01.25.16
2:45pm ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 01.05.16
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.09.15
1-6 Stoke (a) 05.24.15
1-0 Liverpool (h) 11.29.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 5-4 Norwich (a); 3-0 Exeter (h); 0-1 United (a)
Stoke: 0-3 Leicester (a); 0-0 Arsenal (h); 3-1 Norwich (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 1-0 Stoke (a); 6-1 Southampton (a); 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Stoke: 0-1 Liverpool (h); 2-0 Sheff Wed (h); 1-1 Chelsea aet [5-4 pens] (h); 1-0 Fulham (a); 1-1 Luton aet [8-7 pens] (a)
Goalscorers (League Cup):
Liverpool: Origi 3; Ibe, Sturridge 2; Clyne, Ings 1
Stoke: Walters 2; Affelay, Bardsley, Crouch 1
Referee: Jon Moss
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Flanagan Toure Sakho Moreno
Henderson Lucas Can
Milner Firmino Lallana
Once again, it'll be a familiar Liverpool, but once again, Jürgen Klopp has a few tough choices to make due to both recent and lingering injuries as well as fixture congestion.
You have to assume Lallana's replacing Ibe in the starting XI, Ibe noticeably unimpressive while Lallana changed the game, responsible for an assist to make it 3-3 and a 95th-minute goal to make it 5-4 on Saturday.
Lovren's available for the first time since his injury at Stoke, but does he return straight away or does Klopp stick with Toure and Sakho? Consistency in defense is usually a good thing, but might not be for a defense that conceded four goals to Norwich on Saturday, and eight goals in its last three matches.
Meanwhile, Nat Clyne's doubtful with a knee problem incurred against Norwich. Can he play through it, will Liverpool hand Jon Flanagan a first start since the last day of 2013-14, or will 20-year-old Connor Randall start in a cup semi-final, in what would be just his fifth-ever start for the club?
Can Lucas play another 90 minutes just three days, a third start in the last nine days? And if he can't, is he replaced by Allen – basically a straight swap – or Ibe or Benteke, switching Liverpool to more of a 4-2-3-1?
It's hard to draw many conclusions about Stoke's form from what they've done since the last meeting, because they've been consistently inconsistent. A narrow win with a much-changed side in the FA Cup. A straight-forward 3-1 home win over Norwich. A deserved but tepid 0-0 home draw with Arsenal, offering little in attack but excellent in defense. And finally, an absolute demolition by Leicester at Leicester, an emphatic 0-3 set-back, in a match where Stoke has to replace its captain and best defender in Shawcross due to injury, and where both Bojan and Arnautovic were protected due to minor injuries.
While nowhere near as bad Liverpool's casualty list, Stoke will be missing a couple of key players as well. Both Geoff Cameron and Shawcross will be absent. But after missing out against at Leicester, both Bojan and Arnautovic should be available.
Marc Wilson came on in place of Shawcross on Saturday, but Muniesa's also an option in central defense. In Cameron's absence, Affelay has played in central midfield with Whelan – as he did after Walters replaced Cameron at halftime in the previous meeting – with Bojan as the #10 and Joselu up front, but Hughes could play slightly more conservative tomorrow, with either van Ginkel or Adam partnering Whelan and Affelay further forward. And. lurking in the background, as seemingly always, is Jon Walters, a player who could start up front or in the attacking line of three, and a player who loves to face Liverpool.
Still, it's probably safe to assume that Butland; Johnson, Wilson, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Affelay; Shaqiri, Bojan, Arnautovic; Joselu will be the starting XI.
Can Liverpool do what they did in the last leg? There, Liverpool started the brighter side, took the game to Stoke, coped with injuries to Coutinho and Lovren, and made the breakthrough in the 37th minute. And for the next hour or so, Liverpool were pinned back, with Stoke dominating possession, attempting more shots (15) than all but one opponent that Liverpool faced since Klopp became manager. Stoke had more than 60% possession; Stoke completed more than twice as many passes as Liverpool.
But somehow Liverpool won, clinging on to its 1-0 lead, mostly smothering Stoke despite Stoke's overwhelming control, most of those 15 Stoke shots failing to threaten.
It was similar to how Liverpool beat both Leicester and Sunderland in the run-in to that match, even if Liverpool were the "better" side in both of those victories. it's certainly not how Liverpool have played since: conceding three against Arsenal, conceding one against United which was very much against the run of play, and conceding four – four! – against Norwich.
Can Liverpool be as diligent and secure, protecting their slender first-leg advantage, and maybe even extending that first-leg advantage? Will Liverpool sit back with seven or eight outfield players in their defensive half before counter-attack at pace with Firmino, Lallana, Ibe and/or Milner? Or will Liverpool look to take the game to Stoke, push the opposition back, searching for what would be a very helpful second goal before applying the breaks?
I've no idea. But it'll decide who travels to Wembley for a cup final: Stoke for the first time in this competition for 40-plus years, or Liverpool in Jürgen Klopp's first season. And both sides could desperately use the boost that a cup final brings.
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 01.05.16
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.09.15
1-6 Stoke (a) 05.24.15
1-0 Liverpool (h) 11.29.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 5-4 Norwich (a); 3-0 Exeter (h); 0-1 United (a)
Stoke: 0-3 Leicester (a); 0-0 Arsenal (h); 3-1 Norwich (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 1-0 Stoke (a); 6-1 Southampton (a); 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Stoke: 0-1 Liverpool (h); 2-0 Sheff Wed (h); 1-1 Chelsea aet [5-4 pens] (h); 1-0 Fulham (a); 1-1 Luton aet [8-7 pens] (a)
Goalscorers (League Cup):
Liverpool: Origi 3; Ibe, Sturridge 2; Clyne, Ings 1
Stoke: Walters 2; Affelay, Bardsley, Crouch 1
Referee: Jon Moss
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Flanagan Toure Sakho Moreno
Henderson Lucas Can
Milner Firmino Lallana
Once again, it'll be a familiar Liverpool, but once again, Jürgen Klopp has a few tough choices to make due to both recent and lingering injuries as well as fixture congestion.
You have to assume Lallana's replacing Ibe in the starting XI, Ibe noticeably unimpressive while Lallana changed the game, responsible for an assist to make it 3-3 and a 95th-minute goal to make it 5-4 on Saturday.
Lovren's available for the first time since his injury at Stoke, but does he return straight away or does Klopp stick with Toure and Sakho? Consistency in defense is usually a good thing, but might not be for a defense that conceded four goals to Norwich on Saturday, and eight goals in its last three matches.
Meanwhile, Nat Clyne's doubtful with a knee problem incurred against Norwich. Can he play through it, will Liverpool hand Jon Flanagan a first start since the last day of 2013-14, or will 20-year-old Connor Randall start in a cup semi-final, in what would be just his fifth-ever start for the club?
Can Lucas play another 90 minutes just three days, a third start in the last nine days? And if he can't, is he replaced by Allen – basically a straight swap – or Ibe or Benteke, switching Liverpool to more of a 4-2-3-1?
It's hard to draw many conclusions about Stoke's form from what they've done since the last meeting, because they've been consistently inconsistent. A narrow win with a much-changed side in the FA Cup. A straight-forward 3-1 home win over Norwich. A deserved but tepid 0-0 home draw with Arsenal, offering little in attack but excellent in defense. And finally, an absolute demolition by Leicester at Leicester, an emphatic 0-3 set-back, in a match where Stoke has to replace its captain and best defender in Shawcross due to injury, and where both Bojan and Arnautovic were protected due to minor injuries.
While nowhere near as bad Liverpool's casualty list, Stoke will be missing a couple of key players as well. Both Geoff Cameron and Shawcross will be absent. But after missing out against at Leicester, both Bojan and Arnautovic should be available.
Marc Wilson came on in place of Shawcross on Saturday, but Muniesa's also an option in central defense. In Cameron's absence, Affelay has played in central midfield with Whelan – as he did after Walters replaced Cameron at halftime in the previous meeting – with Bojan as the #10 and Joselu up front, but Hughes could play slightly more conservative tomorrow, with either van Ginkel or Adam partnering Whelan and Affelay further forward. And. lurking in the background, as seemingly always, is Jon Walters, a player who could start up front or in the attacking line of three, and a player who loves to face Liverpool.
Still, it's probably safe to assume that Butland; Johnson, Wilson, Wollscheid, Pieters; Whelan, Affelay; Shaqiri, Bojan, Arnautovic; Joselu will be the starting XI.
Can Liverpool do what they did in the last leg? There, Liverpool started the brighter side, took the game to Stoke, coped with injuries to Coutinho and Lovren, and made the breakthrough in the 37th minute. And for the next hour or so, Liverpool were pinned back, with Stoke dominating possession, attempting more shots (15) than all but one opponent that Liverpool faced since Klopp became manager. Stoke had more than 60% possession; Stoke completed more than twice as many passes as Liverpool.
But somehow Liverpool won, clinging on to its 1-0 lead, mostly smothering Stoke despite Stoke's overwhelming control, most of those 15 Stoke shots failing to threaten.
It was similar to how Liverpool beat both Leicester and Sunderland in the run-in to that match, even if Liverpool were the "better" side in both of those victories. it's certainly not how Liverpool have played since: conceding three against Arsenal, conceding one against United which was very much against the run of play, and conceding four – four! – against Norwich.
Can Liverpool be as diligent and secure, protecting their slender first-leg advantage, and maybe even extending that first-leg advantage? Will Liverpool sit back with seven or eight outfield players in their defensive half before counter-attack at pace with Firmino, Lallana, Ibe and/or Milner? Or will Liverpool look to take the game to Stoke, push the opposition back, searching for what would be a very helpful second goal before applying the breaks?
I've no idea. But it'll decide who travels to Wembley for a cup final: Stoke for the first time in this competition for 40-plus years, or Liverpool in Jürgen Klopp's first season. And both sides could desperately use the boost that a cup final brings.
06 January 2016
Visualized: Liverpool 1-0 Stoke [League Cup]
Previous Match Infographics: West Ham (a), Sunderland (a), Leicester (h), Watford (a), West Brom (h), Sion (a), Newcastle (a), Swansea (h), Bordeaux (h), City (a), Crystal Palace (h), Rubin Kazan (a), Chelsea (a), Southampton (h), Rubin Kazan (h), Tottenham (a), Everton (a), FC Sion (h), Aston Villa (h), Norwich (h), Bordeaux (a), Manchester United (a), West Ham (h), Arsenal (a), Bournemouth (h), Stoke (a)
Now that we're at the semi-final stage, WhoScored is finally collecting stats in this competition.
(Nota Bene: Here's the formation diagram usually included in match reviews.)
Back on track.
Unlike in almost all of Liverpool's other matches over the last month, Liverpool were given space to play, space to attack, in the first half. The opposition wanted to take the game to Liverpool, which allowed Liverpool to return the favor when opportunities presented themselves: pressing Stoke into mistakes and attacking at pace. Liverpool started the brighter side and pinned Stoke back early, then settled into more of a counter-attacking groove when Coutinho picked up a 17th-minute injury.
And once Liverpool took the lead, Liverpool were defensively solid, despite multiple injuries, keeping a clean sheet against a full-strength side that had beaten both City and United at home in the last month.
The last time that Stoke failed to score at the Britannia this season was October 24, beaten 0-2 by Watford in the same manner than Watford beat Liverpool a few weeks back. It was just the fourth time Stoke had been held scoreless at home in 12 matches in all competitions: the aforementioned Watford loss, a 0-1 loss to West Brom when down to nine men in August, and now twice by Liverpool.
It wasn't perfect. I'd have preferred if Liverpool hadn't put eight of their last nine shots off-target, including all seven after the opening goal. I'd have preferred if Liverpool hadn't allowed 15 shots, the second-highest total since Klopp became manager. I'd have preferred if Liverpool were more cohesive when counter-attacking, wasting opportunities to find both a first goal earlier or a game-sealing second later.
But it was certainly good enough. Good enough considering Saturday. Good enough considering Liverpool's injuries – both before and during this match. Good enough considering Liverpool were away from home against good opposition. And good enough considering this was a cup semi-final.
Seven shots from Roberto Firmino were his most, by far, since joining Liverpool, replicating Coutinho's volume. And Coutinho's accuracy, unfortunately, with just one of the seven on-target: his first, 33 seconds into the match, from distance when presented the ball by Pieters' error. With seven shots as well as three key passes, Firmino was involved on 10 of Liverpool's 16 shots (62.5%). That's more along the lines of what Liverpool need from the player.
Five key passes from Adam Lallana tied his most since joining Liverpool – he played three against West Brom, Southampton, Kazan, and Sion this season, but had five against Arsenal last season – setting up chances for Firmino (twice), Ibe (twice), and Allen (which led to Liverpool's goal).
It was, as cup performances tend to be, a match for the unheralded. Firmino, Lallana, and Ibe all played well, but Toure, Lucas, Allen, and Milner were my most impressive: the former two in defense, the latter two's work-rate necessary in the second half and with both involved in the build-up to the goal. We'll be debating whether Allen meant that assist for weeks. Or at least until he tells us that he didn't.
Everything good stemmed from Liverpool's initiative in the opening stages, and from that first half attacking performance. Remember how Liverpool lost a 1-0 lead v Southampton in Klopp's third match? It was all those Brendan Rodgers matches – at Bordeaux, v Norwich, v Carlisle, v Sion, at Everton – all over again. But since then, Liverpool have won six and drawn once when scoring first: 1-0 Bournemouth, 1-0 Kazan, 4-1 City, 1-0 Swansea, 2-2 West Brom, 1-0 Leicester, 1-0 Sunderland, and now 1-0 Stoke. We've still seen some sloppy defense and familiar issues at times, but it remains light years better than before, and galaxies better when Liverpool have a lead.
13 of Stoke's 15 shots came after Liverpool scored, but only two were on-target. Only six came in the Danger Zone. None were especially threatening; even Arnautovic's 38th-minute header (block crosses, Liverpool!), classified by Opta as Stoke's only clear-cut chance, wasn't an especially easy opportunity and ended well off-target. Mignolet's save on Johnson's effort just before halftime – unsurprisingly, from a scrambled corner – was the most frightening moment of the match.
And Liverpool did this with Toure (three interceptions, 16 clearances) and Lucas (four tackles, five interceptions) as the center-back pairing for the final hour, while defending that 1-0 lead. Kolo Toure. And Lucas Leiva. Against the likes of Bojan, Shaqiri, Armautovic, Affelay, Walters, Joselu, Crouch, etc.
Of course, it remains one match. One cup match, which are even more likely to be one-off situations. And actually just one leg of a cup tie, with a narrow lead to protect at Anfield in three weeks.
What matters even more is where Liverpool go from here, a situation made extra difficult by injuries to Coutinho and Lovren, joining Sturridge, Henderson, Sakho, Skrtel, Origi, Rossiter, Ings, and Gomez on the sidelines. Add a goalkeeper and that's an arguably better XI than what Liverpool have available.
Defend like this. Work like this. Attack even better. Liverpool's fixture list isn't getting any easier or any lighter.
It's just a start. But at least it's a start.
Now that we're at the semi-final stage, WhoScored is finally collecting stats in this competition.
(Nota Bene: Here's the formation diagram usually included in match reviews.)
Back on track.
Unlike in almost all of Liverpool's other matches over the last month, Liverpool were given space to play, space to attack, in the first half. The opposition wanted to take the game to Liverpool, which allowed Liverpool to return the favor when opportunities presented themselves: pressing Stoke into mistakes and attacking at pace. Liverpool started the brighter side and pinned Stoke back early, then settled into more of a counter-attacking groove when Coutinho picked up a 17th-minute injury.
And once Liverpool took the lead, Liverpool were defensively solid, despite multiple injuries, keeping a clean sheet against a full-strength side that had beaten both City and United at home in the last month.
The last time that Stoke failed to score at the Britannia this season was October 24, beaten 0-2 by Watford in the same manner than Watford beat Liverpool a few weeks back. It was just the fourth time Stoke had been held scoreless at home in 12 matches in all competitions: the aforementioned Watford loss, a 0-1 loss to West Brom when down to nine men in August, and now twice by Liverpool.
It wasn't perfect. I'd have preferred if Liverpool hadn't put eight of their last nine shots off-target, including all seven after the opening goal. I'd have preferred if Liverpool hadn't allowed 15 shots, the second-highest total since Klopp became manager. I'd have preferred if Liverpool were more cohesive when counter-attacking, wasting opportunities to find both a first goal earlier or a game-sealing second later.
But it was certainly good enough. Good enough considering Saturday. Good enough considering Liverpool's injuries – both before and during this match. Good enough considering Liverpool were away from home against good opposition. And good enough considering this was a cup semi-final.
Seven shots from Roberto Firmino were his most, by far, since joining Liverpool, replicating Coutinho's volume. And Coutinho's accuracy, unfortunately, with just one of the seven on-target: his first, 33 seconds into the match, from distance when presented the ball by Pieters' error. With seven shots as well as three key passes, Firmino was involved on 10 of Liverpool's 16 shots (62.5%). That's more along the lines of what Liverpool need from the player.
Five key passes from Adam Lallana tied his most since joining Liverpool – he played three against West Brom, Southampton, Kazan, and Sion this season, but had five against Arsenal last season – setting up chances for Firmino (twice), Ibe (twice), and Allen (which led to Liverpool's goal).
It was, as cup performances tend to be, a match for the unheralded. Firmino, Lallana, and Ibe all played well, but Toure, Lucas, Allen, and Milner were my most impressive: the former two in defense, the latter two's work-rate necessary in the second half and with both involved in the build-up to the goal. We'll be debating whether Allen meant that assist for weeks. Or at least until he tells us that he didn't.
Everything good stemmed from Liverpool's initiative in the opening stages, and from that first half attacking performance. Remember how Liverpool lost a 1-0 lead v Southampton in Klopp's third match? It was all those Brendan Rodgers matches – at Bordeaux, v Norwich, v Carlisle, v Sion, at Everton – all over again. But since then, Liverpool have won six and drawn once when scoring first: 1-0 Bournemouth, 1-0 Kazan, 4-1 City, 1-0 Swansea, 2-2 West Brom, 1-0 Leicester, 1-0 Sunderland, and now 1-0 Stoke. We've still seen some sloppy defense and familiar issues at times, but it remains light years better than before, and galaxies better when Liverpool have a lead.
13 of Stoke's 15 shots came after Liverpool scored, but only two were on-target. Only six came in the Danger Zone. None were especially threatening; even Arnautovic's 38th-minute header (block crosses, Liverpool!), classified by Opta as Stoke's only clear-cut chance, wasn't an especially easy opportunity and ended well off-target. Mignolet's save on Johnson's effort just before halftime – unsurprisingly, from a scrambled corner – was the most frightening moment of the match.
And Liverpool did this with Toure (three interceptions, 16 clearances) and Lucas (four tackles, five interceptions) as the center-back pairing for the final hour, while defending that 1-0 lead. Kolo Toure. And Lucas Leiva. Against the likes of Bojan, Shaqiri, Armautovic, Affelay, Walters, Joselu, Crouch, etc.
Of course, it remains one match. One cup match, which are even more likely to be one-off situations. And actually just one leg of a cup tie, with a narrow lead to protect at Anfield in three weeks.
What matters even more is where Liverpool go from here, a situation made extra difficult by injuries to Coutinho and Lovren, joining Sturridge, Henderson, Sakho, Skrtel, Origi, Rossiter, Ings, and Gomez on the sidelines. Add a goalkeeper and that's an arguably better XI than what Liverpool have available.
Defend like this. Work like this. Attack even better. Liverpool's fixture list isn't getting any easier or any lighter.
It's just a start. But at least it's a start.
04 January 2016
Liverpool at Stoke 01.05.16
3pm ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.09.15
1-6 Stoke (a) 05.24.15
1-0 Liverpool (h) 11.29.14
5-3 Liverpool (a) 01.12.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 0-2 West Ham (a); 1-0 Sunderland (a); 1-0 Leicester (h)
Stoke: 1-2 West Brom (a); 4-3 Everton (a); 2-0 United (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 6-1 Southampton (a); 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Stoke: 2-0 Sheff Wed (h); 1-1 Chelsea aet [5-4 pens] (h); 1-0 Fulham (a); 1-1 Luton aet [8-7 pens] (a)
Goalscorers (League Cup):
Liverpool: Origi 3; Sturridge 2; Clyne, Ibe, Ings 1
Stoke: Walters 2; Affelay, Bardsley, Crouch 1
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Clyne Lovren Sakho Moreno
Can
Allen Lallana
Ibe Firmino Coutinho
Another match within three days of the last, another match where changes aren't really possible. Sturridge, Henderson, Origi, and Milner all remain absent, along with all the rest.
Even if Klopp wanted to rotate, there aren't many options. And they're the same options we've mooted and mostly discounted prior to the last few matches. Maybe Allen joins or replaces Lucas in midfield. Maybe Smith or Randall allow Clyne or Moreno a rest.
That Stoke is more likely to challenge Liverpool's dominance in possession, more likely to actually spend stretches attacking rather than focusing on a few counters and set plays, especially at home, might allow to Liverpool to again try Firmino up front in place of Benteke. I doubt we'd see 4-1 at City, but it should go better than 0-3 at Watford. That Benteke had his worst performance in his last three appearances at West Ham suggests fatigue – not that it isn't a team-wide concern – and could be another argument for Firmino up front, seeing as Liverpool don't have any other options at striker.
So let's go with the above guess. The more-mobile Can as the deepest midfield rather than Lucas; Allen and Lallana joining him to form something of a midfield three; Firmino, Ibe, and Coutinho as the front three. Get Coutinho closer to Firmino in hopes that it'll lead to better and more chance creation and final third interplay (and fewer Coutinho shots!), get Firmino further forward, use Ibe as an over-the-top or running-with-the-ball release valve. But a midfield of Lucas and Can behind three from Coutinho, Firmino, Lallana, and Ibe with Benteke up front, again, is probably just as likely. It's not as if any formation or any players have cemented themselves lately.
After two seasons, Mark Hughes' Stoke is finally threatening to become Stoke 2.0. Stoke-alona. At their best, Stoke 2.0 is a reverse mullet: still business at the back, but with a party up front. They're unsurprisingly more vulnerable in defense than under Pulis – recently, conceding three at Everton a week ago and two at West Brom (the winning goal when down to 10 men) on Saturday – but Shawcross is still there, Wollscheid's still there, Pieters is still there, Bardsley and Wilson are still there (even if both rarely start), while Jack Butland has become one of the best keepers in the league. Even Glen Johnson (!!!) has remembered how to play football.
They're a point behind Liverpool in the league, having scored one fewer – which certainly doesn't make them sound like an attacking firepower – and having conceded three fewer. But, with players like Bojan, Shaqiri, Arnautovic, and Affelay, when they actually put it together in attack, look out. Good thing Liverpool's not-at-all-error-prone defense is excellent against fast, tricky dribblers who look to face up and take on defenders, right? At least Klopp's familiar with Arnautovic, Shaqiri, Joselu, Affellay, and Diouf from matches against them with Dortmund.
Unlike Liverpool, Stoke have few injuries to worry about: only Muniesa might have started, with Ireland and Given also out.
Maybe we'll see more rotation because it's the League Cup and everyone has a packed fixture list, but Stoke have had a very set XI lately. If it's the same as it's been, it'll be Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters; Cameron, Whelan; Shaqiri, Affelay, Arnautovic; Bojan for the fourth-straight match. Cameron won his appeal of Saturday's red card and will be available.
If Hughes decides to rotate, Van Ginkel or Adam could replace Whelan or Cameron; Walters is an option in any of the attacking positions; Joselu, Crouch, and Diouf are options up front; Wilson and Bardsley are options in defense. Stoke's XI in their last league cup match – a routine 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday – was Butland; Johnson, Wilson, Wollscheid, Pieters; Cameron, van Ginkel; Walters, Afellay, Arnautovic; Crouch. So, similar to the usual, but a couple of changes. As tomorrow's a semi-final, if only the first leg, I'd expect a stronger XI with fewer changes, festive schedule be damned.
We've reached the point in the competition where it stops being "just the League Cup" and starts being an excellent chance at a trophy, any trophy. Something that Liverpool have done just once since 2006 – in this competition, in 2011-12 – and something that Stoke haven't done in since winning this competition in 1971-72 (we're not counting winning League One or the Johnstone's Paint Trophy).
It's a chance that Liverpool haven't had often enough in recent years, a chance that Stoke rarely have. And for Liverpool, it's a chance for redemption after Saturday's nadir. A chance to put the last month's demons firmly in the past. A chance to prove there's actually a football team in here somewhere.
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.09.15
1-6 Stoke (a) 05.24.15
1-0 Liverpool (h) 11.29.14
5-3 Liverpool (a) 01.12.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 0-2 West Ham (a); 1-0 Sunderland (a); 1-0 Leicester (h)
Stoke: 1-2 West Brom (a); 4-3 Everton (a); 2-0 United (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 6-1 Southampton (a); 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Stoke: 2-0 Sheff Wed (h); 1-1 Chelsea aet [5-4 pens] (h); 1-0 Fulham (a); 1-1 Luton aet [8-7 pens] (a)
Goalscorers (League Cup):
Liverpool: Origi 3; Sturridge 2; Clyne, Ibe, Ings 1
Stoke: Walters 2; Affelay, Bardsley, Crouch 1
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Guess at a line-up:
Mignolet
Clyne Lovren Sakho Moreno
Can
Allen Lallana
Ibe Firmino Coutinho
Another match within three days of the last, another match where changes aren't really possible. Sturridge, Henderson, Origi, and Milner all remain absent, along with all the rest.
Even if Klopp wanted to rotate, there aren't many options. And they're the same options we've mooted and mostly discounted prior to the last few matches. Maybe Allen joins or replaces Lucas in midfield. Maybe Smith or Randall allow Clyne or Moreno a rest.
That Stoke is more likely to challenge Liverpool's dominance in possession, more likely to actually spend stretches attacking rather than focusing on a few counters and set plays, especially at home, might allow to Liverpool to again try Firmino up front in place of Benteke. I doubt we'd see 4-1 at City, but it should go better than 0-3 at Watford. That Benteke had his worst performance in his last three appearances at West Ham suggests fatigue – not that it isn't a team-wide concern – and could be another argument for Firmino up front, seeing as Liverpool don't have any other options at striker.
So let's go with the above guess. The more-mobile Can as the deepest midfield rather than Lucas; Allen and Lallana joining him to form something of a midfield three; Firmino, Ibe, and Coutinho as the front three. Get Coutinho closer to Firmino in hopes that it'll lead to better and more chance creation and final third interplay (and fewer Coutinho shots!), get Firmino further forward, use Ibe as an over-the-top or running-with-the-ball release valve. But a midfield of Lucas and Can behind three from Coutinho, Firmino, Lallana, and Ibe with Benteke up front, again, is probably just as likely. It's not as if any formation or any players have cemented themselves lately.
After two seasons, Mark Hughes' Stoke is finally threatening to become Stoke 2.0. Stoke-alona. At their best, Stoke 2.0 is a reverse mullet: still business at the back, but with a party up front. They're unsurprisingly more vulnerable in defense than under Pulis – recently, conceding three at Everton a week ago and two at West Brom (the winning goal when down to 10 men) on Saturday – but Shawcross is still there, Wollscheid's still there, Pieters is still there, Bardsley and Wilson are still there (even if both rarely start), while Jack Butland has become one of the best keepers in the league. Even Glen Johnson (!!!) has remembered how to play football.
They're a point behind Liverpool in the league, having scored one fewer – which certainly doesn't make them sound like an attacking firepower – and having conceded three fewer. But, with players like Bojan, Shaqiri, Arnautovic, and Affelay, when they actually put it together in attack, look out. Good thing Liverpool's not-at-all-error-prone defense is excellent against fast, tricky dribblers who look to face up and take on defenders, right? At least Klopp's familiar with Arnautovic, Shaqiri, Joselu, Affellay, and Diouf from matches against them with Dortmund.
Unlike Liverpool, Stoke have few injuries to worry about: only Muniesa might have started, with Ireland and Given also out.
Maybe we'll see more rotation because it's the League Cup and everyone has a packed fixture list, but Stoke have had a very set XI lately. If it's the same as it's been, it'll be Butland; Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters; Cameron, Whelan; Shaqiri, Affelay, Arnautovic; Bojan for the fourth-straight match. Cameron won his appeal of Saturday's red card and will be available.
If Hughes decides to rotate, Van Ginkel or Adam could replace Whelan or Cameron; Walters is an option in any of the attacking positions; Joselu, Crouch, and Diouf are options up front; Wilson and Bardsley are options in defense. Stoke's XI in their last league cup match – a routine 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday – was Butland; Johnson, Wilson, Wollscheid, Pieters; Cameron, van Ginkel; Walters, Afellay, Arnautovic; Crouch. So, similar to the usual, but a couple of changes. As tomorrow's a semi-final, if only the first leg, I'd expect a stronger XI with fewer changes, festive schedule be damned.
We've reached the point in the competition where it stops being "just the League Cup" and starts being an excellent chance at a trophy, any trophy. Something that Liverpool have done just once since 2006 – in this competition, in 2011-12 – and something that Stoke haven't done in since winning this competition in 1971-72 (we're not counting winning League One or the Johnstone's Paint Trophy).
It's a chance that Liverpool haven't had often enough in recent years, a chance that Stoke rarely have. And for Liverpool, it's a chance for redemption after Saturday's nadir. A chance to put the last month's demons firmly in the past. A chance to prove there's actually a football team in here somewhere.
01 December 2015
Liverpool at Southampton 12.02.15
2:45pm ET, live in the US on BeIN Sports
Last four head-to-head:
1-1 (h) 10.25.15
2-0 Liverpool (a) 02.22.15
2-1 Liverpool (h) 08.17.14
3-0 Liverpool (a) 03.01.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Swansea (h); 2-1 Bordeaux (h); 4-1 City (a)
Southampton: 1-3 City (a); 0-1 Stoke (h); 1-0 Southampton (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Southampton: 2-1 Villa (h); 6-0 MK Dons (a)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Benteke, Coutinho 5; Ings, Milner 3; Lallana, Sturridge 2; Can, Clyne, Ibe, Firmino, Skrtel 1
Southampton: Pelle 9; Mane 6; Long 5; Tadic 4; Rodriguez 3; S Davis, van Dijk 2; Fonte, Yoshida 1
Referee: Robert Madley
Guess at a line-up:
Bogdan
Clyne Skrtel Lovren Moreno
Milner Lucas Can
Ibe Benteke Lallana
Henderson and Sturridge will travel, while Coutinho could also be available, but none are likely to start. As Klopp said, it's too soon to risk Henderson and Sturridge after their long absences; 90 minutes would be questionable, so 120 potential minutes are out of the question. And since Coutinho hasn't yet fully trained – maybe today! – I assume he's in the same situation, at best. I suspect we'll see at least two off the bench tomorrow, though.
So, otherwise, the same old cup fixture debate. It'll be a strong line-up, but one or two seemingly need to be rested. Who will it be? Firmino, subpar on Sunday, appears to be a prime candidate. Possibly Benteke, in a similar situation. But Liverpool remain better equipped to cope with the former's absence, especially since Sturridge isn't ready to start.
Maybe Liverpool give Origi a first start since the last League Cup match. Maybe Toure replaces Skrtel again, as against Bordeaux, or maybe Lovren. Maybe Milner or Can are left out in favor of Allen. As against Bournemouth, I suspect Bogdan will continue to start the domestic cup contests. Maybe Teixeira and/or Randall, unused in yesterday's under-21 match, feature – they both started in the last round – but participation in that match rules out Enrique, Rossiter, and Brannagan.
Once again, the first-choice fullbacks seemingly have to play. Either Lovren or Skrtel, if not both, have to play. Lucas, fresh off suspension, has to play. Liverpool's injury situation improves by the day, but the side's still not spoilt for choices.
Southampton, on the other hand, have a few more options. Assuming that they start a full-strength XI – although I'm not entirely sure how safe that assumption is – the lineup would be Stekelenburg; Soares, Caulker, van Dijk, Bertrand; Wanyama, Clasie; Mane, Davis, Tadic; Pelle. Soares should return to the squad after he was bafflingly left out against City, while Pelle will return from suspension.
That guessed XI, aside from Jose Fonte – who's doubtful after leaving Saturday's match through injury – is the exact team which drew at Liverpool five weeks ago. Aside from Fonte, Jay Rodriguez and Fraser Forster are Southampton's only first-team absentees. They've the option of starting Davis, Ward-Prowse, or Romeu in midfield instead of Wanyama or Clasie; Yoshida instead of either center-back or Soares; Harrison Reed, Ward-Prowse, or even Shane Long in the attacking line of three; Long or Juanmi in place of Pelle. But I still expect the XI to be the above guess.
Southampton have lost the last two matches, a narrow defeat to Stoke and a drubbing at City, but were unbeaten in eight in all competitions prior, a stretch that included the 1-1 draw at Anfield on October 25. As Liverpool did to City, City did to Southampton: a fast start, a defensive mistake, an early goal, the eventual winners never looking back.
When these sides last met, Southampton were in the midst of a hot scoring run, with eight goals in the previous three matches, against Swansea, Chelsea, and Leicester. That's not the case now, with just two goals in their last three: a penalty at Sunderland and a set play header when City's defensive marking utterly failed.
Also unlike when these sides last met, Southampton won't have the advantage of an extra four days rest. They played on Saturday while Liverpool played on Sunday, but the last meeting came after one of those much-decried midweek Europa League matches, while Southampton had a full week between league fixtures. And it led to a much heavier Southampton press, which Liverpool was unable to replicate, which stifled the home side until Benteke finally made the breakthrough in the 77th minute. But Southampton, better able to cope with the pace of the match, were able to respond, Liverpool clearly fatigued both physically and mentally and conceding on a set play in the final five minutes.
Tomorrow's match might be played at a slightly slower pace – well, slower for Southampton and Liverpool – being midweek and League Cup, but it's still Liverpool and Southampton. There will be pressing, there will be neat interplay, there will be quick counters. That Liverpool are away means that Liverpool will have less possession, needing to weather Southampton's inevitable storms, but Liverpool will also have more opportunities to quickly transition into counter-attacks, as they did to outstanding effect against both Chelsea and Manchester City. Like Liverpool, Southampton tend to be better away from home, the conditions, tenor, and tempo better suiting how the side prefers to play.
It's also still a quarterfinal, the point of the competition where clubs truly take the League Cup seriously. The winner of this match, along with Manchester City, will be favorites to make the final at Wembley (assuming the draw keeps the winner and City apart). The league will remain the primary focus for both clubs, and tomorrow's match won't be played at its expense, but a trophy's almost tangible. Go and get it.
Last four head-to-head:
1-1 (h) 10.25.15
2-0 Liverpool (a) 02.22.15
2-1 Liverpool (h) 08.17.14
3-0 Liverpool (a) 03.01.14
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-0 Swansea (h); 2-1 Bordeaux (h); 4-1 City (a)
Southampton: 1-3 City (a); 0-1 Stoke (h); 1-0 Southampton (h)
Previous Rounds:
Liverpool: 1-0 Bournemouth (h); 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Southampton: 2-1 Villa (h); 6-0 MK Dons (a)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Benteke, Coutinho 5; Ings, Milner 3; Lallana, Sturridge 2; Can, Clyne, Ibe, Firmino, Skrtel 1
Southampton: Pelle 9; Mane 6; Long 5; Tadic 4; Rodriguez 3; S Davis, van Dijk 2; Fonte, Yoshida 1
Referee: Robert Madley
Guess at a line-up:
Bogdan
Clyne Skrtel Lovren Moreno
Milner Lucas Can
Ibe Benteke Lallana
Henderson and Sturridge will travel, while Coutinho could also be available, but none are likely to start. As Klopp said, it's too soon to risk Henderson and Sturridge after their long absences; 90 minutes would be questionable, so 120 potential minutes are out of the question. And since Coutinho hasn't yet fully trained – maybe today! – I assume he's in the same situation, at best. I suspect we'll see at least two off the bench tomorrow, though.
So, otherwise, the same old cup fixture debate. It'll be a strong line-up, but one or two seemingly need to be rested. Who will it be? Firmino, subpar on Sunday, appears to be a prime candidate. Possibly Benteke, in a similar situation. But Liverpool remain better equipped to cope with the former's absence, especially since Sturridge isn't ready to start.
Maybe Liverpool give Origi a first start since the last League Cup match. Maybe Toure replaces Skrtel again, as against Bordeaux, or maybe Lovren. Maybe Milner or Can are left out in favor of Allen. As against Bournemouth, I suspect Bogdan will continue to start the domestic cup contests. Maybe Teixeira and/or Randall, unused in yesterday's under-21 match, feature – they both started in the last round – but participation in that match rules out Enrique, Rossiter, and Brannagan.
Once again, the first-choice fullbacks seemingly have to play. Either Lovren or Skrtel, if not both, have to play. Lucas, fresh off suspension, has to play. Liverpool's injury situation improves by the day, but the side's still not spoilt for choices.
Southampton, on the other hand, have a few more options. Assuming that they start a full-strength XI – although I'm not entirely sure how safe that assumption is – the lineup would be Stekelenburg; Soares, Caulker, van Dijk, Bertrand; Wanyama, Clasie; Mane, Davis, Tadic; Pelle. Soares should return to the squad after he was bafflingly left out against City, while Pelle will return from suspension.
That guessed XI, aside from Jose Fonte – who's doubtful after leaving Saturday's match through injury – is the exact team which drew at Liverpool five weeks ago. Aside from Fonte, Jay Rodriguez and Fraser Forster are Southampton's only first-team absentees. They've the option of starting Davis, Ward-Prowse, or Romeu in midfield instead of Wanyama or Clasie; Yoshida instead of either center-back or Soares; Harrison Reed, Ward-Prowse, or even Shane Long in the attacking line of three; Long or Juanmi in place of Pelle. But I still expect the XI to be the above guess.
Southampton have lost the last two matches, a narrow defeat to Stoke and a drubbing at City, but were unbeaten in eight in all competitions prior, a stretch that included the 1-1 draw at Anfield on October 25. As Liverpool did to City, City did to Southampton: a fast start, a defensive mistake, an early goal, the eventual winners never looking back.
When these sides last met, Southampton were in the midst of a hot scoring run, with eight goals in the previous three matches, against Swansea, Chelsea, and Leicester. That's not the case now, with just two goals in their last three: a penalty at Sunderland and a set play header when City's defensive marking utterly failed.
Also unlike when these sides last met, Southampton won't have the advantage of an extra four days rest. They played on Saturday while Liverpool played on Sunday, but the last meeting came after one of those much-decried midweek Europa League matches, while Southampton had a full week between league fixtures. And it led to a much heavier Southampton press, which Liverpool was unable to replicate, which stifled the home side until Benteke finally made the breakthrough in the 77th minute. But Southampton, better able to cope with the pace of the match, were able to respond, Liverpool clearly fatigued both physically and mentally and conceding on a set play in the final five minutes.
Tomorrow's match might be played at a slightly slower pace – well, slower for Southampton and Liverpool – being midweek and League Cup, but it's still Liverpool and Southampton. There will be pressing, there will be neat interplay, there will be quick counters. That Liverpool are away means that Liverpool will have less possession, needing to weather Southampton's inevitable storms, but Liverpool will also have more opportunities to quickly transition into counter-attacks, as they did to outstanding effect against both Chelsea and Manchester City. Like Liverpool, Southampton tend to be better away from home, the conditions, tenor, and tempo better suiting how the side prefers to play.
It's also still a quarterfinal, the point of the competition where clubs truly take the League Cup seriously. The winner of this match, along with Manchester City, will be favorites to make the final at Wembley (assuming the draw keeps the winner and City apart). The league will remain the primary focus for both clubs, and tomorrow's match won't be played at its expense, but a trophy's almost tangible. Go and get it.
27 October 2015
Liverpool v Bournemouth 10.28.15
3:45pm ET, delayed coverage at 6pm ET on BeIN Sports USA (technically, it's available live at online-only BeIN Sports Connect, but that program works approximately never for me)
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.17.15
3-1 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 12.17.14
2-0 Liverpool (a; FA Cup) 01.25.14
4-1 Liverpool (h; FA Cup) 01.30.68
Last round(s):
Liverpool: 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Bournemouth: 2-2 Preston aet [3-2 pens] (a); 4-0 Hartlepool (a)
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Southampton (h); 1-1 Kazan (h); 0-0 Tottenham (a)
Bournemouth: 1-5 Tottenham (h); 1-5 City (a); 1-1 Watford (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Benteke, Ings 3; Lallana, Sturridge 2; Can, Coutinho, Milner 1
Bournemouth: Wilson 5; Gosling, Murray, Pugh, Ritchie, Stanislas 2; Cook, Kermorgant, MacDonald 1
Referee: Mike Jones
Guess at a line-up:
Bogdan
Clyne Skrtel Toure Moreno
Allen Can
Brannagan Firmino Ibe
Benteke
You'd assume there'd be a plethora of changes: three matches in eight days prior, Chelsea to come three days after. But I still have no idea what to expect under this manager, and Liverpool's squad remains hamstrung by injuries, with the added bonus of Milner's suspension after his fifth yellow card.
There are a few under-21s in contention, I guess, although I'll readily admit I know little about them. Chirivella and Brannagan – who just signed a new long-term contract – both appeared at Bordeaux a month ago, Conor Randall's been on the bench in all three of Klopp's matches, Teixeira and Sinclair were on the bench in Klopp's first at Tottenham.
Coutinho, Lallana, and Lucas seemingly have to be rested. I'd suggest similar for at least three of Liverpool's four defenders, but Liverpool don't really have any other defenders. Even though Randall's made the bench in the last three matches, he's never played a first team minute. Jose Enrique? Still not a thing that exists. Is Lovren injured or just out of favor? So let's just say Toure for Sakho – as we'll forever remain worried about Sakho's ability to stay fit – and just hope the legs of other three don't fall off.
Allen will almost certainly come back into the side, one of the few players I'd guarantee to start. Were Rossiter available, he'd certainly start as well, but without, Liverpool's choices are Can again – the only player to feature in every match so far this season – or Chirivella.
Finally, the above also assumes starts for both Benteke and Firmino, ready from the beginning after substitute appearances against Kazan and Southampton. Maybe they're still not ready, maybe they'll be protected for Saturday. If not, well, Teixeira or Brannagan or (sigh) Coutinho or Lallana instead of Firmino; Origi or Sinclair instead of Benteke. Like Allen, Ibe's almost guaranteed to play, taking up one of the two or three attacking midfield berths, one of Liverpool's few second-choice options available and very much in need of game time.
We'll see a different Bournemouth side than Liverpool faced two months ago. Three starters – Callum Wilson, Tommy Elphick, and Max Gradel – are out injured, as is Mings and Arter, Bournemouth with as many injury problems as Liverpool have. At the same time, Eddie Howe rotated his side almost completely for both previous rounds.
If Howe sticks with the XI we've seen recently, it'll be something like Boruc; Francis, Cook, Distin, Daniels; Ritchie, Gosling, Surman, Pugh; Murray, King. If he rotates, Federici's an option in goal, Adam Smith at either fullback spot, O'Kane or MacDonald in midfield, Stanislas or Atsu on the flanks, Kermorgant or Rantie up front. Regardless, they'll line up as a 4-4-1-1/4-4-2, the formation seen in almost every fixture this season.
This is a Bournemouth side that's conceded ten goals in its last two matches: 5-1 losses at Manchester City and against Tottenham. It's tempting to say that it might finally be time for Liverpool to remember where the goal is, to score more than once for just the second time this season.
But we know better. Sure, it's a different Liverpool side and manager, but I can't help remembering the previous round, when Liverpool faced League Two opposition at home, a team which had conceded the most goals in all four English divisions, and proceeded to score just once from 50 or so shots, needing extra time and penalties to advance. And we'll continue to remember that, and all the other 1-1s, until shown different.
This fixture's become habit, the third consecutive season these sides have met in a cup match. Unfortunately for Liverpool, draws have also become habit, as we've loudly lamented over the last few weeks. Thankfully, Liverpool can't draw tomorrow, at least not at the end of the day, although we're still calling Carlisle one of the many 1-1s.
After Sunday, it feels like Liverpool need just one break for the dam to burst. Well, there's no time like the present.
Last four head-to-head:
1-0 Liverpool (h) 08.17.15
3-1 Liverpool (a; League Cup) 12.17.14
2-0 Liverpool (a; FA Cup) 01.25.14
4-1 Liverpool (h; FA Cup) 01.30.68
Last round(s):
Liverpool: 1-1 Carlisle aet [3-2 pens] (h)
Bournemouth: 2-2 Preston aet [3-2 pens] (a); 4-0 Hartlepool (a)
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Southampton (h); 1-1 Kazan (h); 0-0 Tottenham (a)
Bournemouth: 1-5 Tottenham (h); 1-5 City (a); 1-1 Watford (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Benteke, Ings 3; Lallana, Sturridge 2; Can, Coutinho, Milner 1
Bournemouth: Wilson 5; Gosling, Murray, Pugh, Ritchie, Stanislas 2; Cook, Kermorgant, MacDonald 1
Referee: Mike Jones
Guess at a line-up:
Bogdan
Clyne Skrtel Toure Moreno
Allen Can
Brannagan Firmino Ibe
Benteke
You'd assume there'd be a plethora of changes: three matches in eight days prior, Chelsea to come three days after. But I still have no idea what to expect under this manager, and Liverpool's squad remains hamstrung by injuries, with the added bonus of Milner's suspension after his fifth yellow card.
There are a few under-21s in contention, I guess, although I'll readily admit I know little about them. Chirivella and Brannagan – who just signed a new long-term contract – both appeared at Bordeaux a month ago, Conor Randall's been on the bench in all three of Klopp's matches, Teixeira and Sinclair were on the bench in Klopp's first at Tottenham.
Coutinho, Lallana, and Lucas seemingly have to be rested. I'd suggest similar for at least three of Liverpool's four defenders, but Liverpool don't really have any other defenders. Even though Randall's made the bench in the last three matches, he's never played a first team minute. Jose Enrique? Still not a thing that exists. Is Lovren injured or just out of favor? So let's just say Toure for Sakho – as we'll forever remain worried about Sakho's ability to stay fit – and just hope the legs of other three don't fall off.
Allen will almost certainly come back into the side, one of the few players I'd guarantee to start. Were Rossiter available, he'd certainly start as well, but without, Liverpool's choices are Can again – the only player to feature in every match so far this season – or Chirivella.
Finally, the above also assumes starts for both Benteke and Firmino, ready from the beginning after substitute appearances against Kazan and Southampton. Maybe they're still not ready, maybe they'll be protected for Saturday. If not, well, Teixeira or Brannagan or (sigh) Coutinho or Lallana instead of Firmino; Origi or Sinclair instead of Benteke. Like Allen, Ibe's almost guaranteed to play, taking up one of the two or three attacking midfield berths, one of Liverpool's few second-choice options available and very much in need of game time.
We'll see a different Bournemouth side than Liverpool faced two months ago. Three starters – Callum Wilson, Tommy Elphick, and Max Gradel – are out injured, as is Mings and Arter, Bournemouth with as many injury problems as Liverpool have. At the same time, Eddie Howe rotated his side almost completely for both previous rounds.
If Howe sticks with the XI we've seen recently, it'll be something like Boruc; Francis, Cook, Distin, Daniels; Ritchie, Gosling, Surman, Pugh; Murray, King. If he rotates, Federici's an option in goal, Adam Smith at either fullback spot, O'Kane or MacDonald in midfield, Stanislas or Atsu on the flanks, Kermorgant or Rantie up front. Regardless, they'll line up as a 4-4-1-1/4-4-2, the formation seen in almost every fixture this season.
This is a Bournemouth side that's conceded ten goals in its last two matches: 5-1 losses at Manchester City and against Tottenham. It's tempting to say that it might finally be time for Liverpool to remember where the goal is, to score more than once for just the second time this season.
But we know better. Sure, it's a different Liverpool side and manager, but I can't help remembering the previous round, when Liverpool faced League Two opposition at home, a team which had conceded the most goals in all four English divisions, and proceeded to score just once from 50 or so shots, needing extra time and penalties to advance. And we'll continue to remember that, and all the other 1-1s, until shown different.
This fixture's become habit, the third consecutive season these sides have met in a cup match. Unfortunately for Liverpool, draws have also become habit, as we've loudly lamented over the last few weeks. Thankfully, Liverpool can't draw tomorrow, at least not at the end of the day, although we're still calling Carlisle one of the many 1-1s.
After Sunday, it feels like Liverpool need just one break for the dam to burst. Well, there's no time like the present.
22 September 2015
Liverpool v Carlisle 09.23.15
3pm ET, not live on TV in the US. Delayed on BeIN Sport at 8pm Thursday ET and on LFCTV for subscribers after midnight UK time (I think).
Last four head-to-head:
3-0 Liverpool (a; FA Cup) 01.07.89
3-0 Liverpool (h; FA Cup) 01.30.77
2-0 Liverpool (h) 04.12.75
1-0 Liverpool (a) 10.05.74
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Norwich (h); 1-1 Bordeaux (a); 1-3 United (a)
Carlisle: 2-2 York (a); 2-1 Dag & Red (h); 3-2 Barnet (h)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: n/a
Carlisle: 2-1 QPR (a); 3-1 Chesterfield aet (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Benteke 2; Coutinho, Ings, Lallana 1
Carlisle: Ibehre 10; Asamoah, Miller 3; Archibald-Henville, Balanta, Kennedy, Osei, Thompson, Wyke 1
Referee: Andrew Madley
Guess at a line-up:
Bogdan
Gomez Toure Lovren
Clyne Rossiter Milner Ibe
Firmino
Origi Ings
As per usual in cup competition, the main question for Liverpool is how many changes: can Liverpool strike a balance between needing to rest players, needing to give youngsters and second-stringers a chance, and needing to win a match for the first time in five weeks.
The above guess at a line-up probably takes rotation too far. It's almost entirely second-string, with seven players signed this summer, two Academy graduates, and two out-of-favor defenders. Jordon Ibe would be the longest-tenured Liverpool player in that XI, and that could well be a recipe for disaster in the League Cup. See: Northampton Town, Notts County, Middlesbrough, etc. But Liverpool played two matches last week, Liverpool play two matches this week, and Liverpool will play two matches next week. You'd think there have to be a fair few changes.
The above guess at a line-up also assumes that Liverpool will persist with the 3-4-1-2 that we saw against Norwich. Because, well, it was the first time in a month that Liverpool's actually looked almost competent at the football. We could just as easily see a return to the 4-3-3, something like Bogdan; Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Gomez; Milner, Rossiter, Lallana; Ibe, Ings, Firmino. Or a mostly full-strength lineup because Liverpool (and Rodgers) are under enough pressure, rotation and fitness be damned.
Here's my logic for the above guesses:
• Goalkeeper: Seems like Liverpool have to give Bogdan a first appearance, but Rodgers may want to stick with Mignolet to quickly put Sunday's error in the past.
• Center-backs: Lovren will come back into the side, Gomez will come back into the side, and Rodgers will probably spell Skrtel in favor of Toure.
• Wing-backs: Moreno's started consecutive matches after rarely appearing to start the season. Gomez's will probably be needed at center-back. So Clyne probably has to play, with Ibe on the opposite flank. I guess Lallana's an option at wing-back, but that rarely worked last season. Jose Enrique is still not a thing that exists.
• Midfield: Henderson and Allen are injured, I suspect Lucas can't play two matches in a week anymore, Emre Can is the only outfield player to feature in all seven matches this season. Milner could be rested as well, but he sat out Liverpool's Europa League match last Thursday, needs redemption after a mediocre – at best – performance on Sunday, and Liverpool need at least a couple of experienced players. So he'll probably join Rossiter in the middle, but if Liverpool want to go full youth, Chirivella's also an option.
• Attacking midfield: PLAY FIRMINO CENTRALLY.
• Strikers: Benteke's injured and I'm terrified of starting Sturridge twice in four days so soon after returning. Although I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a substitute late on.
The last time Carlisle lost a match in the league or League Cup – not counting an 0-1 defeat in the Football League Trophy with a wholly changed side – was the same weekend that Liverpool last won a match: three wins and two draws in the league over the last month, and the surprising 2-1 win at QPR which got them to this stage of the competition.
That they're currently 10th in League Two is something of a lie, there solely on goal difference, behind the league leaders by just four points, with just seven points separating 1st and 15th.
I couldn't possibly guess Carlisle's XI or formation, but will note they played 4-4-2 in their last match at York: Gillespie; Miller, Raynes, Archibald-Henville, Grainger; Joyce, Sweeney, Kennedy, Dicker; Iberhe, Gilliead. According to Transfer Markt, they've switched between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 this season, using both formations equally regularly.
Jabo Ibehre, a 32-year-old playing for his ninth lower-league team over his 15-year career, has 10 goals in 10 games this season. He's scored more than 10 goals in a season just once: for League One Walsall in 2008-09. To say he's on a bit of a hot streak is an understatement. Just in time to face a Liverpool side renowned for conceding early and often, in the most unlikely and hilarious ways. Hurrah. Also, there's one familiar name in Carlisle's squad: left-back Danny Grainger, a player that Liverpool faced in Rodgers' first season, in both legs of the Europa League qualifiers against Hearts.
No matter how many changes Liverpool make to the XI, we need to see a response to the trauma of the last month. We need to see individual players actually playing to the levels we know they can reach, we need to see some semblance of a team. Yes, this is still the League Cup, the redheaded stepchild of competitions, but it has been 36 days since Liverpool last won a match. You can't go an hour without reading yet another RODGERS OUT article online.
There have only been seven matches, but this season's quickly slipping out of hand already. Time to stop the rot.
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Meta: There almost certainly won't be a match review because it's not on television in the US and I won't have access to a DVR. And there most likely won't be a match infographic either, because a) I probably won't see the match and b) even though Who Scored now has the necessary stats for the League and FA Cups, I doubt I'll want to put that amount of effort into a third-round League Cup match. I'm sorry I'm a lazy man and that I've spoiled you.
Last four head-to-head:
3-0 Liverpool (a; FA Cup) 01.07.89
3-0 Liverpool (h; FA Cup) 01.30.77
2-0 Liverpool (h) 04.12.75
1-0 Liverpool (a) 10.05.74
Last three matches:
Liverpool: 1-1 Norwich (h); 1-1 Bordeaux (a); 1-3 United (a)
Carlisle: 2-2 York (a); 2-1 Dag & Red (h); 3-2 Barnet (h)
Previous rounds:
Liverpool: n/a
Carlisle: 2-1 QPR (a); 3-1 Chesterfield aet (h)
Goalscorers (all):
Liverpool: Benteke 2; Coutinho, Ings, Lallana 1
Carlisle: Ibehre 10; Asamoah, Miller 3; Archibald-Henville, Balanta, Kennedy, Osei, Thompson, Wyke 1
Referee: Andrew Madley
Guess at a line-up:
Bogdan
Gomez Toure Lovren
Clyne Rossiter Milner Ibe
Firmino
Origi Ings
As per usual in cup competition, the main question for Liverpool is how many changes: can Liverpool strike a balance between needing to rest players, needing to give youngsters and second-stringers a chance, and needing to win a match for the first time in five weeks.
The above guess at a line-up probably takes rotation too far. It's almost entirely second-string, with seven players signed this summer, two Academy graduates, and two out-of-favor defenders. Jordon Ibe would be the longest-tenured Liverpool player in that XI, and that could well be a recipe for disaster in the League Cup. See: Northampton Town, Notts County, Middlesbrough, etc. But Liverpool played two matches last week, Liverpool play two matches this week, and Liverpool will play two matches next week. You'd think there have to be a fair few changes.
The above guess at a line-up also assumes that Liverpool will persist with the 3-4-1-2 that we saw against Norwich. Because, well, it was the first time in a month that Liverpool's actually looked almost competent at the football. We could just as easily see a return to the 4-3-3, something like Bogdan; Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Gomez; Milner, Rossiter, Lallana; Ibe, Ings, Firmino. Or a mostly full-strength lineup because Liverpool (and Rodgers) are under enough pressure, rotation and fitness be damned.
Here's my logic for the above guesses:
• Goalkeeper: Seems like Liverpool have to give Bogdan a first appearance, but Rodgers may want to stick with Mignolet to quickly put Sunday's error in the past.
• Center-backs: Lovren will come back into the side, Gomez will come back into the side, and Rodgers will probably spell Skrtel in favor of Toure.
• Wing-backs: Moreno's started consecutive matches after rarely appearing to start the season. Gomez's will probably be needed at center-back. So Clyne probably has to play, with Ibe on the opposite flank. I guess Lallana's an option at wing-back, but that rarely worked last season. Jose Enrique is still not a thing that exists.
• Midfield: Henderson and Allen are injured, I suspect Lucas can't play two matches in a week anymore, Emre Can is the only outfield player to feature in all seven matches this season. Milner could be rested as well, but he sat out Liverpool's Europa League match last Thursday, needs redemption after a mediocre – at best – performance on Sunday, and Liverpool need at least a couple of experienced players. So he'll probably join Rossiter in the middle, but if Liverpool want to go full youth, Chirivella's also an option.
• Attacking midfield: PLAY FIRMINO CENTRALLY.
• Strikers: Benteke's injured and I'm terrified of starting Sturridge twice in four days so soon after returning. Although I wouldn't be surprised to see him as a substitute late on.
The last time Carlisle lost a match in the league or League Cup – not counting an 0-1 defeat in the Football League Trophy with a wholly changed side – was the same weekend that Liverpool last won a match: three wins and two draws in the league over the last month, and the surprising 2-1 win at QPR which got them to this stage of the competition.
That they're currently 10th in League Two is something of a lie, there solely on goal difference, behind the league leaders by just four points, with just seven points separating 1st and 15th.
I couldn't possibly guess Carlisle's XI or formation, but will note they played 4-4-2 in their last match at York: Gillespie; Miller, Raynes, Archibald-Henville, Grainger; Joyce, Sweeney, Kennedy, Dicker; Iberhe, Gilliead. According to Transfer Markt, they've switched between 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 this season, using both formations equally regularly.
Jabo Ibehre, a 32-year-old playing for his ninth lower-league team over his 15-year career, has 10 goals in 10 games this season. He's scored more than 10 goals in a season just once: for League One Walsall in 2008-09. To say he's on a bit of a hot streak is an understatement. Just in time to face a Liverpool side renowned for conceding early and often, in the most unlikely and hilarious ways. Hurrah. Also, there's one familiar name in Carlisle's squad: left-back Danny Grainger, a player that Liverpool faced in Rodgers' first season, in both legs of the Europa League qualifiers against Hearts.
No matter how many changes Liverpool make to the XI, we need to see a response to the trauma of the last month. We need to see individual players actually playing to the levels we know they can reach, we need to see some semblance of a team. Yes, this is still the League Cup, the redheaded stepchild of competitions, but it has been 36 days since Liverpool last won a match. You can't go an hour without reading yet another RODGERS OUT article online.
There have only been seven matches, but this season's quickly slipping out of hand already. Time to stop the rot.
---
Meta: There almost certainly won't be a match review because it's not on television in the US and I won't have access to a DVR. And there most likely won't be a match infographic either, because a) I probably won't see the match and b) even though Who Scored now has the necessary stats for the League and FA Cups, I doubt I'll want to put that amount of effort into a third-round League Cup match. I'm sorry I'm a lazy man and that I've spoiled you.
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