After losing their most recent opening to Bournemouth, who are currently in 19th place, Jurgen Klopp’s team will head to Manchester City on Saturday. The fragile Liverpool team will have little chance of victory at the Etihad Stadium based solely on their standing in the standings, but there is evidence that The Kop has performed admirably against formidable opponents this season.
Liverpool really boast of the best head-to-head record in the current top 6 matches. Liverpool have won 15 points from 7 games , scoring 5 wins and 2 losses.
Liverpool is the club that receives the most points when facing the Top 6 teams at the moment
This is a better achievement than any of Man City (13 points), Arsenal (13 points), Man United (13 points), Newcastle (6 points) or Tottenham (3 points) this season.
Klopp was asked about this impressive record during Friday’s press conference ahead of his trip to the Etihad. He said: “Oh great! The main reason is that we didn’t play well enough against the other teams. When things are going well, you complete your situations. In general, if you don’t score, You have to try harder.”
Liverpool is positioned to contend for the Premier League championship once more this season after winning two trophies last year and going very close to winning two more. The team’s prospects of winning, however, were wrecked by a series of significant injuries and a lack of stability.
Liverpool’s last two games before the international series perfectly sum up their performance this season. Before to the unimpressive loss to Bournemouth, a team fιghting for survival, Liverpool put up one of the season’s best displays when they defeated a Manchester United team in fine form 7-0.
Liverpool struggled against weaker teams
The contrast between not only the results but also the performance shows that it is easy for Liverpool to lose focus right now. Klopp said on Friday: “When we got into the game, we were very strong. But we have to make sure that we are in the game, dealing with unnecessary defeats. That’s something we have to improve on.”
“There are many explanations for failures. Forest and Bournemouth are very different but we should have won both games. In the past, when it was difficult, we struggled with possession against these teams. We improved but we didn’t finish and the reaction was bad.”
Without Haaland, Man City still has a way to beɑt Liverpool
If the opponent is not Liverpool but one of the teams below, Guardiola will definitely let Haaland rest. But since this is Liverpool in a must-win, Haaland’s presence is so important.
The owner of 8 goals in the last 2 matches and beyond is 42 goals throughout the season, which is of course important. However, the groin injury encountered in the victory over Burnley made the Norwegian striker’s ability to play open.
“I talked and Haaland feels fine,” said Pep. “But we have to wait and see what happens. Life is full of risks at times like these, and we have to make decisions. The doctors, especially the players, will decide.”
In the worst case, if Haaland shakes his head, what does Pep think? At the moment, he is also losing Phil Foden and making his options in ɑttack much more limited.
This season, there are only 8 games Haaland is absent. And every time his tall friend did not start, Julian Alvarez took the lead in ɑttack. Alvarez is of course also the most reasonable solution at the moment, not only because he is the only true striker, but also because the Argentine striker is in stable form.
Alvarez is the best alternative to Haaland right now
In 8 main matches without Haaland by his side, Alvarez scored 4 goals and contributed 3 assists, helping Man City win 6 and lose only 1 time. The only defeat was when Man City launched a sub-team to face Southampton in the League Cup.
Man City can therefore feel easy knowing Alvarez is performing at his greatest level. Alvarez also excelled in this capacity at the 2022 World Cup, in case you forgot. Alvarez has decent finishing skills, so if given the chance, he will succeed.
Thus, the pair of wings Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez are what Pep needs to focus on in this situation. Compared to Foden, these two are not as mutant, but in return they are experts in ball control, knowing how to build up the ball methodically.
Of course, when the owner of Haaland is no longer available, Pep will definitely give more finishing power to the two wings to cut into his middle. Alvarez’s task will be to move a lot, attract people, create space for teammates to take advantage of.
In fɑct, Pep still has another way to arrange the ɑttack, which is to use the “virtual 9”. With this role, there is no need to fix anyone. In the match, De Bruyne, Gundogan or Bernardo Silva can all take over, then rotate the role, creating unpredictability in the gameplay.
