Liverpool (a) pre-match thread

[cleavers]

Left side worries me. Don't think Mendy, Delph or Zin can cope with Salah if he suddenly finds form - hopefully he turns his ankle in the warm up.

I don't fancy Laporte there either, he played further forward than Mendy does, caught out so many times tonight.

 

[EL APACHE TEVEZ]

Doom and Gloom 2-1 city win

 

[balotelli's back pocket]

Ederson
Walker Otamendi Laporte Mendy
Bernardo Stones Silva
Sterling Aguero Sane

Muric Kompany Danilo Fernandinho Gundogan Mahrez Jesus

4-2 City.

 

[FantasyIreland]

I don't fancy Laporte there either, he played further forward than Mendy does, caught out so many times tonight.

Zinchenko all day over Laporte,as should have been the case tonight.

 

[Deleted member 81382]

Zinchenko all day over Laporte,as should have been the case tonight.

He was good against Oxford and Brighton, I'd worry about him defensively against Salah though.

 

[abu13]

Pep said Delph won't be back this week.

I hadn't heard that, well that makes it interesting then.
I assume a straight swap with Mendy then but not ideal for Sane.

 

[waspish]

We should confuse them and play our youth team.

 

[FantasyIreland]

He was good against Oxford and Brighton, I'd worry about him defensively against Salah though.

Id worry for anyone against Salah,he'll do ok and no worse than any of our other options.

 

[Mikejl]

Atkinson ref, we’re f*cked

 

[sh249]

I did think the same when stones came on and we adopted that formation. Pep will probably try something a little different so it’s not beyond reason.

It’s a system/shape that we’ve used a few times before - particularly during Pep’s first season (around the time we battered Chelsea and somehow contrived to lose). He also used it with Bayern at times. It’s one that I think he perhaps likes as it allows for four central midfielders essentially. And I reckon he sees having more passing options through midfield as one way of possibly beating their press - I suspect that was the thinking behind using Gundogan in that strange position narrow from the right hand side in the first leg of the semi. If I remember right, we also played with three at the back, without wing backs, in the second leg and hammered them for 45 minutes. So given all that - plus our current issues at left back, it wouldn’t surprise me to see it.
Then again, I could be, and probably will be, utterly wrong!

 

[northwichblue]

Wouldn’t surprise me to see something similar to the shape we went to when Stones came on:

——-———-—-——-Ederson——————
—Walker—Otamendi/Kompany—Laporte
—————-Fernandinho—Stones————
Sterling——--Silva————Bernardo—-Sane
——————————Aguero————————-

That looks a decent team.

 

[Kokonut1307]

Zinchenko all day over Laporte,as should have been the case tonight.

You want Salah to get his form back against us? Zinchenko would get murdered by him.

 

[Deleted member 81382]

Id worry for anyone against Salah

True but Mendy is our only natural left back and he offers the most going the other way. I know he's not too popular on here at the moment but if he's fit I'd play him.

 

[abu13]

Well we need to do something different against these fuckers, I personally think we should just go with our usual formation and let them worry about us but i have a feeling that Pep will put Gundo in the middle again as an extra midfielder.
Key decisions for me are who plays centre back alongside Laporte, who plays left back and right wing.

Myself i'd go for.

--------------------Ederson----------------------
Walker-----Stones-------Laporte------Delph
----------------------Ferny-----------------------
Mahrez-----Berny--------Merlin----------Sane
---------------------Aguero----------------------

I wonder if we are thinking of going 3 at the back
-------------------Ederson-------------------
-------Otto-------Stones-----Laporte-----
Walker--------------------------------Mendy
---------Berny----Ferny------Merlin-------
-----------Mahrez----- Aguero--------------

 

[The slaughtered lamb]

Wouldn’t surprise me to see something similar to the shape we went to when Stones came on:

——-———-—-——-Ederson——————
—Walker—Otamendi/Kompany—Laporte
—————-Fernandinho—Stones————
Sterling——--Silva————Bernardo—-Sane
——————————Aguero————————-

I'm starting to like the look of Stones in that roll. He looks a bit more like what Pep was looking for in this kind of game (Jorginho) in terms of passing and possession than Gundog. Lots of tracking back for Leroy if we go with that.

 

[FantasyIreland]

You want Salah to get his form back against us? Zinchenko would get murdered by him.

As will Mendy,who is far less disciplined,and we will be on the back foot IMO.

 

[Thaksinssoldier]

..............Ederson............
........Stones....Laporte....
KW..........Fern.............Zinchenko
.......Silva........Silva.......
Sterling....................Sane
.............Kun.................

We simply can't play anyone that's going to give away the ball. Whatever folk thing of Zinchenko, he's remarkably comfortable with the ball and recycles it better than most.

 

[Kokonut1307]

As will Mendy,who is far less disciplined,and we will be on the back foot IMO.

Maybe he would but Mendy is more althetic in my opinion. I would actually be happy if were to counter them instead of letting them counter us like the last few games.There is a reason they struggled against Mourinho and Conte in the last 2 years.

 

[FantasyIreland]

Maybe he would but Mendy is more althetic in my opinion. I would actually be happy if were to counter them instead of letting them counter us like the last few games.There is a reason they struggled against Mourinho and Conte in the last 2 years.

I think we'll struggle to counter,thats my point.

 

[Blumers Bloomers]

I've stopped trying to second guess what Pep will do. Wish he would stop messing about with the back four, it's no wonder the defence look suspect when they're not playing together as a unit every week. I know there's a lot of games and there have been injuries to contend with but the fact we're all debating whether we're best going with a back three/back four and only really Walker guaranteed a place in the majority of fans starting back line shows we've really not got a clue what Pep is thinking