This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Liverpool will face Brighton at the weekend as they look to maintain their eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League. One battle in particular could decide the final outcome.
On the chalkboard
It has been a wonderful start to the campaign for the Reds. In their first 13 games, they have picked up maximum points from 12 of them, with the other one being a draw. They have not always been at their best, but they have been relentless in their pursuit of glory. After a disappointing 1-1 draw with Napoli in midweek – they had 71% possession but couldn’t score more than once – they will be hoping to bounce back against the Seagulls.
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Brighton, meanwhile, have had a mixed term up until now. They have won four, drawn three and lost six, with them picking up varying results. They have beaten the likes of Tottenham and Everton, for example, but have also lost to the Southampton and Aston Villa. It will be interesting to see which team turns up on Saturday.
As such, this has the potential to be a fascinating game, and one duel in the middle of the park could have a telling impact.
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It wasn’t just the result that will have disappointed Jurgen Klopp on Wednesday in the Champions League. Fabinho, who has been one of the Anfield outfit’s best players so far this campaign – he was called the best defensive midfielder in the world in September by Gary Neville (Sky Sports via Metro) – was forced off after just 19 minutes after picking up an ankle injury, and is out until 2020.
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So far this campaign, the Brazil international has started 11 of 13 league games in that position. In the two matches he was not included in the starting XI, Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana played in that deep-lying midfield position instead. With Wijnaldum not having missed a game so far this campaign, and the Reds easily dispatching Arsenal with him in the team, there is every chance he could be starting there again against Graham Potter and Co.
It is important that he keeps up with the 28-year-old’s ability on the ball. Fabinho has averaged 60.4 passes so far this campaign, the most in the midfield and the sixth-most in the team. With 1.1 key passes per match too, he is also the most creative in the centre of the park. Wijnaldum, meanwhile, has averaged 42.4 and 0.2 respectively. Both of those would need to go up drastically.
Opposite him for Brighton, Davy Propper will be looking to take advantage of Liverpool’s misfortune. As part of a ball-playing team – only six sides have a higher average possession than their 53.4% – he is the key element in the midfield. With the fourth-most passes in the team, and the most in the middle, the Seagulls will be looking to get him into play as much as possible.
His 1.1 key passes are the third-most amongst his teammates, whilst only Steven Alzate has more than his two dribbles per match. Wijnaldum, who has averaged 1.2 tackles, 0.6 interceptions and had been dribbled past 0.5 times, will need to be at the top of his game to stop the Netherlands international from driving forward and finding danger men such as Leandro Trossard, Pascal Gross and Neal Maupay.
Should £45m-valued Wijnaldum – as per Transfermarkt – be able to do that, his job will then be to look forward creatively and pick out the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. But with 2.6 tackles per match and 1.2 interceptions, Propper has the ability to thwart the 29-year-old. This really will be a contest that could shape the whole 90 minutes.
In other news, Paul Robinson says one Liverpool man is “struggling” at Anfield.
