The mood and atmosphere in the Red half of Merseyside hasn’t been great as Liverpool, who started the season promisingly, have now somehow looked a shadow of themselves in recent times, especially since the start of the New Year. Liverpool’s loss and the manner of it against Southampton in the League Cup Semi Final First Leg raised many eyebrows and had it not been for an outstanding Loris Karius the Reds would not have had a fighting chance to overturn the deficit in the return leg.
Liverpool have only won once this year against a lowly Plymouth in the FA Cup replay since the New Year. Their loss at home to bottom placed Swansea City in the league has not only blown away their hopes winning the League but also has raised several questions ahead of a crucial run of games and could possibly even dent their hopes of a Top 4 finish which could see them miss out on the Champions League. It will be a cruel blow after such a promising start which saw them challenge Chelsea at the top during the Christmas period.
Clinical and Stubborn at the back, how have Saints fared off-late?
Southampton will be high on confidence after their thrashing of Champions Leicester City at the weekend and despite losing Jose Fonte’ to West Ham United and possibly their Player of the Season so far in Virgil Van Dijk, who limped off in the 3-0 win at the weekend, Southampton under Claude Puel can still be a stubborn side to break down, although the latter’s absence could be the opening Liverpool need going into the game. Dusan Tadic and Nathaniel Redmond have been in good form and would like to carry their league form into the second leg of the EFL Cup.
Well, Liverpool fans could take some positives into the game with Joel Matip and Philippe Coutinho coming back to first team action, two players who have been massively missed with the AFCON star Sadio Mane. Liverpool’s shaky defense could do with the return of Joel Matip who’s been a brilliant addition this season. Liverpool are yet to lose a game this season in which Matip has played.
We asked a few Liverpool fans to give their views about the game
Arnab Mukherji, from Kolkata, India
Q- What have you made of Liverpool’s form off-late and what has gone wrong after a fluid start to the season?
Arnab: Liverpool’s attacking gameplay and physical style of play demands a certain price. That price is burnout and intense fatigue during the crucial stages if not managed properly.
Liverpool has been unable to replicate the same energy on the pitch in 2017 largely because of exertion. The team has lost to clubs like Swansea and Bournemouth mainly because the players no longer possess the same energy to track back and fight for the ball like they did earlier.
There is no suitable backup for players like Lallana, Henderson, Coutinho and Matip. Can has struggled to perform at the levels desired and the defence has been amateur, to say the least.
James Milner has been sublime in a makeshift role but the center back slot badly needs to be reinforced in the summer. In Matip’s absence, Klavan and Lovren made a mess of it against Swansea City.
New signings in the winter window might just do the trick.
Q- Are Liverpool too reliant on Philippe Coutinho, Mane and Matip?
Arnab: – Liverpool indeed are too reliant on Coutinho, Mane and Matip. In Coutinho’s absence, the same players who used to knock in 6 goals on the trot seemed devoid of confidence. Even Firmino who was the star for Liverpool in 2016 was not at his best in Coutinho’s absence.
Mane’s impact has been sublime, to say the least. His pace, creativity and accuracy has made him a fan favourite pretty soon. In Mane’s absence, Liverpool were struggling to get the job done against Swansea and the team was clearly missing out on his energy, pace and ability to counter attack at the slightest opportunity.
Matip was hailed as the signing of the season in the initial few weeks after his top performances in the heart of defence. Lovren looked very comfortable with him as a partner and the defence finally had a leader.
Matip’s determination to win headers and ability to break down attacks made him a fan-favourite. In his absence, Lovren and Klavan were largely ineffective which indicates how dependent Liverpool is on him.
Prachi Tripathi, from Delhi, India
Q-How do you see the Southampton game knowing Liverpool have to chase the game? What are you expecting?
Prachi: Southampton will be playing at Anfield and they will definitely want to Park the Bus or should I say a double Decker Bus. They will press early and when Liverpool do get into their final third they will want to play a compact 4-5-1 to make it difficult for Liverpool to break them down. Claude Puel is known to be a defensive tactician for a long time and I don’t see him changing his tactics in this game.
The last time though they did press well, but this time I expect them to be defensive minded because of the lead they have. The Swansea game only game them more assurances. Liverpool will have to pass the ball a lot quicker if they don’t then one could see this end in a stalemate.
Q- Are Liverpool too reliant on Philippe Coutinho, Mane and Matip unlike when Klopp made a system that worked for everyone?
Prachi: It’s not about the systems now, it’s more about the momentum and rhythm that Liverpool had which got lost over a certain period of time due to injuries. If you’ve noticed, we have played our best when we have had all our players available to us. It’s been months since Liverpool played their best eleven and if Klopp can play his best eleven I don’t see why we can’t resurface to be the team we were at the start of the season.
Siraj Pissuelenkar, Porvorim, Goa, India
Q- What formation are you expecting from Klopp?
Siraj: Well, I’m expecting the formation that has worked the best for us this season which is a 4-3-3.
Lallana has been better off as a part of the middle three rather than the front three. I expect our standard midfield of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Lallana, with Hendo playing his number 6 role and the other two lads playing slightly ahead. I also expect and hope that Firmino plays in the position he has been really good at, in this season, as a false 9. Coutinho on the left side, with Origi on the right. I’d prefer Origi over Sturridge only because of his pace and his ability to press better.
I don’t think Sturridge would be too effective on the right side. Defensively it has to be Clyne, Matip, Lovren, Milner and Karius as our standard cup games stopper.
Subs: Mignolet, Klavan, Alexander-Arnold, Can, Sturridge, Lucas, Moreno.
Q- How should Klopp look at this game knowing we have to play Chelsea at the weekend?
Siraj: As far as how Klopp should take the game is concerned, I feel this game is slightly more important as compared to the game vs Chelsea. Realistically, Liverpool have a better chance of winning the EFL compared to winning the Premier League. It’s been almost 5 years since we won our last title, so winning this cup would definitely be a sigh of relief for the fans.
The League has a long way to go yet, with another 16 games yet to be played. The EFL Cup, on the other hand, is a do or die game, so Klopp must keep this in mind and play the best possible team versus Southampton. If we get a good start and are in a dominating position and likely to progress, only then should Klopp start thinking about the Chelsea game. Till then, only concentrate on the knockout game.
The fans have had their say, it’s time for Liverpool now to pull up their socks up and play to their potential again. A win over Southampton by more than two goals and Liverpool could dream of another Cup final at Wembley, their 2nd in two years and this could possibly give the team a push for their tough games ahead.
