The team I want to see is: Allison Gomez Konate Virgil Kerketz Gravenberch Szoboszlai Wirtz Salah Isak Ekitike With the ball, the shape is more like: Allison Gomez Konate Virgil Gravenberch Szoboszlai Salah. ….. ……Wirtz……. …….. Kerketz Isak Ekitike Plenty of space on the left for Wirtz, Ekitike, and Isak to roam in and out of.
Slot’s pre-game presser covered a lot of ground INJURIES Everyone came through the Sunderland game without injury. "Joe Gomez got a knock against West Ham but was still able to start. He couldn't make the full 90 minutes but I think he will be able to train again today. "Conor Bradley has trained this week so I expect him to train today and then he is available to be in the squad tomorrow." LAST 2 GAMES "In the last two games we were one deflection away from keeping two clean sheets. I said against West Ham that the good thing for us was they didn't score their one and only chance, and the same thing happened again in this game. "They did not score the only chance they had, the chance they did score for me was not a chance after 93 minutes when they went one-on-one with the goalkeeper. "That's a step forward if you compare that to seven goals conceded in [the previous] two games. "We did not concede a set piece in both games, which was also important, as a result of that maybe we got two results." SUMMER SIGNINGS "There was also positives to take in the players brought in during the summer in that I see they are getting more and more consistent in their performances. "Florian [Wirtz] is maybe the most obvious one but I see the same with Milos Kerkez as well. Alex [Isak] scored his first goal a game ago. So there are positives to take but of course we are still not where we want to be. But compared to where we were after our last two losses - 3-0 and 4-1 - there are also things we have done better." SALAH Liverpool manager Arne Slot on whether he understands the "chatter" around Mohamed Salah being benched: "Of course, and he deserves that because of the player he has been for this club and for his team-mates for six or seven years. It's completely normal. "If I don't play players I have just brought to the club we are already talking about it so then it is completely normal that people talk about it when he isn't playing." "Every player is in my mind to start a game of football because we have so many good players. Mo has been such an exceptional player for us. He is always in my mind to either start or come in." TACTICS "Yesterday I looked at Leeds v Chelsea and I thought I saw a Liverpool game - Chelsea conceding a set-piece and for the third goal making a big, big error. "It was very difficult for them [Chelsea] because Leeds either went very aggressive with a one v one or went to a low block and it was really hard to create chances, so it's not only difficult for us, that playing style, it's difficult for many teams. "What we expect is what we have seen in the second half against City, when they were 2-0 down coming back to 2-2. Eventually Foden made the difference with a moment of magic for City and against Chelsea they were really strong, played really aggressive. "We know what to expect, but what we expect is what we have faced in nearly all our games, with the exception of two." LEEDS "Eevery Premier League game is a physical test. The best athletes in the world play in the Premier League, so every game you play is a physical test." AIMS Liverpool's main aim is now to finish in the top four, with them two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea: "For me, this tells us how good the Premier League is this season, as it already was last season but it gets better and better every single season - for obvious reasons, because everybody has so much money. That tells you how close the margins still are. "It's definitely our first aim to come back to the top four because we are obviously not happy with the position [ninth] we are in at the moment." WIRTZ "If you could only have confidence when you score goals that would be the wrong thing. You can see where his confidence is at if you look at the last two games how many times he wants the ball and how many times his team-mates play him the ball. That is something that tells me how much confidence he has at the moment. "It is also clear he came back with an injury from Germany, so I am already very happy that he is able to play so many minutes in this first two games after he came back from an injury. "He has done well. I wasn't surprised he was involved in the goal that we scored against Sunderland because he was one of the players who kept constantly trying and was creative." CHIESA "Every player has a possibility to start but we have many options to start in his position. But he's indeed having his impact coming off the bench a few times." ELLIOT I haven't had contact with him a lot, I think only once or twice and that was before and after he played Feyenoord away. Nothing to do with the fact he played against a former club of mine. "I am aware of his situation, of course. I knew how difficult it already was for him over here, so I think I know how he feels at this moment, but you should ask those questions at Villa and not over here."
This game has got difficulty, disappointment and dire display written all over it. Leeds are like Sunderland, well-drilled and physical. And they just beat Chelsea. Hopefully they will have drained a lot of energy out of themselves in that game. If not it may well be another l-o-n-g 90 minutes for us tomorrow.
You think? Slot was asked some awkward questions and I’m not sure he answered them well. He’s genuinely wedded to playing certain players regardless of form and previous results, and only turns to the bench when is lost
Was just about to say that. The really weird and stupid thing is that if we beat Leeds later on, we’re 8 points behind them. Given how absolutely shite we have been, we have no right to be that close; we’re only 2 behind CFC for 4th. It’s safe to say that a lot of clubs are playing crap and maybe, just maybe, the title and top 4 are far from decided. I would imagine this particular situation is also responsible for keeping Slot in business. Not so much that he’s great, more that he’s not much worse than anyone around.
I guess its how the world works, that if enough teams around us are rather poor we're "good enough" for things to stay the way they are. The team is poorly coached and prepared, and produces listless, mediocre performances. For a lot of us this is far from good enough, but we may be stuck with it for the foreseeable future unless we get into the relegation conversation. Very depressing.
We shouldn't even look at the top of the table - simply which ever team we are playing. IF IF IF - we can start picking up results - we can get back into the CL places quickly. That said - we really did have a nice run of games to pick up points - and we squandered it to a degree. But if we win today - that's 7/9 - not bad for where we were.
Hmm. Mac Allister isn’t starting. #LFC line up v Leeds: Alisson, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Ekitike, Gakpo.
Well - Bradley gets forward better than Gomez - so hopefully he can help add something to the attack today. fundamental problem however - if we can't find a way to involve the 9s - then it's like playing a man down.
On the way home from the woods this morning, I heard Allez Allez Allez. That's got to be some kind of sign, right? RIGHT??
The fact that Gakpo starts every match is evidence that Arne Slot thinks that wingers that stay wide are essential to the way he plays football. Which brings me back to the point I keep repeating…why did they give him a squad with no wingers? We sold Diaz so that a player who is not as good could start every single match.
Leeds picked a team with 5 defenders and 3 holding midfielders. Will this Liverpool team be able to break them down with Szoboszlai right wing and Gakpo left wing? I have my doubts.