Brendan Rodgers hasn’t been afraid to change his side’s system depending on the opposition put in front of them.
In the second half of this season we have seen a Liverpool side that has had its system tinkered with depending on the opposition.
Liverpool have played with a diamond midfield in a 4-4-2 in recent weeks, they have also adopted 4-3-3 and a 4-2-3-1 system of late. They also experimented with a back three at the start of the season.
It is evident that Brendan Rodgers isn’t afraid to make subtle alterations to the team and personnel in order to exploit any potential weakness of the Reds’ opponents.
Next up for Liverpool in their bid for their first title in 24 years is West Ham United, a side that won in the Premier League this weekend with a 2-1 win over Sunderland – making themselves virtually sure of top flight football next season.
Unsurprisingly under Sam Allardyce they were direct and former Liverpool man Andy Carroll was a focal point for their attack. Kevin Nolan wasn’t afraid to get beyond the target man, as well as getting in and behind the Sunderland defence.
The striking aspect of the way Sunderland dealt with West Ham’s number nine was that they didn’t relish any sort of physical battle with him, and they were duly punished. Carroll won seven out of his ten aerial duels in their encounter against the Black Cats.
Though Rodgers isn’t renowned for tinkering with a back line that has kept a clean sheet in its previous outing, there is the temptation to bring in Mamadou Sakho to combat the threat that Carroll brings on Sunday.
Also, Carroll does have a tendency to drop deep in order to search for possession, and if he continues with this trait it would allow the Liverpool defence to step out and hold as high a line as possible.
In terms of the actual system, it wouldn’t be surprising if Liverpool do stick with the same personnel in the top end of the field – therefore it will probably be the same starting XI as the 4-0 win over Tottenham.
One interesting battle in the middle of the park may be Jordan Henderson up against Mark Noble. Noble picked up an early booking in last night’s game and at times looked as if he didn’t have the pace nor the energy to keep up with some Sunderland’s play in the middle. Henderson has those qualities in abundance, and to go along with his technical play, he could be a key man to win the battle in the middle of the park.
It could lead to Liverpool reverting to the diamond and having Sterling at the spearhead of it again as his pace could cause Allardyce’s men problems but that would leave Rodgers with a conundrum regarding whether he should opt for Joe Allen or Philippe Coutinho. Though it would be harsh to drop Coutinho for his excellent performances recently, Allen has looked more at home in that particular set-up.
If we also look at the goal that West Ham conceded – ultimately ending with a fine finish from Adam Johnson – it was down to some patient and very good interplay that opened the Hammers defence up.
West Ham had been content with their opponents having the ball after they opened the scoring – but if they give Liverpool too much of the ball they are likely to be punished given the 88 goals they have scored in the league so far this season. However, Reds old boy Stuart Downing was used frequently to start a counter-attack, and also had his chance to get on the scoresheet after collecting a crossfield ball, only to be denied by Vincent Mannone.
Though West Ham will carry a threat to Liverpool, there are several areas the Reds can exploit. Rodgers may have a bit of a headache with his two most recently used systems but he will want his full-backs involved in the play – as usual – as much as possible against a side that is likely to try and be solid at the back from the off.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Rodgers kept faith with the same side, same system and asked for the same again. But both of their recent systems could be very effective.
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