FROM a psychological standpoint Liverpool hold an advantage over Spurs this weekend in that they’re certain they are a team mired in genuine plight.
“So many things are unlike us in this moment,” Jurgen Klopp admitted after his side lost for the second week running, both times against misfiring opponents who hadn’t won since August, and if that analysis overly simplifies what we’re all witnessing, it at least acknowledges there are problems to solve; an identity to reclaim.
It has been a steady decline into the ordinary that has both structural and individual issues, the latter epitomized by the woeful and sustained poor form of Fabinho, a player who usually holds the easel steady while Mo Salah and co. Jackson Pollock their masterpieces. The Brazilian has looked off-it all season and in the role he is tasked with fulfilling that was always going to be costly.
Trent Alexander-Arnold meanwhile has proven beyond all reasonable doubt that he is the best and worst of Liverpool, a flying full-back who is an enormous asset when the sun is shining at Anfield and a liability when it rains. Twelve games in last season, the 24-year-old boasted six assists and was being feted as a world-class talent. This time out, he has yet to assist and every opposition manager makes a point of targeting his weaknesses in their pre-match team-talk.
Lastly, we come to Virgil Van Dijk, who remains an imperious defender blessed with an innate reading of danger. Still, unquestionably the towering Dutchman has lost his fear factor these past few months and with Liverpool’s risky high-line that once amounted to an extra man.
Virgil Van Dijk loses his first-ever Premier League match at Anfield.
The unbeaten streak ends at 70 games ❌ pic.twitter.com/8432RS1UQt
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 29, 2022
Regarding the Reds’ structural concerns, a key flaw has been the struggle to assimilate Darwin Nunez into a set-up that has not previously housed a striker with his skill-sets. Yet, for all that rival fans delight in mocking his misses, and for all that Liverpool fans defend his attributes, it is not Nunez’s presence that inhibits Liverpool but rather a player no longer there. Goodness, how they’ve missed Sadio Mane this term.
The rest of Liverpool’s shortcomings were all on display last Saturday evening as Leeds put an end to a proud and long-standing home record. Once again, Klopp’s men conceded first and early, making it eight occasions now they have gone behind in league fixtures. That’s the same number of times as rock-bottom Forest.
Worse yet, their capacity to recover is not what it used to be. Across all of 2021/22, Liverpool were behind in 12 games, going on to lose only two of them. From their eight required fightbacks this season, they have triumphed just the once.
This is largely due to a weariness that has permeated the team, a lethargy that was evident against Leeds even if their overall pressing stats still hold up to some scrutiny.
It is an acoustic version of a heavy metal classic that Klopp cannot find solutions to plainly because there aren’t any available at present, at least not in human form. As his side flailed for inspiration after equalizing and bringing Anfield to life, his attacking options from the bench was limited solely to Fabio Carvalho, a superb talent for sure but one who can’t be expected to supersub on a regular basis at this nascent stage of his career. Elsewhere, there was Henderson and Milner, players you bring on to steady the ship, not rock it.
Add in that Liverpool’s chance conversion rate this season is below that of Crystal Palace and Brighton – teams whose profligacy is mentioned often – while at the back they have afforded a shot on target every 15 minutes since the international break, and we can be in no doubt that a creation that so recently struck fear into one and all is now beginning to fear itself.
The same should be true of Spurs only they lack such self-awareness at this juncture.
A rousing second-half comeback at Bournemouth partly explains for that, with Antonio Conte praising his side’s character and personality post-match instead of acknowledging why it was needed in the first place.
"No team in the Premier League has won more points from behind than Spurs.
No team in the Champions League has won more points from behind than Spurs.
Of their 37 points this season across the two competitions, 17 have come from a losing position"
— Spooky, The Creator (@Spooky23) November 2, 2022
Like Liverpool, Tottenham have a worrying propensity to concede in first-halves, doing so nine times this term, with five of those struck inside 25 minutes. For context, Everton have been breached four times prior to the break in 2022/23. Newcastle just twice.
As for individuals underwhelming we turn to Son Heung-min whose numbers have plummeted from their highs of recent seasons. A 13-minute hat-trick aside that downed Leicester, the South Korean has contributed just two assists all campaign but even these scant figures don’t do justice to the mediocrity of his overall play. How many times has he had a bad touch? How many times has he overhit a straightforward pass? With Kulusevski and Richarlison suffering fitness problems Son’s form must keep Conte up at night because as reliable as Harry Kane is, it’s anything but ideal to rely on him.
Structurally meanwhile, Spurs appear sound, courtesy of a very conservative 3-4-3 that Conte seems stuck on, but appearances can be deceptive. Indeed, if we’re to get to the nub of Tottenham’s woes it’s that their coach insists on a cautious set-up that limits their attacking prowess but is designed to routinely accrue clean sheets. Instead, only Fulham have conceded more from the top ten.
Woes? That feels like an exaggeration given that Spurs are currently third in the league and head into this game on the back of a thrilling comeback. But that lofty placing derives from early results that Tottenham achieved despite not playing spectacularly well. And their success on the south coast will undoubtedly imbue the squad with confidence, a confidence that can be construed as denial.
Liverpool know that improvements are urgently needed. Can the same be said of Spurs who are in danger of sleepwalking into one hell of a wake-up call?
Some details that are worthy of note ahead of this clash.
The hosts have failed to beat Liverpool in their last 10 encounters and have conceded twice in each of their last three outings.
Mo Salah and Harry Kane meanwhile have scored a third of this fixture’s goals going back to 2017.
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