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Sundays game will be fascinating viewing, will test both sides, and will thus reveal more about them and where exactly where they are. On the surface, both sides look as they were last season. City, although they’ve lost a few games, still look a very bold side capable of beating anybody, and comfortably at that. Liverpool, not quite as bold, are still looking remarkably resilient and keep finding a way to win, even if it isn’t always very comfortable and they leak a few goals. Indeed you can see why it was so close last season – two different systems, both highly effective.
If Liverpool win, it will send out a real statement and question marks will then be raised over City.
A draw will indicate both sides are pretty much as they were last season.
A City win obviously puts them right back in it and they’ll possibly move back to being favourites.
When making a prediction, for me the big question is with City. I obviously know Liverpool better and for all their faults, as I say they still look remarkably resilient. So I know what to expect. With City they’ve been a bit more inconsistent and thus a touch more harder to predict. I’m sure they’ll be well up for the game. But what is the state of their deeper mentality this season if/when they’re up against it? Sundays game should reveal a lot.
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For me, the concern with Keita last night was his general desire in the game. Whilst he still chased back and what not, he just looked like a player who was chasing back because he’d been *told* to rather than because he *wanted* to. And if you look for example at the cross that led to the Genk corner that they scored from, he just made a lazy attempt to close it down. Unless he’s playing with the handbrake on to stay fit at this time, but he obviously can’t do that forever, and in any case it’s hard to buy that given Klopp only ever wants to field players who are 100% committed.
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Think Origi was bright. But Salah is definitely the most “luxury” player in our front 3. I remember some Utd friends some years ago always stress that Rooney was always the most important player in the Ronaldo/Rooney partnership. And it’s similar with us with Mane & Firmino being the sparks that generally make things happen.
Another win anyway.
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Yep…and very few signs and evidence he’s going to turn a corner. Just doesn’t look particularly happy here.
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Disappointed in Keita again, just looks half hearted in a lot of his games. Just seems to drift in and out the game, loses the ball easily and doesn’t seem to fully committed to the game. In the lead up to the Genk corner (they scored from) he just had a half hearted close down attempt to stop the cross going in. Compare vs Origi who looks full of beans.
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But is there not something fragile about that front 3, particularly the amount of games some of them have played in the Copa America & African Nations cup over summer? As for us needing a young player with potential, we are the champions of Europe and one of the best teams around – in any case, there is a premium on very good young players now anyway – even Real Madrid now target younger players (Hazard being the exception over summer). So any young talent that is worth investing in is now going to cost a lot. I concede it’s early days with him, but he’s already scoring a variety of goals, and he does look very good. You have to be ruthless in this game, particularly with City around, and whilst things certainly look good at the moment, an injury or two could have a serious impact on us. There was a player there that Klopp really liked and we all know how selective he is, so it just does feel like a big opportunity missed for me, particularly if he really establishes himself – and it would potentially have saved us money in the future.
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And just to preempt the counter argument that Pulisic would not have wanted to play second fiddle to the front 3, it’s taken quite a few games for Pulisic to get into the Chelsea team. And you’re not telling me if he’d come to Liverpool and hit the ground running, Klopp wouldn’t have kept playing him? We have more than enough games to have been able to rotate them all and given them all games, whilst keeping them all on their toes.
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What are people’s thoughts on us not signing Pulisic? I note at the time the reasons given were we were already strong in that department and had found Shaqiri at just £13 million to be a back up option. I know he’s been injured more recently but even so Klopp rarely uses him, presumably because his trust in the front 3 is absolute. But if we’re truly honest here the form of the front 3 has been somewhat inconsistent over the last 18 months. Whilst Salah can still pop a rabbit out a hat, he doesn’t half disappear in a lot of games particularly away from home as others have said. Firmino has generally been good but again can be poor at other times. Mane is probably the best of the 3 in terms of consistency – even if he can be guilty of missing a good chance, he never stops trying. But nevertheless I don’t think what helps them is that they effectively have *no* competition. We all know they are the first names on the team sheet in the vast majority of games.
So back to Pulisic – here is a guy that Klopp clearly liked and wanted, and therefore, you would think, would ultimately trust and play. Now whenever people mentioned during the transfer window that we needed another player or two – the general response was – yes but who, and people stressed how difficult it was to find the right player – yet there was a player there in plain sight that Klopp really liked and actually bid on in his first season at our club. Yes he was expensive, but so were others we bought, but it proved money well spent. And can anyone now really say Pulisic doesn’t look value for money after hitting the ground running in some style at Chelsea? You look at the difference an extra attacker like Sane made to City last season – he arguably made the difference. And with Keita still looking far from the player we were hoping for, and Ox’s injury history to still bear in mind, I don’t half think we’ve missed a huge opportunity here. Also, it’s certainly not inconceivable that one of our front 3 will leave at the end of the season possibly for a different challenge somewhere else. Pulisic could have prepared us for that hit right now…
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Is Paul the Octopus not still available? Had a good record from what I remember.
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A six point gap has now opened up between the top 4 and the rest…
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Thing is though Nine, it wasn’t that his armpit was offside – the whole fundamentals of the offside check are completely flawed. When they did the first check, Firmino was onside, so they drew a new offside line again to make it that he was offside. And that’s not to mention the flawed perspective of the line angles anyway. The whole thing is beyond a farce. Watch this from Andy Gray…
Proof that Firmino was ONSIDE when #VAR official Martin Atkinson initially drew the lines!#beINPL #AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/JrJsGtyA5a
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) November 2, 2019
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A bit like the referendum, there just doesn’t seem to have been any kind of coherent plan on how to exactly implement it. In that case and VAR they’ve gone ahead first and done the thinking and details later. Like driving full steam ahead into a mine field and worrying about the mines later.
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Thank you for the kind words chaps, though I just call things as I see them, as many others do well. I think we’ve all almost developed a sixth sense with our club over the years…
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Mak, I suspect with Fabinho being one yellow card away from a suspension, he was rested today to save him for the City game.
Agree the line up was idealistic and we’re having to really squeeze everything out of us to get over the line. Klopp clearly still has trust issues with some of the squad, hence I suspect that’s why Lallana started ahead of Ox. It’s not easy to watch at times, but it is still ultimately working. And with Keita seemingly going the way that Aquilani did, Klopp’s reliable options in midfield are very limited.
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Just to confirm the farce…
Proof that Firmino was ONSIDE when #VAR official Martin Atkinson initially drew the lines!#beINPL #AVLLIV pic.twitter.com/JrJsGtyA5a
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) November 2, 2019
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These minuscule offsides are farcical in the context of the nature of the game. There’s no other word for them.
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Pulisic already proving an important match winner for Chelsea.
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Some assist too by Jorginho…
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We really are the new Utd under Fergie…
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Almost reminds of Benitez when he used to make some bizarre rotations but just expect it to work fine. Our usual midfield usually struggles away anyway in these kinds of away games, particularly in terms of creativity. Not surprised in the slightest we’re struggling today.
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