“Anfield Kop End” by Polo Metz (CC  BY-SA 1.0)

 

Going into round four of the Champions League group games, Liverpool put themselves in pole position in group C, and knew a win away in Serbia would further cement that. However, a 2-0 shock defeat at the hands of Red Star Belgrade has completely turned the group on its head, and Liverpool now appear to be in a very tricky position with just two games to go.

As the group stands, Napoli are top with six points, Liverpool join them on the same number while PSG are just one point behind with five. Up next for Liverpool, a trip to face the number one seed in the group, PSG. While that tussle is going on, Napoli will be hoping they can beat Red Star to maintain their lead at the top, although they did draw in Serbia when the sides met for the first time so they have to be wary of that.

A Napoli win would put them onto nine points and, should PSG do the same, they would be on eight, leaving Liverpool in third place with six points on the board. That would leave Liverpool outside of the qualification spots and staring at a Europa League place with just one game to go.

 

“Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp” by Дмитрий Голубович (CC BY-SA 3.0)

 

One positive for Liverpool is that their final game is at home against Napoli, and they may need to call upon the crowd to help them recreate a memorable Anfield night if they are to make it to the knockout round.

However, Liverpool should not even be thinking about that game until they have faced PSG, which takes place at the end of the month. The latest football betting has PSG as the 19/20 favourites to win that game, with Liverpool at 5/2. That shows the size of the task ahead for Jurgen Klopp’s men; it certainly isn’t going to be easy for them.

Something that will trouble Liverpool fans is the manner of their defeat in Serbia, which was very disappointing to watch. Liverpool conceded two early goals in their defeat, which was always going to be difficult to recover from, but they failed to create many opportunities.

With players like Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firminho, they have one of the best attacking lineups in the world but, despite having a lot of the ball, Liverpool failed to do much with it. These players are expected to carry Liverpool forward and, when the going gets tough, they are expected to rise to the challenge and find a way through. They didn’t against Red Star Belgrade and they cannot afford for that to happen to them again.

Things looked very promising for Liverpool ahead of the game in week four but, now, heading into week five, they find themselves in a very tricky position and one that could get a whole lot worse with a loss in France. It is time for Liverpool to dig deep and show what they are made of in the Champions League, otherwise, an early exit could be on the cards.

As one of the biggest ties in the Premier League era (and before), Arsenal against Liverpool always carries an electric edge to it. We can see this being a majorly enjoyable tie: Arsenal are on the midst of a fantastic run, while Liverpool have become surprisingly cynical and capable of snatching results.

The bombastic 3-3 at The Emirates last year will live long in the memory: will this game produce the same drama this time around? Can Liverpool prevail?

Arsenal News

With a hugely impressive run of form in recent times, Arsenal have had the form of their strike duo Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to thank. With 11 goals between them, they are in wonderful form in an attacking sense.

24 goals, too, is a good all-round return – though the surprising 13 conceded is a bit of an issue. However, nobody can doubt the quality of a squad that has gone so long unbeaten and is seeing injuries reduce compared to their classic norm.

Liverpool News

Liverpool were in a bit of a tight spot after the international break, with injuries to key players like Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Naby Keita and Sadio Mane. Three have returned, but the slow-burning Keita is not yet back and has yet to really hit the heights in red.

Games like this, when space will open up and opportunities will present themselves, would have been ideal for him, though. Jürgen Klopp, who has enjoyed a very impressive run of results against the Gunners since he came to Anfield three years ago, might see this as a good time to allow his more precise passers to play, hoping to use that open space to good effect.

Verdict

Score draw. These are two great sides at the moment, but have enough flaws to make it hard to see one as the overriding winner. If we had to for a winner, we would go for the away side – but a pulsating draw, which suits nobody but Manchester City, feels most appropriate.

As one of the most enjoyable fixtures to watch in recent years, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City always provide a very impressive game. Both sides have been around the UEFA Champions League spots for a while, and this game could go a long way to determining their general growth as clubs in the weeks and months to come.

Tottenham Hotspur News

Spurs come into this one after a daunting Champions League tie against PSV Eindhoven knowing that they need a good result. If they use too much energy, though, being able to match an imperious City side might prove tough.

With the impressive form of the likes of Lucas Moura and Kieran Trippier, though, they should have all the skills needed to really hit City where it matters. City often struggle against pace on the break, of which Spurs have plenty.

Manchester City News

City come into this one after a comfortable win in Ukraine against Shakhtar Donetsk. While often a hard opponent to come up against, City manager Pep Guardiola said their first half was the best they have ever played under him – high praise indeed.

They arrive in North London with key players like Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and David Silva in sublime form. Conceding just 3 goals in 9 games, too, they have scored 36 and so shouldn’t feel too worried about either defensive or attacking frailty.

City can come forward knowing they have a structure which keeps the opposition at bay. With tough trips to Anfield and now Wembley out the way, City can look forward to less pressing fixtures after this.

Verdict

City win. They used very little up in dismantling Shakhtar, and should feel plenty good about how they will come into this one. Spurs are a good side, but City are utterly imperious: if they can pass through this test with the 3-points, they’ll already start to look pretty ominous as a club with regards to their title credentials.

Once seen as akin to a loveable little cub in the Premier League, a friendly away ground to visit and a team who often struggled away from home, Fulham are back. This time, though, under Slavisa Jokanovic, they carry a different kind of bite. They score a lot of goals, concede a fair few along the way and generally entertain far more than previous entities the Cottagers brought to the Premier League.

This time around, it all feels like a little more like when Fulham first came on the scene as a top flight team. They look wild-eyed, ambitious and entirely fearless of a challenge. They look like the kind of promoted team that, if they can keep their momentum and their playing ethos that got them promoted, they could easily fly forward into the new season.

More teams are put off by a playing style that’s as offensive and as aggressive as Fulham. With the likes of Ryan Sessegnon, Tom Cairney and Aleksander Mitrovic, they have a pretty serviceable amount of firepower for a newly promoted side.

2018/19 Prediction

The defence is the main concern, with the likes of Time Ream and Tomas Kalas – with all due respect – not really up to it at the very top end of English domestic football. They might need to replace some of the players who were so key last year, and how that impacts on a tightly knit and harmonious squad will be quite interesting.
They’ll stay up, though, defence or not.

Once the very personification of a well-run top-flight football club, Swansea City are a bit of a mess at the moment. There’s not a lot to be said for the decisions made ever since they changed hands to American ownership. With the once revered Huw Jenkins under fire from a fanbase who feel like the club has lost its soul, Swansea City are certainly no longer the same ethos-driven club they once were under the likes of Roberto Martinez.

Change is very much needed in Wales, and it’s hard to see it coming. The one thing in their favour, though, is the interesting appointment of Graham Potter. The ex-Ostersunds coach has done a tremendous job in Sweden, building a club up from nothing under massive constraints. He’s now in a position where he could restore a very cool football club to its previous glories, but it all depends on the balance of funding provided.

2018/19 Prediction

The fans aren’t too happy with how the club has been managed in the past few years, with a succession of contrasting appointments creating an uneven and rather ill-thought out playing staff. If Potter is to make an impact in England, that’ll need to change.

The club might struggle in season one, though. They have similar echoes to Aston Villa in terms of it was one squad transformation too many. It may take a year or two to restore the club’ culture, and this could mean a transformative and much-needed season of consolidation.