International weeks are always frustrating.
The excitement and drama of the Premier League replaced by the dreariness of the England team struggling to qualify for a major tournament once again. It has always been dull but since Roy Hodgson was made England manager international breaks have become even more unpalatable. A double helping of ‘Hodge-ball’ is something no one should have to endure.
Fortunately however, there have been a number of things to help Liverpool fans to distract themselves on this particular occasion.
Chief among these is having a look at the league table. A brief glance could end up filling a whole afternoon. Played three, won three, Liverpool are top of the league. Even the most optimistic of Reds fans doesn’t expect the side to finish the season there, but, after a number of years struggling in mid-table at this stage of the season, a good start makes a very pleasant change.
Of course, the most common way of getting through the boredom brought on by the international break is to look ahead to what is in store when club football does return. It is when doing this that Kopites can start to wonder whether this brief stint at the top of the league might not be able to continue for a while longer.
Next up for Brendan Rodgers’ men is a trip to Swansea on Monday. It is a far from simple fixture but in the form that Liverpool have been in, it is also a match that they are very much capable of winning. The game at the Liberty is followed by a clash with Southampton at Anfield before Sunderland away, Crystal Palace at Anfield, a trip to St James Park and West Brom at home – all in the league, with the League Cup tie at Old Trafford in between the Southampton and Sunderland games. None are matches that the Reds should go into with any undue concern.
Simply put, if they perform as they have so far in the 2013/14 season, Liverpool could head into November leading the way in the Premier League.
Now we’ve been here before with Liverpool, looking at a run of fixtures that on paper should present a perfect opportunity to build momentum and pick up points. It rarely works out that way, certainly not in recent years. However, after three straight league wins and the manner of those victories, there is a sense that if Rodgers’ team can get a result in south Wales then confidence will rise further and a buoyant, fluent and increasingly resilient Liverpool would be in the perfect position to make a real statement of intent.
On paper, Monday’s game with Swansea is the most difficult of the Reds’ next six. Michael Laudrup’s side have had a tricky start to the season with defeats against Manchester United and Tottenham but victory last time out at West Brom, added to some impressive displays in Europe recently, shows the threat they can pose. The likes of Michu and Wilfried Bony are two obvious danger men for the Swans but the pace of Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer is something else the Liverpool defence will have to deal with. However, the way they have dealt with the likes of Robin van Persie, Christian Benteke and Gabriel Agbonlahor already in 2013/14 shows that the likes of Agger and Toure or Skrtel are more than capable of coping with the problems Swansea may cause.
At the other end, Swansea have a solid enough defence but with an in-form Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho due a performance and the excellent movement of the frontline as a whole, Liverpool will be confident of creating enough chances to win the match.
The game with Southampton at Anfield is one that Liverpool would always be expected to win. Despite some shrewd signings by the South Coast club, and the fact that they appear to be a club on the up, anything less than a victory would be seen as a disappointment. As with Swansea, the Saints have players who Liverpool will need to be wary of including boyhood Red Rickie Lambert, Italy international Dani Osvaldo and captain Adam Lallana. The power of Victor Wanyama alongside Morgan Scheiderlin in central midfield will also keep Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva busy. Overall though, the Reds should be able to give Mauricio Pochettino’s side far more to worry about than visa-versa, especially on home soil.
Both away games in the North-East are potentially tricky but with the seemingly unstable situations at both clubs, a good start from Liverpool is likely to cause great frustration amongst the home fans. Sunderland have made mass changes to their team and Paolo Di Canio has already questioned the attitude of his squad whilst at Newcastle it is the lack of signings and the arrival of Joe Kinnear that has so incensed the supporters. Both sides were battling relegation last term and the early indications are that it will be a similar story again this year. Brendan Rodgers and his players should be confident of going to the Stadium of Light and St James’ Park and using the doom and gloom surrounding their opponents to their advantage.
Sandwiched in between those fixtures in the North-East is a home game against Crystal Palace. Ian Holloway’s men saw off Sunderland last time out without looking anything like a side capable of surviving in the top flight. A newly promoted club arriving at Anfield should be expected to leave with nothing. Complacency is something to be wary of, though. After all Holloway’s Blackpool side won at Anfield a couple of seasons back, albeit at a time when the situation at L4 was at it’s darkest under Hicks and Gillett with Hodgson at the helm. But providing the Reds approach the game with right attitude, it should be a straightforward three points.
The last game of this six game run is another home match. This time West Bromich Albion are the opposition. A 2-0 home defeat to Steve Clarke’s team was one of few major disappointments during the second part of last season for Liverpool, but, since then the Baggies have been on the slide. An eighth placed finish masked a truly awful run for the Midlands club from January onwards and defeats to Southampton and Swansea so far this season suggest they’re struggling to rediscover their form of this time last year. Liverpool will want to make amends for the loss in February and, with a tough run of fixtures in November and December, there will be the added incentive to head into games at the likes of Arsenal and Everton on the back of a positive result.
The mantra is always to take it one game at a time. However, as fans it rarely works out that way and in this situation you can see why. The fixtures have been kind to Liverpool it would seem and, whilst the results on the pitch may prove to show such confidence to be misplaced, on paper, the Reds look to have a month or so that they can very much look forward to. This is a real opportunity to show what this team is capable of and string together an extended run of wins – to lay down a marker.
Liverpool’s stay at the top of the table may just be set to continue. If it does, the momentum created will put Rodgers and his group in a fantastic position to drive for those top four, perhaps even top three, positions come May.
