Liverpool face Arsenal on Saturday evening in what could be a pivotal moment in what remains of this league campaign.
These two rivals have clashed throughout history under every circumstance, and it’s very rarely been dull.
League championships have been won and lost, we’ve seen trophies snatched away at the death with late sucker punches, grainy replays of Wembley days and epic tussles on the European stage.
These traditional enemies might not like each other, but at the moment they have more in common than they would like to admit.
Liverpool haven’t won a trophy in five years, after a fantastic start this season, they have toiled since Christmas, often against much poorer teams, with the club now clinging to top four contention and the possibilities the Champions League brings to the clubs who qualify.
Arsenal themselves have faired better, with a great FA cup record in previous years but they are no strangers to a Premier League collapse, few gunners could forget the 5-1 drubbing they got at Anfield in the 2013/14 season when they arrived as leaders and left in ruin.
There is discord amongst the fanbase, calls to replace Arsene Wenger are getting louder. The two clubs want the same things, but both find themselves out-muscled and out fought once again this year. One or both could lose out on the prestigious Champions league places, it would be awful for either club to contemplate, given the financial power of their other top four rivals, the gap would only widen.
Jurgen Klopp will hope to see a reaction from his players after a miserable performance at Leicester earlier in the week. He knows the rot has to stop very soon, or he is at risk of losing any progress made since he took charge. He has been loyal to certain players and to his false nine system up to this point, but now some think it may be prudent to try something different, either in terms of formation or personnel.
James Milner had performed admirably at left back but since the turn of the year he’s found himself less effective, his creativity blunted, a shift back into midfield may give him and the team a boost, we’ve seen him floating more and more crosses from deeper positions of late which are simply easier to defend. This would see Alberto Moreno given a chance to stretch oppositions full backs with pace to deliver from more dangerous positions near the by-line.
Roberto Firmino has lost some of his sparkle, it may be time to give him a partner to shoulder the burden in and around the penalty box, Lack of regular playing time has hampered the form of both Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge, it seems a good time to help them get it back. Dejan Lovren could feature, which would see a reunion of Liverpool’s most stable defensive pairing alongside Joel Matip.
These and more are all problems for Klopp to tackle, but something has got to change, and soon.
Liverpool’s record against the top six sides is the one thing they have left to protect and I’d expect them to show they are worthy of their shirts.
Prediction 3-2.
