LFC V SWANSEA CITY Three key questions including if Emre Can is the man to deal with Wilfried Bony Emre Cans arrival at Turf Moor was an interesting sub-plot to the Boxing Day fixture. Not only did the pursuit of goals result in a change at the back, rather than up front, but it was a player who is predominantly regarded as a midfielder lining up in defence. Indeed, Can has been an interesting sub-plot throughout the season. Signed for £10m and seemingly having plenty of attributes necessary to succeed in the Premier League, he has been limited to just seven appearances and 315 minutes in the league. Since his goal against Chelsea, he played just 16 minutes – off the bench at Crystal Palace – before re-emerging against Burnley. And yet here he was, replacing Kolo Toure on the right of Liverpools three-man defence, the position designated for the ball-player of the trio. Can is a versatile player and despite being listed as a midfielder, has played at centre back before; he did so for Germany Under-21s earlier this season against Republic of Ireland. Whats more, the change worked. Toures passing, with just a 63% success rate, often put the Reds into trouble and relinquished control of the football; Cans 74% was better, and it brought a sense of calm and deliberation to the defence. Brendan Rodgers explained the thought process behind bringing on Can in the centre back role. “He played centre-half in one of the games I took in last year when I went to see him. He played there in a 4-2-3-1,” said Rodgers. I thought he came on and was outstanding [at Burnley]. We needed to build the ball better, our possession wasnt so good and we lost the ball too quickly, which didnt give us a chance to get into good positions on the field in order to keep the ball. Him coming on gave us that assurance in possession and also physicality when we didnt have the ball.” Whether Liverpool retain three at the back or change into a two, Can has surely staked a claim to be a part of it. But if he does, Wilfried Bony will be a player he has to keep quiet; the Ivorian will be looking to end his spectacular 2014 with a performance befitting of it. It would be a risk to put Can in a position hes hardly played this season against one of the leagues most in-form strikers; Bony is somebody who creates chaos in defence and can be a very physical opponent. But judging by Rodgers description of Can, he might just be the man. Bony has won half of his aerial duels this season and completed 65% of his attempted dribbles. In his 45 minutes at Burnley, the German won five of his six headers and won every one of his tackles. Forty five minutes tells little, of course, but it could make for a brilliant battle on Monday night – and one that could go some way to revealing whether Can can be a long-term option at the back. Will faith in the 3-4-2-1 waver? It was a roadblock to what was supposed to be a juggernaut beginning to rev its engine. The 3-4-2-1 that had disposed of Bournemouth and bettered Arsenal – in performance, if not goals – rolled towards Turf Moor and Burnley. But the swashbuckling nature of the previous two performances was missing. This was a display without the swagger of Bournemouth or intensity of Arsenal. It was a grim reminder of how Liverpool, at times, have struggled this season. The end result was positive against the Clarets, but more had been expected of the away side – unreasonably so, perhaps. The 3-4-2-1 didnt work for large parts of the game. With Burnleys wide men, George Boyd and Scott Arfield, tucking inside, the Reds were outnumbered in the middle with six Burnley players taking on Liverpools two central midfielders and three centre backs. It also negated wide midfielders Jordan Henderson and Lazar Markovic, who were pinned back and had to help their team-mates instead of troubling the opposition further up the pitch. Now, at home to Swansea, Rodgers must decide whether to keep faith in it after a slight setback - in performance, if not result - or look to tweak the system once more. In theory, Swansea are a side who should struggle with the 3-4-2-1. Their wide men stay wide and employ a lone striker up front - the opposite game-plan Burnley adopt. In addition, Rodgers has, throughout his time at Anfield, been a manager who rarely loses belief in a system after one bad showing. But its something to think about, nevertheless. Daniel Sturridge edges nearer to fitness; how that affects the side, both in the run-up to his return, and when he is back in the side, remains to be seen. For now, 3-4-2-1 should remain – but it needs to work, and work well against Swansea, to feature as a long-term option. Is the midfield battle the most important? Garry Monk has managed to create some midfield at the Liberty Stadium – even if the answer was staring him in the face. He brought Ki Sung-Yueng back into the fold following a loan season at Sunderland, with the South Korean covering more distance than any other player in the Premier League this season. In front of him is Gylfi Sigurdsson, also a former Swansea man brought back by Monk, who has eight assists and three goals in the league this season. He has also given plenty of minutes to former Reds player Jonjo Shelvey, often the third man in the midfield, who is working hard to improve and find his role as the box-to-box player in the Swansea line-up. Its a well-drilled midfield three. Ki drops deepest, wins the ball and puts his side on the front foot; Shelvey defends and attacks; Sigurdsson, enjoying a great partnership with Bony, gets forward and sometimes beyond the Ivorian, into decent striking positions. Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva have taken up the two central positions since the 3-4-2-1 was adopted by Liverpool. Whichever duo runs at Anfield must be on-song to deal with that trio. This season, games have been decided on performances in the 18-yard box. Against United, the Reds were poor defensively and poor offensively, resulting in a 3-0 defeat. Against Burnley, they ultimately dealt with everything defensively and provided a moment of magic offensively to seal a 1-0 win. But against Swansea, it could be an old-fashioned midfield battle which decides the result. Reproduced from the Liverpool Echo
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 17:06:26 +0000
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