Premier League 2018/19 Season Preview
After an enormously entertaining World Cup full of drama and decadence, we the football faithful have been cast into the darkness of a month without the beautiful game. This has not stopped the majority of the big Premier League clubs from making money moves in anticipation. Ahead, we preview what to expect from them this season.
Arsenal
Arsenal’s relatively early business in securing the tenacious Lucas Torreira (aptly auto-corrected to terrier), supplemented with the earlier additions of Borussia Dortmund’s spine, …
Time For Gini Wijnaldum To Be Unleashed
Remember the player we all thought we were getting when Gini Wijnaldum signed for Liverpool two years ago?
It was a transfer that came out of left field, with the Dutchman rarely linked with a move before becoming the seventh permanent signing of Jurgen Klopp's reign.
Wijnaldum had blown hot and cold at Newcastle United, with some Magpies fans critical of his limp, almost disinterested performances away from St James' Park, but his attacking quality was undeniable.
During the one …
Liverpool Need to Take Advantage of World Cup Hangovers
The Premier League season starts in just a few days. And the spectre of the World Cup still hangs over the Premier League’s top six. This was a World Cup in which the Premier League’s top teams all had plenty of players not just participating but going the distance – and certain teams will benefit from that.
Liverpool need to be one of the beneficiaries.
It’s expected that Roberto Firmino and his Brazilian teammate Alisson Becker will start against West …
Crunching the Numbers for Liverpool's Fast Start
Fellow Anfield Index writer Olli Emmerson recently wrote an article on what Liverpool must do to win the league. He crunched the numbers, looking at previous league winners and their points tallies alongside goals scored, goals conceded and the results from the opening ten games.
Further to that, I decided to delve into Liverpool's fixtures, compute the average points we achieved against each opposition and thus determine whether the Reds can make the kind of fast start prior Premier League …
Liverpool v West Ham United Preview - The Magic is Back
The Details
Venue - Anfield, Liverpool
Referee - Anthony Taylor
Date & Time - Sunday, August 12th @ 13:30
Current Odds - Liverpool 1/5, Draw 11/2, West Ham 12/1
Form
Liverpool Form
Liverpool's form table looks poor but we can remember how the wheels just came off a little towards the end of last season. The Chelsea and Roma defeats were mainly down to energy-preservation. Brighton were well-beaten at Anfield in the last league game and then Real Madrid ruined our dream with that …
Liverpool 2018/19: A Tactical Preview
How do Liverpool play? It's a simple question, but with the arrival of both Naby Keïta, Fabinho and Alisson, as well as the progression of Liverpool's tactics under Jürgen Klopp since he joined in 2016, the answer requires a more detailed response than the question initially indicates.
There are three main tactical phases in football: on-ball, off-ball and the transition. With Liverpool's signings and their skillsets, the on-ball phase may be the one most different this season. Hence, we'll start …
Why Liverpool Must Find Their Coutinho Replacement
Liverpool’s pursuit of Nabil Fekir looks to be over (for the time being), and with it has come another question: do Liverpool currently have their optimal squad? Or should they return to the market once more, with the intent of finally replacing the man who formerly practised his magic at Anfield?
Well, quite simply, yes. It might not be Fekir, nor might it be someone who will fit what Coutinho did immediately, but the Reds aren’t a complete team: at …
Leon Bailey and that "Concrete Interest"
With the breaking news this morning that Bailey himself confirmed Liverpool have a “concrete interest” in him, I decided to follow on from my pieces on Fekir & Pulisic with a look at the Leverkusen star, Leon Bailey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfzKDAPd9VY
Above: Reliable Bundesliga journalist, Old Gregg, hinting at a move to Liverpool.
My mind wandered this morning to that exact moment I fell in love with him, as a player. I had seen him a few times, mostly in cameos or a …
Should Liverpool Persist with Injury-prone Players?
It's a debate that rumbles on every summer surrounding Daniel Sturridge and whether his injury record can see him as a reliable squad member - and the question has once again reared its ugly head this week.
Injuries to both Adam Lallana and Joel Matip saw them head home to miss Liverpool's final part of pre-season, leaving us asking as to whether both can be trusted members of the unit Klopp takes into the season.
As I've just mentioned, this …
Observations from Liverpool 3-1 Torino: A great ghost and an old problem
Liverpool wrapped up their preseason slate in a match marking the Anfield debut for Alisson, Fabinho, Keita and Shaqiri.
Alisson allowed his first goal while Fabinho made a surprise appearance at centre-back. Keita had a largely unremarkable evening, while Shaqiri came on at the break and helped put the punctuation mark on the night with his beautifully lofted cross for Sturridge’s header to make it 3-1.
Despite another convincing performance five sleeps before the season opener there were some intriguing …