Premier League

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,...

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....

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:...

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....

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...

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...

Team Management and Squad Depth All Point to Success

In my last piece, which you can read here I discussed the potential for Liverpool to be genuine league title contenders. I still stand by that. The current squad, as it stands, is good enough. No Excuses The encouraging thing is that Jurgen Klopp has continued to defy the critics throughout his tenure at Anfield. He doesn't always...

Liverpool FC Summers: Four Meaningful Trips

Being a Liverpool FC supporter living in America is a different kind of commitment. You have to be an early riser to catch matches on weekend morning, you have to block out your work calendars for Champions League afternoons, and most of all you must seize any opportunity offered to you to see the...

Div or Dom, it’s time to move on

Pre-season is a time for players to either pick up where they left off the previous campaign or gain a fresh start, putting a turbulent season behind them and trying to stake a claim in the first-team. Dominic Solanke and Divock Origi fall into that category, facing a crucial summer in their Liverpool careers...

Why Daniel Sturridge Can’t be the Only Back-Up to Firmino

Dear Daniel. I just can’t do it anymore. I thought it would be different, but it wasn’t. You let me down again. I should know better by now, but I keep thinking that things might have changed. Year after year, I thought you would be back to your old self, but as much as you...