By Bob Pearce and Mihail Vladimirov. The main conductor We talked last time about how the defence and midfield work together when out of possession. Can we switch it around now and look at how they work together when they have possession? This will be different depending on the team’s style of play. If Blue [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Rodgers reverted back to the usual 4-2-3-1 formation, leading to few subsequent changes. Skrtel (fit again after his illness) and Enrique replaced Coates and Wisdom in the back four. Elsewhere, Shelvey was replaced by Ibe, who was making his first team debut. For the visitors, Taarabt and Samba were unavailable. Surprisingly, Redknapp [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. After last week’s debacle against Reading, Martin Jol refreshed the team with a couple of changes. Hughes replaced Senderos at the back, with Richardson stepping in to replace Riise at left back. After his impressive cameo, Kacaniklic was handed a start here, with Emanuelson benched. Karagounis was fit, so he continued in [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Neither manager made big changes either in terms of formation or personnel, based on their previous games. Liverpool were unchanged from the last game at Newcastle. For the visitors, Moyes made only one change, welcoming back Gibson to play alongside Osman in midfield. With Fellaini pushed forward, Jelavic had to make way [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Pardew surprised with his selection of players and also their positioning. Tiote came back into the side alongside Perch in midfield. Gouffran was replaced by Sissoko down the right flank, with Cabaye replacing Sissoko closer to Cisse. Hence the shape was more like a 4-2-1-3 than the recently used 4-2-3-1. The back [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Rodgers largely kept the XI that fared so well against Reading last week. But he did a make a crucial personnel change and subsequent tweaks in the players’ positioning. Sturridge made way for Downing on the right flank, Henderson (now central) and Coutinho (now left) swapped places. For Chelsea, Benitez lined up [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Neither manager opted for a surprising selection in terms of personnel, yet both managers surprised with their choice of starting formation. Both teams used a shape unfamiliar to them in recent games. Adkins used 4-4-2, with Pogrebnyak and Hunt up front. The latter was told to play deeper and often drop on [...]
By Bob Pearce and Mihail Vladimirov. Through, over or around? The more we talk the more I have become interested in what seems like a key patch of grass. It is the strip between the edge of the box and the start of the final third. In terms of lines of play it is the [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Rodgers continued with an unchanged side but tweaked his formation slightly. Last week against Aston Villa it was 4-1-2-3. Now, with Henderson as the most advanced midfielder, the shape was more of a 4-2-1-3. For the visitors, Reid was omitted due to a problem with his thigh – Tomkins came into the [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. For the home team, Lambert had to make one change to the XI which won the last two games. In defence Clark had an arm injury so in came Bennett to play left back, with Baker moving alongside Vlaar. Interestingly though, Aston Villa’s formation was tweaked from 4-1-2-3 to more of a [...]
Written by Mihail Vladimirov. Both teams lined-up largely as expected (with identical 4-2-3-1 formations), except a few niggles for Liverpool prevented them keeping an unchanged XI. The Saints made only one change from their last game at Norwich, Clyne returned to right back, Yoshida moved central and Jose Fonte was on the bench. Pochettino continued [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Rodgers made only one change from the last game against Wigan. Sturridge returned to fitness and replaced Allen, with the shape reverting to the usual 4-2-3-1. However, Reina was injured so Jones had start in a goal. For Tottenham, Lennon missed the game. It was always going to be interesting how Villa-Boas [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Unsurprisingly, Martinez opted for exactly the same XI and 3-4-3 formation as in the last game against Reading, which they won 3-0. Sturridge’s injury forced Rodgers to make some changes, with Allen coming in to play as a third midfielder and Suarez reverting to the centre-forward position. Interestingly, with the same midfielders as against [...]
Written by Mihail Vladimirov. Rodgers made the surprising decision to replace the injured Sturridge with Shelvey. This meant Suarez occupingy the centre forward position with Shelvey as the attacking midfielder behind him. Everything else was the same as in the previous game against City. Liverpool continued with the lopsided 4-2-3-1. For West Brom, Clarke had [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Mancini continued to start with the 4-4-2 (with split forwards) formation. With the return of Nastasic to full fitness, City’s selection didn’t spring any surprises. Javi Garcia was moved into midfield to accommodate Nastasic at the back, Silva and Milner played on the flanks. The only real dilemma for Mancini was would [...]
By Bob Pearce and Mihail Vladimirov. Executed by the feet. One of the few statistics TV commentators are comfortable quoting is the percentage of possession each team has had. This gives the impression that this is inherently a good thing. You have made it clear that there are two points of view about possession. Proactive [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Both managers made some surprising decisions. For Liverpool, Rodgers selected Henderson on the left flank, in a very narrow role within what was a lopsided 4-2-3-1 shape. Because Reina’s clash with Kagawa in the previous match was more serious than first thought, the Spaniard had to undergo some nose surgery – so [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Ferguson made some interesting pre-match decisions. Not only did he line-up with a 4-4-2ish formation, but some of the players’ positioning was really surprising. Young went to the right flank, Kagawa was started on the left with Welbeck playing as the second forward alongside van Persie. For Liverpool, Rodgers’ selection was largely [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. For Liverpool there was only one change, with the injured Enrique replaced by Wisdom, so Johnson went to left back. This prompted Downing and Sterling to swap flanks in order to provide balance within the 4-2-3-1 formation. For Sunderland, O’Neill largely kept the side that faced Tottenham, also making just one change. [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Harry Redknapp continued with the 4-4-1-1 formation, but made three changes. Because of Green’s own goal in the previous match, Julio Cesar was re-established between the sticks. At right back Onuoha replaced Fabio, while in midfield Diakite came in to partner Mbia (in the place of Faurlin). For Liverpool there were also [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Pulis named largely the same team that earned him a draw away at Tottenham, except for Cameron and Wilkinson swapping places (in the previous match they were left and right back, respectively), with Kightly replacing Shotton on the right flank. The formation stayed 4-4-2. For Liverpool, Rodgers continued with the same XI [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. There were few changes for either team. Enrique was fit to start but – as hinted in the days before the match – Allen and Sterling were rested. So Suso started on the left and Downing on the right flank with Shelvey in the hole. Liverpool reverted to the 4-2-3-1 shape. For [...]
By Bob Pearce and Mihail Vladimirov. A new found fluidity We talked about stretching and squeezing space when in and out of possession, and I can see how the front and back players can do this by pushing up, dropping back, and pulling out wide. But being in the middle, aren’t the midfield limited in [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Both managers made one change from their previous league fixtures. For Liverpool, Enrique was injured and replaced by Suarez, which prompted changes in two positions: Shelvey went to the left wing, Downing to left back. Lambert replaced Agbonlahor with Weimann. With this in mind it was rather logical to see both teams [...]
By Mihail Vladimirov. Allardyce predictably made two changes to the team that started against Chelsea last week – Diame came in for Tomkins with Taylor replacing O’Neil on the right flank. As in their previous match, West Ham opted for a reactive 4-4-1-1 shape from the start. For Liverpool, Rodgers stayed true to his pre-match [...]
