Liverpool vs Everton : How can Liverpool get back on track?

Liverpool host Everton in Merseyside derby against MNF; Jurgen Klopp’s team are tenth in the Premier League and are unlikely to finish in the top four; Watch Liverpool vs Everton on Sky Sports Premier League Mondays from 7.00pm; starting at 20:00

Liverpool’s 3-0 capitulation to Wolves last Saturday was so insipid that Jurgen Klopp decided to give the players two days off while the manager himself took a long walk to try to clear his head ahead of Everton’s visit on Monday Night Football.

Klopp called his side’s 3-0 win at Brighton in January the worst defeat of his managerial career in more than 20 years, yet their defeat at Molineux was in many ways even more miserable as the visitors were 2-0 down after just 12 minutes. to a relegation battling side who had scored 12 league goals all season en route to the match.

And the final infamy came when the home side played ball in the closing minutes, as home fans chanted “you’ll be fired tomorrow morning” in Klopp’s direction as the German tried to make sense of the last performance at the drift of his team.

Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk

The reasons for Liverpool’s collapse from the team that won almost everything less than a year ago to one that can’t win at all now have been detailed for weeks, from their grueling 63-game campaign last time out. to a shortened season close for a partially aged squad, coupled with injuries, a heavily changed line-up and subsequent loss of form in key individuals, all resulting in a massive drop in confidence and results. So much so that Liverpool go to the Merseyside derby on Monday languishing in 10th place in the Premier League and still looking for their first win of the year. Had the season started in 2023, the Reds would have been bottom of the table.

However, Klopp says the training was “super intensive” before the match, with the players looking “incredibly fresh”, but what have he and his coaches been working on all week to prepare for their neighbours’ trip? across the street from Stanley Park?

Set game vulnerabilities

There’s no prize for guessing where Everton will try to hurt Liverpool at Anfield on Monday night, and even Klopp acknowledged this in his pre-match press conference on Friday.

And all this from a club that was at the forefront of innovations on the training ground, such as employing throw-in coaches or using neuroscientists Neuro11 to improve their penalty shoot-out record. So expect a lot of work to have been done in that area as assistant manager Peter Krawietz, in charge of set pieces, is training this week to get back on track.

Mentality monsters become mice

Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’ played every possible game last season without knowing when they were beaten.

If ever an opponent scored the first goal, which was rare, there was never any panic or concern that the team wouldn’t turn things around, which they have done on numerous occasions. and often in the dying heat of matches.

This season, however, the reverse is true as heads collectively fall when Liverpool concede their first league goal, which has happened 12 times, with the Reds winning just two of those games – a sign of confidence in drop in players. Meanwhile, Klopp’s side have scored just seven goals in the last 15 minutes of Premier League fixtures this season, also losing to Brighton in the FA Cup after taking the lead, which most recently happened at Leicester City in December 2021.

Much of this can be traced back to the body language of the players – and also the coach, judging by his exasperation in the Molineux dugout last Saturday – although Klopp said during training his forwards showed “aggression, determination , readiness, concentration and intensity”. this week.

When will the front line start scoring goals?

Whilst there has been a lot of focus lately on Liverpool’s struggling midfield, this has tended to camouflage their forward line, which used to function like a well oiled machine but is now sputtering and faltering due to the addition of two new gears.

One such new addition to the three-man front is Darwin Nunez, who signed a record £85m deal from Benfica last summer to replace Bayern Munich-bound Sadio Mane but has scored just five league goals so far. The Uruguay striker has missed 16 league chances this season, although he and compatriot Cody Gakpo, who only joined Anfield in January, are expected to slack off somewhat in their first campaigns at the club.

However, the same cannot be said for their attacking partner Salah, who scored just seven times with four assists in the top flight after finally landing the record-breaking new contract he was seeking last summer.

Salah, who turned 30 in June, had 16 goals and nine assists at the relevant stadium last season but, like Nunez, has been hit and miss in front of goal for much of this season and has saved 12 big occasions.

And with the defense being scored at an alarming rate at the moment, Klopp could really use his forwards to find their shot on target, which is all the more likely as the trio play together while Reds boss awaits Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Luis Diaz return from injury.