GW 21: Liverpool vs. Sheffield United

Liverpool vs. Sheffield United

As we look towards matchweek 21 of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, it will be interesting to see how the teams perform on their first game of the new year, and their first game of the decade. Two teams who had a year to remember in 2019 were Liverpool and Sheffield United, and they are set to face midweek. Liverpool of course are top of the Premier League as we enter the new year, while Sheffield United come into this game in 8th, despite having just been promoted. Both of these sides have risen well above their expectations this season, proving their doubters wrong. At the moment, Liverpool look well on their way to winning their first ever Premier League title, with a 13 point lead and a game in hand over 2nd place Leicester. As for Sheffield United, a top half finish would certainly suit them, as many touted them to finish in the relegation spots this season. Having just been promoted this campaign, the Blades have only faced Liverpool once in recent years; which was of course in the reverse fixture earlier this campaign. In this match Sheffield United actually gave the league leaders a difficult time. Although they struggled to create many meaningful chances, they came out of the game with a 0-1 defeat. They kept Liverpool from running riot offensively, and they’ll be looking to do the same again in this upcoming match.

Liverpool

At the moment, keeping Liverpool quiet is no easy task, as the Reds come into this match in scintillating attacking form. In Liverpool’s last 5 Premier League matches, they have scored an incredible 15 goals, with wins against Everton and Leicester being particularly special. Perhaps what’s even more important though, is their superb defensive record as of late. They have now kept clean sheets in each of their last 4 Premier League games, despite having kept just 2 in their previous 14. What’s notable about these strong defensive performances is the reemergence of Joe Gomez as part of the Liverpool backline, as he has started in each of their last 4 games, including 3 starts as Van Dijk’s central defensive partner. Expected goals shows that they have been good value for their defensive form as well, having conceded just 1.64 expected goals over their last 4 matches.

All in all, Liverpool are just in fantastic form as we look towards the start of a new year, as they are experiencing a period of Premier League dominance that has rarely been seen. They have now gone 36 Premier League games unbeaten, having incredibly won 31 of these matches. Sheffield United, however, have emerged as one of the strongest sides in the English top flight this campaign, and Liverpool will need to be careful here. You feel that Liverpool won’t be able to play on the counter in this game, as Sheffield United tend to keep very little possession against the bigger sides. This means that Klopp will have to turn to his full-backs in this match for creativity, as this Liverpool side have done so frequently over the last couple of years. Although Sheffield United are often strong in the wide areas, Liverpool’s system allows for their attackers to create double-teaming situations on the flanks.

In this tactical setup, it’s Trent Alexander-Arnold who has thrived the most this season. The young right-back has become the chief creator in this Liverpool team, despite playing in a defensive position. After a brilliant performance against Leicester a couple of weeks ago, he now has 8 assists in the competition as well as 2 goals. With Liverpool’s wingers preferring to cut inside, it’s the full-backs who provide the width in Klopp’s system, and to great effect. In this match though, things might be more difficult. Due to Sheffield United’s five at the back formation, they have wingbacks who will be tasked with shutting down the wide areas. However, this could work perfectly for Liverpool. If the wingbacks get drawn into the wide areas, Liverpool’s full-backs can look to create space for the likes of Salah and Mane to run in behind, using the channel between the wingback and the center-back. Through the width that the full-backs provide, Liverpool can look to get their wingers in one-on-one situations with Sheffield’s center-backs, which could make the difference here.

Roberto Firmino could also be crucial in creating space against a compact defensive unit. Firmino, like Alexander-Arnold, has come into superb form recently, having excelled in Liverpool’s last few games. This season he’s scored 6 goals and assisted a further 4, not a bad record considering is usual output. However, his ability to contribute to goals has never been one of his most important assets. While he doesn’t bring a huge goal scoring tally to this Liverpool side, it’s his work off the ball that allows them to succeed. In this match he’ll be especially important considering the nature of this Sheffield side. Due to the typically compact positioning of Sheffield United’s back three, it will be up to Firmino to find space between Sheffield’s midfield and defensive lines. While Salah and Mane will be looking to make runs in behind, Firmino will look to drop off, in order to collect the ball in a less crowded area. Sheffield’s 5-3-2 formation seems airtight when looking at it from most angles, but with the freedom and tactical intelligence that Firmino possesses, he could be the one to unlock this defence.

Sheffield United

While Liverpool have certainly overachieved this season, it’s been Sheffield United who have emerged as the surprise package coming into this campaign. At the start of the season, they were widely thought of as nailed on relegation candidates, given the lack of perspective and knowledge on most of their players. While teams like Norwich fared better in the Championship, picking up the title, it’s been Sheffield’s ability to adapt to the Premier League that has seen them become successful. This has all been down to Chris Wilder, who along with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has probably been the manager of the season thus far. Due to Wilder’s heroics, Sheffield United come into this match in 8th place, and not far off the Europa League spots. There are currently just 2 points between the Blades and Manchester United who sit in 5th, meaning it’s not unrealistic to believe that Sheffield United could be playing European football next season.

They also come into this game in decent form, despite having lost to Manchester City last time out. Before this game against the Cityzens, they had gone 4 games undefeated in the Premier League, including a run of 3 straight wins. And, despite losing 2-0 in their previous match, they put on an impressive performance against an imperious Manchester City side. In the game they actually came out on top by expected goals, with a 1.23 to 1.09 scoreline in their favour. This is not something that you usually see against Pep Guardiola’s City, indicating the quality that Wilder has brought to Sheffield this year. Even to a team like Liverpool, Sheffield United will pose some problems. The Blades have the 2nd best defensive record in the Premier League this year along with Leicester, and will be incredibly difficult to break down. They also play with two up front, something that has troubled Liverpool in the past.

Although it’s Lys Mousset who has been in fine goalscoring form for Sheffield United, it could be Oliver McBurnie who makes the difference here. While Mousset provides extreme pace and solid dribbling ability on the counter-attack, McBurnie is more of a traditional target man. Due to the pace in the Liverpool backline, they are often able to cope with players who typically rely on pace. This could be seen in their two matches against Leicester this year, in which Premier League top scorer Jamie Vardy was shut down entirely. Against more physical players, however, we’ve seen Liverpool struggle in the past. For this reason, McBurnie was used in Sheffield United’s earlier match against Liverpool. Although this didn’t result in any goals, McBurnie still managed to get 4 shots off in the match, the joint-most on the night. After being rested in Sheffield United’s last match, Chris Wilder can look to bring McBurnie back into the fold for this game in order to put pressure on the Liverpool backline.

Another player who will be important in applying attacking pressure but who will also be crucial from a defensive standpoint is left-wingback Enda Stevens. As a wingback in Wilder’s 5-3-2 formation, Stevens is required to provide the width on both offence and defence. In this match though, most of Stevens’ responsibilities will be in his own defensive third. Given that he plays on the left side of Sheffield’s defence, he will be tasked with nullifying the aforementioned Trent Alexander-Arnold. And like mentioned earlier, this won’t be easy. Saying this, Stevens is currently completing the 3rd most defensive actions per match in the Sheffield United side, behind only Chris Basham and Oliver Norwood. Much of Sheffield United’s defensive game plan will be based on how their wingbacks deal with Liverpool’s full-backs. If Alexander-Arnold and Robertson are allowed to apply continuous pressure on the Sheffield backline, they will eventually crumble in this match. However, if Baldock on the right and particularly Stevens on the left can nullify their opponents creative threat, Liverpool could struggle to gain an attacking grip on the match.

Injuries

Although Liverpool have been largely untroubled by injury issues for the majority of the season, they have found it difficult to cope with the busy festive period. With nearly a game every 3 days for the Reds in December, their fitness levels were always going to be tested, and they’ve lost a number of players in recent weeks. They are currently facing their biggest issues in defence, with a couple of key centre-backs out of action. Both Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren are currently suffering from long-term injuries, leaving Jurgen Klopp with just two centre-backs to choose from. They will also be without Fabinho in this match, a midfielder who can drop back into a defensive area. Along with this, they have picked up some problems further up the field over their last few games. Both Oxlade-Chamberlain and Shaqiri are suffering from less serious issues, ruling them out for the time being. However, Liverpool will be the first Premier League team to benefit from the reopening of the transfer window, as their new attacker Takumi Minamino will be available for the first time in this match.

Sheffield United have been much more fortunate over the past few weeks, as they come into this game with a relatively injury-free squad. In the month of December, Sheffield United have played 2 less matches than Liverpool, meaning they not only come into the match with less injuries, but potentially the fitter and fresher squad. The only player that could potentially miss this game for them is midfield man John Lundstram. Lundstram has been crucial to Sheffield United’s season up to this point, however; he was forced to miss out on his side’s last game against Manchester City due to an ankle problem. Before that match, Lundstram had started in each of Sheffield United’s previous 19 Premier League matches. Although he should be able to return here, there are still small doubts over his fitness. If he were to miss out, it would be a crucial blow to Sheffield’s chances, given what he brings to their midfield. Against the workman-like midfield line that Klopp tends to employ, a player with Lundstram’s energy could provide Wilder’s men with a massive boost.

Summary & Prediction

As the season wears on, having past the halfway point now, both Liverpool and Sheffield United will have been incredibly pleased with their start to the new campaign. Like mentioned earlier, both of these teams have far surpassed their respective goals, and will be looking to continue this throughout the new year. The managers of these sides have proven themselves as two of the strongest tacticians in the league at the moment, and are the leading candidates for the manager of the season award. And in this upcoming game, you would be right to expect a tight and tense tactical affair. Liverpool and Sheffield United have the two best defensive records coming into this game, with 14 and 19 goals conceded respectively. Like mentioned earlier, Liverpool come into this match in great defensive form having kept clean sheets in their last 4 matches. Sheffield United have also been solid at the back recently, having conceded just 3 in their last 4 Premier League games.

Liverpool will come into this match as the more confident side though, especially with the Anfield faithful behind them. The Reds have been brilliant when playing at home this season, having won all 10 of their home Premier League matches. While they have been consistently phenomenal both when at home and away, there is something special about the Anfield crowd and what it brings to this Liverpool team. Surprisingly though, Sheffield United have performed better when away this season. When at Bramall Lane, Wilder’s men have gained just 14 points, 1 less than their 15 that they have gained on their travels. Despite this, you wouldn’t necessarily think of this as an advantage for them given the strengths that Liverpool have shown when playing at home over the past few seasons. Because of this, I believe that Liverpool will win yet again here, in order to further their title bid. My final prediction is 2-0 Liverpool, as the Reds will be looking to start the new decade in the same way they ended the old.