Three aspects of Liverpool's system for Leeds United to look out for

IN the first of a new series for the Yorkshire Evening Post, Jon Mackenzie takes a deeper look at Leeds United's next opponents - and first up champions Liverpool.
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Jon runs All Stats Aren't We, a Leeds United media channel that focuses on the tactical and statistical aspects of the game.

When Jurgen Klopp first arrived in England, a lot was made of his so-called ‘heavy metal football’.

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However, in time, the German has modified his game so that Liverpool are less direct and don’t press so much in favour of a possession-based game which allows them to dominate against the lower-table sides in the Premier League.

RUTHLESS: Sadio Mane, as part of Liverpool's front three. Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images.RUTHLESS: Sadio Mane, as part of Liverpool's front three. Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images.
RUTHLESS: Sadio Mane, as part of Liverpool's front three. Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images.

Despite their subtle evolution, Liverpool have stuck with the 4-3-3 formation that has been Klopp’s go-to set-up during his time at the club.

Here are three aspects of Klopp’s system to look out for on Saturday:

1. A ruthless front three

Liverpool’s front three of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are ruthlessly efficient.

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With Salah and Mane pushing out wide, and Firmino dropping deep, they can be a nightmare for opposition defences.

The question on Saturday will be whether to use a back three to occupy the two wide players and use Kalvin Phillips to mark Firmino, or whether a back four will be enough to contain all three with Liam Cooper tracking the Brazilian on his deep runs.

2. Creative full backs

Klopp’s genius in recent years has been to shift creative responsibilities to his full backs, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

During possession phases, Liverpool will push very high into the opponent’s half and look to get the ball to their full backs to cross into their attacking players.

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However, this leaves Liverpool vulnerable to counter-attacks.

Marcelo Bielsa will be looking for his team to decompress quickly when they win the ball back and try to hit their opponents on the break.

3. A lack of width

Because Klopp likes his full backs to get forward, Liverpool’s midfield three have to do a lot of shuttling work from side to side to cover the space they leave behind.

This can make Liverpool’s structure quite narrow which might suit Leeds.

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If they can switch the ball quickly in attacking transition, they can look to get their wide attackers into one-on-one match ups with opposition full backs or centre backs.

This was how Pierre-Emerick Aubmeyang scored against Liverpool in the Community Shield recently.

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Thank you Laura Collins

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