Liverpool takes on Man Metropolis with defending champs seeking to flip round their season
LONDON — Liverpool host Manchester Metropolis as the 2 groups who’ve shared the final seven Premier League titles (Man Metropolis six, Liverpool one) meet at one of many nice stadiums in world sports activities.
Anfield is all the time hyped, however for this recreation, at this second, the noise ranges might be deafening.
Liverpool unexpectedly sit eight factors away from freefalling Man Metropolis heading into this recreation. A win for Liverpool would go a great distance towards knocking four-time reigning champs Metropolis out of the title race and pushing the challengers a step nearer to successful their second English league title within the final 35 years.
Right here’s what you could know earlier than kickoff Sunday at 11 a.m. ET in a recreation that airs on USA Community and streams on nbc.com.
Has a change of supervisor given Liverpool the sting within the title race?
Changing Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool was the equal of changing Invoice Belichick or Andy Reid, however Arne Slot has already in some way made Klopp, who gained seven main trophies in his eight years and completely rebuilt the membership again to a world energy, seem like an underachiever. Slot has gained 15 of his first 17 video games in all competitions. Liverpool are prime of the Premier League and Champions League tables.
How have they executed it?
There have been refined tweaks to Klopp’s high-pressing “heavy steel soccer” with Slot’s rhythmic possession-based fashion intertwined.
Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones are the brand new, surprising, conductors in midfield. They drift round, cushion passes and deftly produce a killer move. Klopp’s Liverpool remains to be there. However this Liverpool choose their moments when to place the throttle to the ground. Slot’s further wrinkle has occurred so shortly that the majority groups nonetheless don’t know how you can react to it.
Liverpool is now a two-headed beast. They will lull you right into a false sense of safety by passing the ball round serenely, boring you into submission. However they will nonetheless flip up the tempo once they need to. Making ready to play towards them has change into a dizzying multi-dimensional problem and no one can cease them.
Why are four-time reigning Premier League champions Man Metropolis in freefall?
Each dynasty has to fall. The superpower Pep Guardiola constructed seems to be crumbling.
The continuing off-field expenses loom massive, however on the pitch Manchester Metropolis is with out a win of their final six, shedding 5, and let a 3-0 lead slip towards Feyenoord with quarter-hour to go on Tuesday to tie 3-3. They’ve misplaced three-straight Premier League video games. Metropolis misplaced three league video games all of final season as they grew to become the primary crew in English soccer historical past to win 4 straight top-flight titles.
Why has this dramatic collapse occurred so shortly? They’ve forgotten how you can defend.
Extra Premier League from NBC Sports activities
Metropolis have conceded no less than twice in every of their final six video games — the primary time that’s occurred since Might 1963. They’re leaking targets, struggling for confidence and growing old superstars coming back from harm are rusty.
Many level to the lack of distinctive defensive midfielder Rodri, who was simply named the very best participant on the planet however suffered a season-ending knee harm in September. That could be a massive a part of it however a crew that has been imperious for therefore lengthy shouldn’t capitulate like this as a result of one participant is out. An ideal storm of unhealthy luck, massive errors and father time is threatening to capsize what’s arguably the best crew in English soccer historical past.
Will celebrity Mohamed Salah keep at Liverpool? Or lead a ‘Final Dance’ fashion exodus?
I used to be certainly one of a handful of journalists to talk with Salah about his much-debated future final weekend as he scored twice late on to steer Liverpool to a comeback 3-2 win at Southampton.
“Effectively, we’re nearly in December and I haven’t acquired any provides but to remain on the membership. I’m most likely extra out than in,” Salah stated. “I’m not going to retire quickly so I’m simply enjoying, specializing in the season and I’m attempting to win the Premier League and hopefully the Champions League as nicely. I’m dissatisfied however we’ll see.”
Salah is Liverpool’s all-time main Premier League goalscorer. He’s been sensational this season and the talisman in Liverpool’s return to being a perennial challenger for all of soccer’s prime trophies.
However Salah, 32, is out of contract this summer time, together with Liverpool’s captain Virgil van Dijk, 33, who is among the greatest defenders of all-time, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, 26, one of many best merchandise of Liverpool’s youth system who has gained the whole lot within the recreation together with Salah and Van Dijk over the previous seven years. Salah is to Liverpool what Michael Jordan was to the Chicago Bulls. Van Dijk is Rodman. Alexander-Arnold is Pippen.
That these three stars are out of contract this summer time, whereas Liverpool are having certainly one of their best-ever begins to a season, is puzzling for many Liverpool followers.
Salah’s feedback over the past week cranks up the strain on Liverpool’s homeowners, the Fenway Sports activities Group (FSG) who additionally personal the Boston Purple Sox, to offer these three superstars enormous new contracts. That isn’t essentially going to occur because of Liverpool’s wage construction, league-imposed spending limits, the age of Salah and Van Dijk, and the course Michael Edwards, who has simply returned to Liverpool as their new Chief Government of Soccer, desires to go in.
Salah, and both Van Dijk or Alexander-Arnold, might nonetheless keep at Liverpool after including a couple of extra winners’ medals round their neck this season. However absolutely not all three. This example has a really “Final Dance” really feel about it.
