Huddersfield Town vs Liverpool: Team News, Tactical Preview and more
What a miserable week this has turned out to be for Liverpool. If suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Swansea was not enough, the Reds saw their FA Cup campaign end at the hands of West Brom on Saturday.
The back-to-back defeats are a tough pill to digest and Jurgen Klopp needs to make sure we bounce back against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday. Old friends meet again and remembering what happened last time around when both teams locked horns (Liverpool won 3-0 at Anfield in October), David Wagner would be keen on getting one over Klopp.
Team News
For Liverpool, Adam Lallana is a doubt due to a muscle tear and Ragnar Klavan could also miss out. Long-term absentee Nathaniel Clyne is still missing due to his back problem. Skipper Jordan Henderson returned against West Brom with a second-half substitute appearance, while Danny Ings also got a few minutes under his belt.
On the other hand, Huddersfield are without Elias Kachunga, who is not expected to be back until March due to a knee injury. Danny Williams, Martin Cranie and Jon Gorenc-Stankovic will not be available for selection on Tuesday night, while Christopher Lowe and Joe Lolley remain doubtful.
Recent Form
Liverpool were flying high until last Monday night before Swansea sprung an upset by defeating them 1-0 at the Liberty Stadium. The defeat was sour and the disappointment followed with West Brom knocking us out of the FA Cup. The best way to shake off the last couple of results is by picking up three points again on Tuesday.
Huddersfield, on the contrary, have been a mixed bag and have been really struggling of late. Alarm bells have already started ringing for Wagner as they are just two points above the drop zone despite being 14th in the table.
The Tactics
Klopp, by no means, is going to alter his tactics, which means he could continue with the standard 4-3-3 formation. Henderson’s return against West Brom was a timely one and our skipper should start at the base of the midfield, giving Emre Can the opportunity to start on the left-hand side of the midfield trio.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has played a lot of games recently, and with one eye on the Champions League game against Porto, Klopp is expected to rest him. This suggests that Georginio Wijnaldum could start as a part of the midfield three, although the Dutchman has been really poor in the last few months.
Expecting no changes in the front three – Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are in blistering form and it would be foolish to tinker the attack after two dismal defeats.
For Huddersfield, Wagner maintains the 4-2-3-1 formation and is certain to set his team up in the same way on Tuesday. They have few injury concerns but that should not dampen the team’s mood when they host Liverpool.
Laurent Depoitre is the Terriers’ top-scorer with 5 goals and the Reds, often criticised for their defence against set-pieces, need to be extra cautious in handling the big Belgian.
Midfielder Aaron Mooy is an exciting talent, known for his creativity and industry. He is also a threat for the Reds, while Tom Ince would be hoping to make a mark against his former employers. New signing Alex Pritchard is expected to start and so is Rajiv van La Parra.
If Wagner wants to stop Liverpool’s attack, he needs to take a leaf out of Swansea’s top display and instruct his defenders to be wary of the Liverpool attackers, especially Salah. By keeping the defence solid, should the Terriers nick a goal out of nowhere, it would be tough for us to make a comeback in the game.
We have to go all out attack from the blow of the first whistle and score as early as possible. A goal inside 15-20 minutes would do a lot well but our defenders have to be on their toes for the entire game. A mistake here and there could mean trouble, just what happened when Manchester United went there and made a couple of errors.
The Verdict
At present, Liverpool have witnessed a sudden blip and make no mistake, the team is not in crisis. The game is all about confidence and currently, our players are a bit low on that aspect following the damaging back to back defeats.
Huddersfield would relish the opportunity to play Liverpool and would expect us to come out all guns blazing. An exciting encounter is certainly on the cards.
Predicted Final Score: Huddersfield Town 0-3 Liverpool
