Chapter 632: The Head Coach’s Game

Around Christmas in the Premier League, for the top players in the Premier League, it is the most intensive schedule and the most likely time for new things to happen. From Christmas to New Year, almost all teams will play several rounds of intensive league games.

Therefore, players on most teams basically cannot get enough rest time. Therefore, in these rounds of the league, it is easy for some incredible scores to appear. Manchester City's previous two consecutive losses are the best example.

On December 29, during the first few league games of the 20th round of the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, which had recently won consecutive victories, suddenly capsized.

Tottenham were sitting at their home court. After taking a one-goal lead in the first half, they were beaten by Wolves three goals in a row in the second half. The opponent successfully came back at home, which was the first big upset of this round.

Fortunately, Tottenham was not the only one to suffer an upset. Leicester City also lost to the underdog Cardiff City 0:1 at their home court, which made Tottenham's upset not seem too lonely.

After Klopp learned about the situation in these games, he also got Arsenal's starting lineup for this round.

Just as he originally thought, in this game, Ozil, who was replaced at halftime of the last round, did not appear in the lineup, while Ramsey, who has been in trouble for a transfer recently, unexpectedly appeared in the starting lineup.

Such an opponent's lineup gives Klopp a sense of confidence. The opponent's weak defense allows him to boldly play the cards he has always wanted to play in this game.

Liverpool's injuries have also been quite serious recently, with defenders Gomez and Matip continuing to be injured. Fortunately, the performance of Lovren, who replaced them, has been remarkable recently.

In addition, vice-captain Milner and Naby Keita also have some minor injuries, but the thickness of Liverpool's lineup can also make up for it.

But when Klopp read out the starting list for this game to the players in the locker room, most of the Liverpool players were a little surprised.

In addition to goalkeeper Alisson, defenders Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk and Robertson, there are no surprises. The people Klopp sent in the midfield and frontcourt are really unexpected.

"Fabinho and Wijnaldum form a double defensive midfielder." Klopp said sternly: "Shaqiri is the right midfielder, Firmino is the attacking midfielder, Mane is the left midfielder, and Li Qing is the forward forward."

All four major attackers are on the field, and Li Qing actually plays as a lone forward. Does the head coach want to rely on a huge attacking group to resolve the battle in the first half?

Klopp did not give any explanation, but directly talked about tactics, "Today's Arsenal lineup looks like four defenders, but it is actually three defenders. If my guess is correct, Emery plans to use a 343 formation to fight us. Confrontation."

"So at the beginning of the game, Arsenal will definitely use aggressive methods, high-pressing and midfield strangulation, and strive to break the deadlock first."

"They will make a fuss about our side advancement and the speed of the ball. Fabinho, you must pay attention when you play the ball, especially when passing the ball."

"The opponent has Aubameyang on the court, and his presence will limit our return points. Moreover, they have four people in the midfield today. They must not make any mistakes in passing the ball and give the opponent a chance to counterattack."

Fabinho nodded after hearing this. Being able to start in such an important league and receiving key tips and care from the coach, of course he said that he would be more careful.

Then Klopp pointed to the tactical board and said: "I just said that Arsenal's tactics today must be high-pressing combined with forward penetration and transfer. Once our ball is intercepted by them, they will counterattack quickly." ”

“The characteristic of Arsenal’s counterattack after intercepting the ball is to respond quickly and penetrate more forward, so our midfielder must pay attention. Although the opponent also put two midfielders on the field today, they are not players capable of covering the court. "

"So once Arsenal's players press forward, their center will inevitably be exposed, and that is our offensive opportunity. Li Qing, you must seize it."

"As long as there are opportunities, I will not miss any of them!" Li Qing was very confident when he said this, "Boss, don't worry!"

Klopp smiled. Li Qing was the captain on the field today. Since he dared to say this, it proved that he was ready.

"Then I have nothing to say. Get ready to go on the field and massacre your opponents!" Klopp stood up suddenly, and his words made the players present excited.

In today's Premier League, there are several head coaches who dare to shout slogans to slaughter their opponents before the game even starts. I am afraid that even Manchester City's Guardiola does not have the guts, but Klopp dares!

Even at this moment, some fans believe that this is a close game. Even if Liverpool is better, at most it can beat its opponent by one or two goals, and it is even possible that it will be tied by the opponent.

But both Klopp and Li Qing already believe that the victory in this game is destined to be only Liverpool, and it will definitely win by a big score.

After all, Liverpool has not lost a single match against Arsenal in the past four seasons. This season, they also defeated their opponents 2:0 in the away game and achieved a record of 11 consecutive league victories.

The last time Liverpool lost to Arsenal was six years ago, so Liverpool is better than their opponents in terms of psychology and strength.

After Emery got Liverpool's starting lineup, his heart skipped a beat, but he could only grit his teeth and play.

Before the game, he told the media: "Liverpool can't finish an unbeaten season like Arsenal did in 2004, and we have started to maintain the momentum of our predecessors. I believe that this game can end the opponent's winning streak."

But in fact, Emery knows his own suffering. Arsenal is now in serious injuries. The main injured players are Mkhitaryan, Bellerin, Holding and Welbeck. In addition, Monreal and Mustafi also have minor injuries.

Therefore, Arsenal will have an absolute vacancy in the back line in this game, which makes Arsenal, which is in urgent need of rotation due to the tight schedule recently, even worse.

In the last round of the Boxing Day game, the team was tied by Brighton, and Emery was under great pressure. In the game, Emery was annoyed and kicked the water bottle away after his team made a mistake in handling the ball. Unexpectedly, the water bottle hit the opponent's fans.

If he hadn't explained to the fourth official in time and apologized to the Brighton fans, Emery would definitely be punished and unable to participate in this game.

But because of this, the honeymoon period between Arsenal and Emery has come to an end. If he fails to win this game, the situation he faces will become more severe.