After 9 days rest and an exhilarating performance against Zenit, it’s back to the league grind for Liverpool against a team that has been somewhat of a bogey team in recent seasons, and who also boast a progressive manager with fixed ideas of how the game must be played. It will be a good test of the strength of the Liverpool philosophy, and a number of things might go in Liverpool’s favour, as well as there being a few things to watch out for.
Wigan’s System – Wigan play a genuine 3-4-3, which can become a 3-4-2-1 with DiSanto and Moloney pinching in to support Kone. Their back three can often be deep, with Caldwell performing the central defender’s job almost like a sweeper. Kone is the danger man in attack, with decent skill and a willingness to battle for his possession. Not short of pace, he can be direct at times, but also knows how to combine with his attacking partners. DiSanto gives them an option to play long and direct, with flick-on’s to Kone’s runs, while Moloney can provide a little bit of guile on the other side. McCarthy and McArthur provide the legs in central midfield, but they can be outnumbered and over-ran, so their effectiveness can diminish in a game against a team that starves them of the ball and forces them to chase for long periods. The key player in attack might actually be Beausejour, who has a decent passing range and a good set-piece delivery, especially on corners. Wigan are strong on their right side, with Scharner, so whoever plays on the left side for Liverpool will have to be creative and have some pace:
Their weaknesses, though, are a lack of shot quantity, Kone overplaying the ball, and a predictable supply line to the forwards. Al-Habsi has a low save percentage, so it is possible that he can be beaten/unnerved by some early long shots, especially low and hard into the corners. Their back three can be stretched, and when that happens, it will force the wingbacks towards their own goal, reducing their attacking output. As they are not a long ball team, this means that Liverpool can keep the pressure on without too much worry about central direct counters. If Beasuejour can be closed down in open play, and if Liverpool don’t give too many corners and free kicks away in dangerous areas, then the game could turn into another dominant performance where the only question is if Liverpool can convert or not. They could possibly get one goal, but overall Liverpool should be able to handle them in open play at least.
Liverpool’s System –It is likely that Rodgers will stick with the 2-3-3-2 set up that has served him well in the league since the arrival of Sturridge, and presuming he is fit, we should go with that. With reports of late fitness tests, though, it is possible that we will see a return to 2-3-2-3, with Coutinho, Suarez and Downing up front, and Lucas, Gerrard and Allen or Henderson in the middle. Henderson makes more sense in this set up, as he can press the possession advantage and help keep Wigan pinned back, which will afford space for Gerrard to pick his passes. Lucas will possibly get to go forward a little more, and his positioning might be crucial in switching the ball and forcing the Wigan central midfield to run and chase. The back four should be Enrique, Agger, Carragher and Johnson, but there might be a slim possibility of Skrtel returning. If so, this could be a great game to step into and get his confidence rising for the rest of the season. The aim of the game will be to match and better Wigan’s possession, and hope that our cutting edge is there on the day and we can convert our chances early and often.
If we play a 4-3-3:
Key Factors – There are three main factors Liverpool should be aware of in the game that could go a long way to deciding the outcome. Firstly, they have to try to prevent Beausejour from getting space to play into the forwards. Watch for the ball to be won in defence or central midfield and played out to his position, which will trigger runs from the front three – mainly DiSanto (if he’s on the left side) and Kone. DiSanto will look at blindside runs or penetrating runs between the right defender and right back, while Kone will either check to the ball or stretch the defence, hoping to leave space for McCarthy or McArthur to push into and collect the ball. If these options aren’t on, then he will try a big switch to the other side to Moloney. Putting pressure on these options will go some way to shutting Beausejour down, but he does use a reset pass to Figueroa too when his attacking options are closed, so marking Figueroa from the forwards might force Beausejour to dump the ball and give it back to Liverpool carelessly. Secondly, they have scored 27% of their goals from set plays, so good marking is essential, but also attempting to avoid giving away corners and free kicks in the first place. If there is tactical fouling to be done, it needs to be done in their half or at the halfway line. Their patterns are good, and the delivery from corners is excellent, so if Liverpool concede, it’s likely to be from a set play of some sort.
Thirdly, if Liverpool can get tight on DiSanto and Kone, then Wigan’s attacking outlets are massively reduced and the game becomes one of Liverpool chances rather than a toe-to-toe game. Possession dominance will be crucial, but converting that dominance to goals is, as always, the key. It is becoming cliché, but if Liverpool can score in the first 15 minutes, then an away win is more likely. The longer the duration before the first goal becomes, the more panicked the players might get, and this will lead to them pushing forward without much of a safety net, and being liable to be hit on the break.
Wigan’s Corner – Wigan have a good set up for their corner kicks, with inswingers from Beausejour and Moloney the main delivery method, and a good set up for their runs into the box. Their corners have the following pattern:
- Most corners are inswingers from Maloney on the LFC Right or Beasejour on LFC Left
- Preparation: Kone leaning on GK, DiSanto on front post, 3-2 positions at edge of box – tight and close
- Trigger for runs is DiSanto run for short corner
- Kone pushes hard on GK
- Three players spread runs to 6 yard line – near post, back post, central space
- Two players push to area 15-18 yards our from goal to pick up deflections/2nd ball
