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Both Liverpool and Manchester City won their respective matches in the Premier League last night to keep the title race alive. Liverpool now have 69 points from 28 matches, whereas City have 68 from the same number of matches.
With 10 rounds of matches to go, this promises to be one of the tightest title races in recent times. Both the clubs have a realistic chance of winning the title, and it remains to be seen whether Jurgen Klopp or Pep Guardiola has the last laugh.
Liverpool have 2 big matches remaining in their EPL fixture, against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. On the other hand, City are yet to play Manchester United and Spurs in the second leg of the Premier League.
We would now take a look at the 3 crucial factors which might determine the fate of the Premier League this season:
#1 City’s superior bench-strength:
The sheer depth in City’s squad is a matter of envy for a lot of other clubs in the world. No other club in the world have as many quality midfielders in their squad as City. Guardiola can actually afford to rotate his midfielders on a regular basis, and still win matches. Having Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, David Silva, Bernardo Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Kevin De Bruyne in the squad means that Guardiola is spoilt for choice in the midfield.
In last night’s match against West Ham too, Riyad Mahrez had started on the right wing, but could not make much of an impact on the match. Guardiola replaced him with Bernardo Silva in the second half, and the latter played brilliantly to earn a penalty for his club, which was duly converted by Sergio Aguero.
Guardiola can also afford to play any two of Danilo, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Kyle Walker as his full-backs. Moreover, each one of John Stones, Aymeric Laporte and Nicolas Otamendi has played a considerable number of matches as the centre-back for City this season. This also means that most of City’s players are relatively fresh and fit enough to go through the grind in the final phase of the season.
#2. Liverpool playing Origi in place of Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in a more direct role:
Divock Origi impressed a great deal for Liverpool in the match against Watford, as he scored one and set up another in a 5-0 win. He is a faster and stronger player than Roberto Firmino, who has not particularly impressed this season and scored only 11 goals in 31 matches so far.
Origi’s speed and strength can prove to be very useful for the Reds in the upcoming matches. Also, it allows Sadio Mane to play as a centre-forward and be more direct in his approach. Mane can turn and react very quickly inside the opposition penalty box, as he demonstrated by scoring a brace against Watford in last night’s match.
Mane has usually played as a left winger this season, and it makes him toil harder to win the ball and presents him with less goal-scoring opportunities. Still, he has been able to score 15 goals this season so far.
Klopp might give it a thought and start with Origi as the left-winger in the next few matches. It would also allow Mohamed Salah to play freely on the right flank, and create opportunities for Mane with his passes and crosses into the box.
#3. City’s over-dependence on Aguero and Raheem Sterling:
In spite of having a problem of plenty in their defence and midfield, City do not have too many options in their attack. Sergio Aguero has scored 24 goals in 31 matches this season, and continues to be the talisman for City. Raheem Sterling is not far behind and has 15 goals and 10 assists from matches this season. However, City have usually suffered when either of them has not played.
The likes of Mahrez and Leroy Sane are quality players but have not been quite able to win matches for City on a regular basis. Sterling rescued City against Schalke by scoring a brace in Gelsenkirchen and came off the bench to help them win against Watford last night.
Gabriel Jesus, Aguero’s understudy at City, has scored only 16 goals from 32 matches this season and is yet to become a full-fledged match-winner for them. As a result, City are over-reliant on Aguero and Sterling to win matches for them consistently.
#4 Liverpool must utilize the aerial prowess of their centre-backs in a better way:
Each one of Liverpool’s three centre-backs, Virgil Van Dijk, Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip, is very strong in the air, and capable of scoring goals from set-pieces with headers. Van Dijk scored a brace with headers against Watford last night, and now has 4 goals in 56 matches for them.
Matip has featured in the starting eleven in place of an injured Lovren in the last few matches and also has a very good header on him. The same goes for Lovren, and Liverpool can use the aerial prowess of its central defenders in a more effective way. They can prove to be very useful for their team by scoring goals with headers from set-pieces in crucial matches, just like Van Dijk did last night.
Klopp can think of putting more emphasis on set-pieces in the training ground and involving his defenders more actively in them.
