I believe tomorrow is a huge match for LFC. The games on the horizon – Champions League against Atletico Madrid and then a visit to Old Trafford – are obviously the blockbusters. Most of the media and fan attention will be focused on those future matches.
But for our title hopes, I think tomorrow’s match is bigger. Thirty-eight league games is a grind, even when the Grinder is not around. Thirty-eight times you have to perform to a high level to get three points. Thirty-eight times teams target you because you are elite. Thirty-eight times you face the pressure of losing ground in a title race against team(s) that could threaten the 100 point barrier. Thirty-eight times. Thirty-eight times.
When you’re at Old Trafford, the focus is automatic. So too at the Etihad or Stamford Bridge.
But tomorrow we are at Watford. This is a newly promoted team. A team that sits 15th in the table, with only 7 points from 7 games. A team that has the second-worst xG differential in the league. This is not a matchup that automatically focuses the attention.
But that focus will be critical.
In Klopp’s six-plus years at LFC, Watford have twice defeated him by 3-0 scorelines, and also scored three against us in an opening-day draw in 2017. Watford are not good. But like ALL of the Premier League teams, they still have a lot of talent. They have a lot of desire. They have a coaching staff that is studying all of the vulnerabilities that LFC have. And they have a crowd that will be clamoring for a result against Big, Bad Liverpool.
For the Watford faithful, this is one of the biggest games of the year.
For us it’s one of thirty-eight.
This game is huge. Win this one, and the others like it, and we have a real shot at the title. Lose or draw a few matches like this one, and the title challenge begins to crumble. We must be relentless. As we were in 2018-19 and 2019-20. We must never stop. We must be patient. We must be resilient. But more than anything, we must be relentless. Every time Watford clears the ball, we must bring it back for yet another attack. Every time Watford regains the ball, we must smother them with a breathtaking gegenpress. Every time Watford feels it can breathe, we must punch them in the stomach and choke the life out of them. Relentless. Never stopping. Never pausing. Never giving the other side any oxygen. Relentless.
Our lineup will be severely constrained by injury. We have eight central midfielders, and four are out for this one: Harvey Elliott, Thiago, Fabinho (he and Alisson will miss because Brazil played Thursday night, but thankfully Firmino wasn’t called up to the Brazil team this time), and Curtis Jones. That leaves Henderson, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Keïta potentially available. As you know, I suspect that Keïta is in Klopp’s doghouse. What’s more, Keïta also just played three times for Guinea over the course of six days. Even if Klopp loved the guy, starting him against Watford seems like a really bad idea. Maybe Klopp WILL start him here, in the hopes that he does get injured. But I doubt it.
That leaves three: Hendo, Milner, and Ox. I think they’re probably the midfield tomorrow. But, there are other possibilities. I would personally like to see Taki Minamino given a shot in the midfield (ahead of AOC, who hasn’t been very good). We could alternatively play a 4-2-3-1, but that seems unlikely because neither Milner nor Ox are well-suited to playing in a two-man midfield.
I believe the rest of the team is available. Jota had an injury during the break, but he’s back in full training now. Trent is back (thank goodness).
So, the lineup should probably look like this:
Up the Relentless Reds.
Watford 0 – LFC 2
