And now comes the season-ending \u201crun-in.\u201d This one is special. This one is why we watch sports. We hope that some day, somehow, our team will have the opportunity to achieve greatness. Compete for the Big One.<\/p>\n

But, LFC\u2019s current quest goes well beyond the \u201cregular\u201d dream of having your sports team win a title. \u00a0This season, the Reds seek immortality. \u00a0At one of the two most historic football clubs in England, and one of the five most historic in the world, this Reds team is pushing to do what no other team has done \u2014 to win, in a single season, all four of the \u201cmajor\u201d competitions in which English clubs can play. It\u2019s the equivalent of a golfer or tennis player winning a Grand Slam. But, I would argue, those Grand Slams are easier than the football Quadruple that the Reds are fighting for \u2014 as evidenced by the fact that someone has won a Grand Slam on multiple occasions in tennis, and once in golf.<\/p>\n

Almost certainly, the Reds will fail in this nearly impossible task. But they WANT it. And, they are capable of it. All they have to do is to best the OTHER greatest team in the world \u2014 one of only one or two teams that can argue that it is just as good as Liverpool \u2014 in all three remaining competitions. And then, in two of the three competitions, they will likely also have to defeat ANOTHER one of the top four clubs in the world. \u00a0That\u2019s all.<\/p>\n

Almost certainly, they will fail. \u00a0But, I\u2019m a fan. And, you\u2019re telling me there\u2019s a chance. A chance at immortality.<\/p>\n

With this chance on the line, we can watch all of the remaining matches with an intensity, a passion, and a longing that will burn us to our core. \u00a0Even if the Reds slip up, as they almost certainly will, we will still be able to cheer them on in the next competition. Game after game, the Reds will be facing top teams, in a nearly-endless series of games that will feel as if everything is on the line.<\/p>\n

Between now and the end of May, the Reds will play a minimum of 12 games, and as many as 16. Sixteen games to glory. \u00a0Drama packed into each and every one. THIS is why we are fans.<\/p>\n

The schedule this week feels as if it\u2019s been set up as part of a video game. Saturday, we start by playing a relatively minor foe (Watford), we move on in mid-week to a tougher test (Benfica in the first leg in Portugal), and then, next Sunday we get our initial clash with the Big Boss.<\/p>\n

We begin on Saturday with Watford. Watford have struggled mightily this season. Indeed, they are now working under the third manager of the season, and it\u2019s none other than erstwhile Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson. Ousted from Crystal Palace last year, the old owl has emerged again to try to prevent Watford\u2019s relegation. So far, he hasn\u2019t looked so good. In nine games under Hodgson, Watford have two wins, two draws, and five losses. However, they did win their last time out against Southampton.<\/p>\n

Roy Hodgson is a very old-school English manager. He likes his boys to be well-organized in defense. They play conservatively, in two banks of four, and they are a challenge to break down. He sets them up to score on the counter, or on a set play.<\/p>\n

In my head, I think of Hodgson as the type of manager that can pose problems for Liverpool. And, indeed, in the years before Klopp\u2019s arrival, he did prove a thorn for Liverpool \u2014 mostly when he was supposedly working FOR the Reds, but to a lesser extent also while he was coaching other teams.<\/p>\n

But, since Klopp\u2019s arrival at Liverpool, Hodgson\u2019s teams have served as cannon fodder. \u00a0Klopp\u2019s Liverpool faced Hodgson\u2019s Crystal Palace on seven occasions. Liverpool won all seven games, by an aggregate score of 23-5. Three of Crystal Palace\u2019s five goals against Klopp came in one match, a feisty 4-3 win for LFC at Anfield in 2018-19.<\/p>\n

Hodgson will do what he always does. But, his players at Watford are, for the most part, worse than the players he had at Palace. That does not bode well for Roy, given his prior history, and given the focus and intensity that the Reds will bring to this one.<\/p>\n

Liverpool\u2019s lineup against Watford, I believe, will be planned based on the lineup that Klopp hopes to use on April 10 against Manchester City. In that match, I believe Klopp will want to start the following lineup, injuries permitting:
\n<\/p>\n

The only doubt in my mind in that \u201cpreferred\u201d starting eleven against City is Roberto Firmino. \u00a0Most of the LFC faithful would probably argue that either Jota or D\u00edaz should (or will) be preferred for the biggest matches. \u00a0They could be right. There\u2019s little doubt that Jota has been the most productive overall. \u00a0There\u2019s also little doubt that, since D\u00edaz arrived, he has shown more attacking prowess than Bobby Firmino.<\/p>\n

But, against City, I believe Klopp will want to go with his tried and trusted Front Three, and not only because they are Tried and Trusted. I believe the main reason Klopp will prefer them is tactical \u2014 Bobby Firmino is the best pressing forward Liverpool has, and he is also the best at linking play between the midfield and attack. Against City, Klopp will want to have the \u201cextra midfielder\u201d that Bobby effectively becomes when needed. City controls the game in midfield and creates pressure both offensively and defensively by asserting control in the middle of the park. Thus, moreso than in most matches, against City Klopp will want his center forward to drop deep to help out the midfielders and wrest at least some of that control back from the iron grips of City. Man\u00e9 can fulfill this role, but he\u2019s not quite as good at it as Bobby. Relative to both Firmino and Man\u00e9, Jota pretty much sucks at it. So, while I believe D\u00edaz and Jota will both find themselves starting in a lot of big games between now and the end of the season, I would expect Firmino to start ahead of both of them against Manchester City, at least in the Premier League match on April 10. But, clearly, I could be wrong. \u00a0I would be very surprised if I\u2019m wrong about any of the others. \u00a0The jury is still out about whether Trent will be available on April 10, but I\u2019m betting he will be.<\/p>\n

OK. Starting with my assumptions described above about the preferred starters for April 10, I predict that we will see a pretty similar lineup tomorrow, and then there will be a bit of rotation on Tuesday against Benfica. \u00a0For Saturday against Watford, here\u2019s my guess:<\/p>\n

\nI\u2019m guessing Jota starts this one, because he\u2019s more of a scoring threat than Firmino, and putting the ball in the net will be the biggest challenge against Watford\u2019s parked bus. I\u2019ll guess that D\u00edaz and Jota both start against Benfica, and that Bobby pops into the starting lineup only against City.<\/p>\n

The other question mark is at right back. \u00a0Despite my belief that we are nowhere near the same team without Alexander-Arnold, I thought Joe Gomez was good against Nottingham Forest. That was probably Gomez\u2019s best performance since his season-ending injury last year. I think Klopp will probably keep him there until Trent comes back, and Klopp has apparently implied to the media that this is his plan. Having said that, from a tactical perspective it would make sense for Klopp to start Milner at right back against Watford. As a true midfielder, Milner provides the closest available facsimile to Trent from an attacking perspective (though he\u2019s still miles off what TAA provides). And, because Watford won\u2019t have the ball very often, Milner won\u2019t have too much defending to do. \u00a0I expect that Milner will get on the pitch at right back at some point on Saturday, and it could be as a starter. But I\u2019m guessing that it will be off the bench.<\/p>\n

We should have more than enough to overwhelm the Old Owl\u2019s Watford squad at Anfield.<\/p>\n

LFC 3 – Watford 0<\/p>\n

The run-in starts now. It will be intense, it will be dramatic, and, it will be awesome. \u00a0On some level, it will be glorious. Here\u2019s hoping that it\u2019s glorious on every level we can imagine.<\/p>\n

Up the Immortality-Hunting Reds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And now comes the season-ending \u201crun-in.\u201d This one is special. This one is why we watch sports. We hope that some day, somehow, our team will have the opportunity to achieve greatness. Compete for the Big One. But, LFC\u2019s current quest goes well beyond the \u201cregular\u201d dream of having your sports team win a title. \u00a0This season, the Reds seek …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[75,17,14,18,23,74,63],"class_list":["post-289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-match-previews","tag-immortality","tag-lfc","tag-liverpool-fc","tag-liverpool-football-club","tag-premier-league","tag-season-run-in","tag-watford","entry entry-center"],"yoast_head":"\n