The big talking points from two of Sunday’s Gameweek 33 matches are covered as we continue with our weekend Scout Notes.
Liverpool v Crystal Palace and West Ham United v Fulham are the focus here.
BRADLEY INJURY LATEST
Conor Bradley (£4.3m) was forced off in the 48th minute on Sunday, after picking up an issue following an attempted challenge.
Pointing to his left ankle, the 20-year-old needed the help of both physios to leave the pitch.
“Conor overstretched his foot slightly. The first moment and what Conor felt didn’t look great, [but] now I heard a little bit that it’s settled quite quickly. I don’t know. Is the ligament damaged or not? I don’t know, so we will get this information tomorrow or Tuesday, but it was very painful for him so that’s not cool.” – Jurgen Klopp on Conor Bradley
Bradley’s injury could deprive him of the chance to feature in Double Gameweek 34.
However, his withdrawal marked a welcome return for Trent Alexander-Arnold (£8.4m).
Clearly, rustiness was evident, but Alexander-Arnold immediately slotted back into a hybrid central midfield role and now becomes an option for that aforementioned ‘double’.
As does Alisson Becker (£5.7m), who was back between the sticks after not featuring since Gameweek 23.
Whether or not they will be worth the outlay, however, remains up for debate.
The ease in which Crystal Palace carved through Liverpool’s defence on Sunday is certainly a concern, and it’s now just one clean sheet in 11 for Jurgen Klopp’s troops.
“It’s been the story of the last few games and that’s why we have been punished. We are struggling to keep clean sheets right now. I don’t know how many we have had in the last 10 or 15 games but it won’t be many. When you do that you have to take chances, as simple as that. The boys in front of goal have to do better. But the boys at the back, as a defensive unit as a whole, we have to do better.” – Andrew Robertson
LIVERPOOL STUMBLE
It has been a difficult week for Liverpool, having suffered back-to-back home defeats to Atalanta and Crystal Palace.
It’s too early to say the wheels have come off, but this was a tired team performance, something Klopp touched on in his post-match press conference.
“I understand as well, I see the same game like you do. Did Wataru [Endo] and Macca [Mac Allister] now play a little bit too much in the last few weeks? Maybe, they were the two most-used [players], especially Macca. The other guys came back from injury. I would say Curtis [Jones] today was really good. Dom [Szoboszlai] came back from injury, stuff like this, kind of rhythm. I think for the situation Trent [Alexander-Arnold] is in, that was really good but I don’t think he could now play 120 minutes, let me say it like that. Robbo [Andy Robertson] came back from injury. All these kind of things, so a couple of players had to play a lot and a couple of players always were interrupted – that’s a bit the situation. It’s actually not too interesting for us if we find now the real answer. We just have to make sure that we don’t think about where we are coming from – whether they are injured or whether they are not – and we just have to make sure we find a way to beat the specific opponent in front of us. It’s always like this.” – Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool still fashioned plenty of good opportunities (2.87 xG in total), but their finishing let them down, with Mohamed Salah (£13.5m), Darwin Nunez (£7.7m), Curtis Jones (£4.9m) and substitute Diogo Jota (£7.9m) all missing ‘big chances’.
Salah and Darwin in particular looked off the pace, with the latter hooked on 65 minutes.
It meant Andrew Robertson (£6.4m) was Liverpool’s best player by some distance, with lots of surging runs down the flank, four key passes and a huge goal-line clearance to deny Jean-Philippe Mateta (£5.0m).
For Liverpool, attention now turns to European football, where they have got it all to do in Italy on Thursday night.
How they react feels key, with a trip to Craven Cottage in Double Gameweek 34 to follow just three days later.
OLISE RETURNS
Eberechi Eze’s (£6.0m) goal, his third attacking return in six matches since coming back from injury, proved to be the difference on Sunday.
A threat from open play and set-pieces, Eze was outstanding in the first half and is clearly a name that stands out for Double Gameweek 34.
Michael Olise (£5.6m) is also in the mix.
The 22-year-old is averaging 0.95 attacking returns per 90 minutes this season and looked lively upon his return at Anfield, lining up as one of Oliver Glasner’s two no-10s in his usual 3-4-2-1 system (see below).
Olise and Eze racked up a couple of shots apiece, while some of their interplay with Mateta was simply superb, an exciting prospect with a potentially leggy West Ham outfit up next.
As for Mateta, he also looked a threat leading the line, having racked up three shots in the box, two of them ‘big chances’.
A quick word on Tyrick Mitchell (£4.5m), too, who claimed the assist for Eze’s goal and was particularly advanced on Sunday.
Above: Crystal Palace’s average position map v Liverpool, featuring Mitchell (3), Olise (7), Eze (10) and Mateta (14)
HAMMERS FEELING THE SCHEDULE/PEREIRA DANGEROUS
Andreas Pereira (£5.3m) scored a goal in each half as Fulham dominated and beat West Ham 2-0.
In a limp display, David Moyes’ side conceded six big chances and 3.29 xG, with energy levels looking particularly low after Thursday’s UEFA Europa League clash with Beyer Leverkusen.
Michail Antonio (£5.7m), Lucas Paqueta (£6.0m) and James Ward-Prowse (£5.8m) wasted decent-ish opportunities, but they are clearly missing leading scorer Jarrod Bowen (£7.8m), who missed out here with a hip injury.
“Of course they are [feeling the schedule]. I think we have seven games in April and we are getting towards the mid-end of it. Today was a really important game for us, and we knew if we won we would go sixth in the league, so I’m really disappointed we couldn’t put on a better show. I genuinely think we had the chances, but we didn’t take them.” – David Moyes
“We lacked a little bit of energy as the game went on and the second goal was a killer for us. The difficult part is going Thursday to Sunday, Sunday to Thursday you have more time.” – David Moyes
As for Pereira, it’s been a decent period for the Brazilian recently, with four attacking returns in as many Gameweeks.
Playing as a no. 10 here, his stats were particularly eye-catching, having been involved in five big chances (three of his own, two created for others).
With no Double Gameweeks to come, interest in Pereira remains limited, but a final-day punt away at Luton Town isn’t out of the question if he can maintain his current form.
“This afternoon, the plan was clear for him. We said for him to never be behind the two midfielders from West Ham, we wanted him always in the pockets in between the lines. About him arriving more in certain areas, it’s something that we have demanded from him. Before Andreas joined our football club, he was playing much more as a second midfielder, at Man United in some moments, sometimes as a wide player as well, in the other spells that he had around Europe as well, even in Flamengo in Brazil he played always as a second midfielder.
“Since he joined ourselves, he has been clearly in a different line, much more as an offensive midfielder there in the pockets, and that is something that we have been working with him on, to arrive more in certain positions. He’s probably one of the players in this league with more assists and all that stuff, he’s really strong in set-pieces, too. In our team he’s clearly a player with more assists, [but] sometimes you have to be more decisive when you play in that role in the team, score more goals as well.
“And I’m really pleased to see him arrive in certain areas that are important, the way he believed in the first goal that the second ball would come for him, and of course the composure in that finish was really good. And the way he arrived inside the box for the second goal, really pleased to see, because it’s something that we demand from them and we push them to do it, but of course when the things are happening in the game, it makes them believe more and for sure it’s going to be important for Andreas.” – Marco Silva on Andreas Pereira
