Liverpool are hardly in the midst of a crisis, but after winning just one of their previous seven matches in all competitions the voices of dissent are gradually growing louder; two years into his project, Jurgen Klopp’s team are struggling from familiar tactical issues that refuse to go away. It isn’t Klopp's fault that the richest Premier League sides have improved dramatically for the 2017/18 season, but by comparison, his methods are beginning to look a bit stale. It isn’t failing to challenge for the title that is the problem for Liverpool fans, but that his side are becoming painfully predictable.
Set-pieces goals and individual defensive errors continue to plague their game, while time after time Liverpool struggle to break down deep-lying opposition only to play like world-beaters against those willing to open up and confront Klopp’s gegenpress. It is difficult to argue with confidence that Klopp is learning from his mistakes or adapting adequately to the specific tactical demands of the division. Pep Guardiola’s improvements on this front are damning by comparison.
But then again, Liverpool really are close to being a consistently excellent team – and a simple formation change could just do the trick.
Almost every Premier League club has trialled Antonio Conte’s 3-4-2-1 formation since Chelsea first used it in October 2016, but Liverpool are not one of them despite possessing exactly the right type of player to make it a success.
Here’s why it would work:
Firstly, using three at the back would add some defensive solidity. Liverpool are far too expansive in possession and lack a holding midfielder, which often leaves their two centre-backs with too large an area to cover, leading to individual errors. An extra body centrally, particularly one ready to step up to meet the ball as David Luiz does for Chelsea, would make them sturdier.
Using wing-backs could also help solve Liverpool’s weakness in the full-back positions since their wider defensive players would not need to contribute so heavily in defence; Trent Alexander-Arnold would feel relieved to have an extra man behind him, while Alberto Moreno’s positional carelessness would matter less if he started higher up the pitch.
Liverpool like to crowd the centre of the pitch with bodies in order to maximise passing options when the high press is successful, and therefore using inverted wingers is a natural fit for Klopp, particular since Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum are both awkward fits as deeper central midfielders or wingers in the current 4-3-3 system. One of these two, along with Mohamed Salah or Sadio Mane, would make for a nicely compressed tactical shape that could revolve around the bustling Roberto Firmino.
Liverpool are struggling to score goals of late due to opponents increasingly denying their quicker players space in the final third, and so switching to a narrower formation, such as the 3-4-2-1, could be the reinvigorating kick they need. The beauty of Chelsea’s formation is that the opposition are sucked inwards, forcing them to leave room for the wing-backs to attack on the outside. Like Victor Moses, there is no reason why Salah could not be retrained as one of the wing-backs to provide penetration from deeper, unmarked areas of the pitch.
It might seem like a bold step, but Klopp needs to do something dramatic if Liverpool are to shift into the next gear, and defeat by Manchester United on Saturday would leave them with little left to lose. Switching formation might just be the answer - solving problems at both ends of the pitch.
