Man, its just a must win game, a draw wont be enough especially kama City watamfunga Crystal palace.
I’d go with the Same midfield, (Faby, Keita, Henderson), in a good shape of 2-1, Faby kama lone holder, and Keita as DLP, then Hendo should occupy a free advanced role, this shape benefits Hendo more as it relieve him from defending responsibilities, and help us to maintain luxury space ya uwanja upande wa kulia, ambayo inasaidia sana kumuachia nafasi Trent ya ku-overlap wakati Salah anaingia ndani ya opponent box kutengeneza nafasi au kufunga., pia kumuacha hendo a-operate free kunamfanya awe na uwezo wa kufanya line breaking runs, ambazo zinasaidia ku-pin down the opponent defensing zone. (He sucks at defending as he lacks defensive awareness of a complete DM, so giving him a free role, kunampa nafasi ya ku-cover spaces and lines kwa kutumia his runs, huku akiwa supported na Keita/Faby from deeper areas).
The 2-1 shape Vs Southampton; unaona hiyo shape hapo in a 433, Faby (3), Keita (8), and Hendo (14) ahead of them in a free zone, ready to make last line runs.
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In the last 2 games, Hendo amecheza kama OX, in a 433, and so far, amefanya kazi nzuri sana as he doesnt need kuegemea sana kwenye upande wa ku-hold down the entire MF (that was a big ask from Klopp, hasa kwa mchezaji mwenye limited football ability kama Hendo), but kwasasa, i’m more than happy kwa yeye kucheza kwenye advanced role, kwani kama team, tunanufaika pia na creativity from deeper area from Faby and Naby, and we’re getting the goals from the MF now. Klopp should keep him there mpaka mwisho wa msimu. Then we can asses better options for the coming season, but so far, to be fair to Henderson, he’s doing a good job there.
Klopp will try to keep Hazard silent, but at the same time we need to go for a win, so playing a “Brexit” midfield will kill us on transition, as they have Kante/RLC/Jorginho who can destroy us kuanzia kwenye deeper lines as we cant allow Jorginho to supply his through passes, kwa Hazard, or any runners kutoka Chelsea, hence we need Faby to sit deeper ili kuharibu na ku-distract passing-game ya Jorginho and take him out of the game completely, whilst allowing Keita to compete with Kante in winning the last balls (this is crucial), people are always underrating the dribbling ability of Kante, but you dont want him to win the last balls na kuwe na nafasi ya kukimbia na mpira, he’s dangerous, but na sisi pia tunae Keita who is a complete dribbler, who can move the ball from deeper areas mpaka eneo la chelsea whilst timing the runs of Hendo/Firmino/Salah/Mane. So a midfield of Hendo/Milner/Gini ni rigid, ni MF ambayo haiwezi ku-move the ball forward, but just sit with the ball and let our FBs do the rest in moving the ball foward, we may have advantage ya kucheza home, so Klopp anaweza kuwa tempted kucheza na hii MF, but chance za kushinda zitakuwa ndogo sana, but pia it depends na MF ya sarri kama akianza na MF ya Jorginho/Kante/RLC then itakuwa ni suicidal kwa Brexit mid as we’ll get overrun sana, hence if we really want to win this game we should go with the better options.
Hazard is in good form now, CHO is good shape, and RLC is in good shape, these players can hurt us, kama tuta-aim zaidi katika ku-negate chelsea game plan, kuliko ku-deal na set up yetu wenyewe.
Wont be suprised if Klopp will sneak in Wijnaldum, as he’s our press-resistant in the MF, but we need to give Chelsea a hard time kama tu tunataka kushinda game ya J2.
So can see Klopp fielding this 3 types of MFs
A. Hendo/Gini/Milner
B. Faby/Hendo/Gini
C. Faby/Keita/Hendo.
For me, our best MF option now ni “C”, and then, kumrudisha Hendo as a 6/DLP baada ya his two good perfomances in the last 2 games, itakuwa ni dissapointment hata kwake pia (besides he scored one of his best goals of his career at Stamford bridge in 2014/15 playing kwenye advanced role, so you never know, anaweza akafunga tena J2 kama akicheza kwenye hiyo role), pia kum-drop Keita after his 2 MOTM perfomances will destroy his confidence again (we need to understand kuwa he’s just 23, so bado hajawa na uwezo wa kuweza ku-control emotions and breakdowns, yupo kwenye Club aliyokuwa anaishabikia tangu akiwa mtoto, so ofcourse he wants to prove something for his beloved club). and again dropping our “Midfield heart” Fabinho in a must win game shouldnt be allowed at all, he’s the main engine in that MF, we need him there.
So, think, we should go with “C” option, because a lot of players wananufaika na hii MF combination, and it allow us to play a structural footie in a basic 433.
So my team for Sunday;
Alisson/Trent/Matip/VVD/Robertson/Faby/Keita/Hendo-Salah/Mane/Firmino.
But if Klopp will want to bring back Gini, then Fabinho should be in there aswell. (We cant afford to drop him).
All in all, its a must WIN game, and hatutakiwi kufanya kama yale tuliyofanya mwaka 2013/14 tulipokutana na Chelsea at Anfield, we need to be focused and relaxed, and try to win the game at any cost, and if i remember correctly, back in 2013/14, sisi na City tulicheza na teams ambazo tutakutana nazo on sunday kwenye weekend moja, (LFC vs Chelse, City Vs Palace), city won by 2 goals, and we lost by 2 goals. So we really need to relax and play our game.