The next run of 8 fixtures that stretch from away at Spurs this weekend until the home Merseyside derby on the 28th of January will give us a true insight into the team’s mettle and ability to effectively brave a congested fixture pile-up.
The run consists of away games against Spurs, Manchester City, and Chelsea – with the City and Chelsea games being played within four days of each other.
Putting aside the mentality of the team, there must be consideration of practical elements, such as rotation of the squad, fitness levels, and – most importantly – the starting XI itself.
With 15 games having been played, both fans and manager have a decent idea of who are the star performers, and what does and what does not work.
Going forward we have, in the more recent games, appeared to be almost perfectly drilled. From passages of play, to player movement, to forward through-passes and penetration, to set pieces, the team looks confident and deadly in the final third.
Whilst the defence isn’t perfect, a combination of solid individual displays from Lucas, Sakho, Agger and Mignolet has ensured a usually sturdy unit. Rodgers also seems to recognize our potential to be flimsy at the back, and does revert to more conservative positioning of forwards when we are up against tougher teams.
The switch from the earlier 3-4-3 system to the staple 4-2-3-1 has seen a dramatic increase in midfield coherence and ball retention.
What will no doubt compound our difficulties in the coming weeks is the injury to Steven Gerrard.
Gerrard’s influence over the team has been incredible, and it truly does seem as if his performance on the day directly dictates Liverpool’s result.
The captain’s set piece deliveries will also sorely be missed, as will his frighteningly accurate long diagonal passes that initiate our counter-attacks.
It’s tough to anticipate exactly how Liverpool will fare in these eight games. The perennial issue under Rodgers in games when we lose is when the opposition outplays us in midfield. When the opposition press our central players so that we are unable to play short passes to feet, we seem overwhelmed and unable to mix it up. We then concede the midfield and allow the opposition to dictate the game, which then put us up against it. Our lack of true defensive solidarity then comes under and the team buckles.
This problem is worsened when our own players are not seemingly properly drilled in – or possibly not instructed to – pressing the opposition players.
How Rodgers would combat this – especially against the midfield of Manchester City – is difficult to see.
The loss of Gerrard would likely see Joe Allen take up the mantle as the player to sit alongside Lucas.
Looking at the strengths of Joe Allen, we can confidently expect good energy in midfield, as well as his excellent ball retention and weighting of passes. Allen’s composure and ability to make the right pass in the context of the move and the situation could prove useful in the big games, where holding onto the ball may be vital.
We would have to effectively rotate the team, make thoughtful substitutions, and rest players in the coming games. This is another issue that is difficult to predict as Rodgers has always seemed reluctant to change around the starting XI.
You get the feeling that everything is set up perfectly for Liverpool. The inconsistent performances of our top four rivals as well as our sensational start has meant we have the luxury of going into the three big games as the team that isn’t under the most pressure.
Without wanting to tempt fate I can say that, looking at our current points total and position as well as our ability to destroy weaker teams, we have removed some of the fear of dropping points in big games as we have mastered the ability to take them in other games.
Hitting the ground running this season was important for our top four push. Having successfully done that, and then some, we can face this challenge head on. The next few games are, considering opposition and the proximity of fixtures, our toughest of the season.
It is all set up very well, and it will be interesting to see how we fare and how Rodgers compensates for our shortcomings.
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