'Arsenal's brilliant forward play must be contained'
Saturday 20 December 2014 21:51, UK
Liverpool and Arsenal can boost their top four hopes with victory in their Super Sunday clash - and Jamie Redknapp is predicting a thriller...
Liverpool’s win over Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday was a good result – but only if they beat Arsenal on Super Sunday can we truly say they’ve turned the corner.
Bournemouth are top of the Championship but made six changes for the quarter-final in midweek. Arsenal have scored eight in their last two and will give us a far better gauge of where Liverpool are.
If Liverpool win then they get themselves back into the equation for the top four.
Liverpool need a big performance, a game-changing moment in their season, which will leave everyone talking about them as genuine contenders for a top-four finish. A win over Arsenal could do just that.
Last season Liverpool won this fixture 5-1. It was one of their best performances in the campaign – but just shows what a difference not having Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez in the team makes. Could you see Liverpool doing that to Arsenal again this season? Absolutely not.
There were positives from the Capital One Cup win and even signs against Manchester United last weekend that things are starting to improve. However, despite Brendan Rodgers switching to a 3-4-3 system, there still seem to be a lot of square pegs in round holes.
If they persist with that formation on Sunday – and that’s not guaranteed as Rodgers has adapted his systems repeatedly throughout the season – they could be in trouble.
That’s because Jordan Henderson and Lazar Markovic will have to defend against very quick wingers; whoever Arsenal play out wide will be quick. Danny Welbeck up against Henderson – who won’t be enjoying playing out wide – and perhaps Alexis Sanchez up against Markovic – who is forward-thinking – could be footballing suicide.
It will be a bit cat and mouse in terms of who wants to defend and who wants to attack, but you’d want someone better defensively than Markovic for this one. It’s not his game. He played great against Bournemouth and he’s getting his confidence back – but can he contain Sanchez?
Where the system works though, is up front, where Raheem Sterling will cause anybody problems. He’s got magic feet and when he faces people up he can go past them like they’re not there. I don’t care if that’s a Championship centre-back or one of the quickest defenders in the world, that’s what he’ll do to anybody. Until Liverpool have Sturridge back maybe Sterling up there will suit them. They just have to consider Arsenal’s attacking threat.
Going forward Arsenal are brilliant to watch. Against Newcastle they were too good. In a footballing way they almost bullied them. Newcastle came and tried to play, they didn’t try to stop Arsenal or upset them, they just let them play. And if you let Arsenal play they will capitalise on that.
Liverpool will probably follow Newcastle’s approach, too, and it will be a wide open football match on Sunday. This will be a case of who has the better footballers on show and, with neither team possessing a great defence, it should be a good game.
It’s a tough one to call because of that reason. It’s also a big game, in terms of who finishes up in the top four. If Arsenal win it they’ll be bankers to finish in the Champions League spots. If Liverpool win then they get themselves back into the equation.
I’m predicting a score draw. Things are starting to gel from an attacking point of view but this is a big test.
Watch Liverpool v Arsenal live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Sunday from 3.30pm
