Liverpool host Everton at Anfield on Sunday where they will surely deviate from their usual formation. Here are three reasons why.
Previous success
We all watched Liverpool tear Everton apart last month with a second-string side and a change of formation. Jurgen Klopp used a 4-2-3-1 system then and the Reds ran rampant. It’s also something that really suited Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri on rare starts.
With both surely starting on Sunday, doing similar just makes sense. Everton just couldn’t cope with any of it last time.
Rotation
This is the final game of Liverpool’s incredibly hectic Christmas period – they finally get a week’s break afterwards. But it’s still very much in that period and you can expect Klopp to rotate his team.
Because of that, we can expect a change of system. There likely won’t be two world-class full-backs or the world’s best front-three to rely on, for one thing. That’ll necessitate focus elsewhere, perhaps on that 4-2-3-1 again.
The Ancelotti factor
Carlo Ancelotti may have only just taken over at Everton but this will be his third meeting with Liverpool this season. The Italian oversaw two successful meetings with the Reds as Napoli boss and that will worry Liverpool.
Speaking after Napoli’s draw at Anfield, Ancelotti said (per Football Italia):
“We changed the players, but not the basic structure of the team. Di Lorenzo played wide on the left when we had the ball, then got back to help the midfield in a 4-4-2 when defending.
“Liverpool have enormous quality, but they become more controllable when they are forced to play within reduced spaces.”
That 4-4-2 caused problems. One way to stop that plan, though, is to change your own. If Liverpool don’t play their usual 4-3-3, then Ancelotti has to come up with something different.
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