Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Liverpool come into this afternoon’s clash with Hull sitting in 6th place but the hunt for the Champions League places already looks like it has started with only 3 points separating 2nd to 6th. If results were to go Jurgen Klopp’s way then it could be them being the nearest challengers to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
That may mean a few coupon busters may have to take place later today for Liverpool to climb that high up the table but confidence will certainly be high after their display against Chelsea last Friday. The first 45 minutes was real ‘Rock N Roll Football’ to coin a Klopp phrase as The Reds raced into a 2-0 lead.
Goals from Dejan Lovren and a world class finish from Jordan Henderson meant Liverpool were coasting and although they finish may have been nervy thanks to Diego Costa’s 5th goal of the season, the three points that Liverpool left with was nothing short of deserved.
From the off they played at a frenetic pace and Chelsea didn’t know how to cope with them, you would imagine that the tactics will be more of the same this afternoon as Caretaker Manager Mike Phelan brings his Tigers to Anfield with the managerial situation still not resolved.
At the start of the season there was an element of galvanisation as Hull with no squad and no manager pulled together to get two impressive wins but the longer the uncertainty regarding Phelan’s employment situation continues it can only be to the detriment of Hull.
Last weekend they were soundly beaten at the KCOM Stadium by Arsenal. The Gunners ran out 4-1 winners against a Hull side that had to play a large part of the game with 10 men. It was always going to be a difficult task against Arsenal with a man short it was almost impossible.
The fixture computer hasn’t been too kind to Hull as of late. They have been dealt Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea in succession, if they can get at least 1 point from that then they will be happy. Then again on the flipside they would have played the majority of the big teams early and can actually focus on the games that in their eyes are winnable.
Unfortunately for them Today is not going to be one of them, Liverpool are finding their groove now after an inconsistent start and I see no reason why they won’t pick up all three points. Confidence will be high after the Chelsea game in addition to the winning momentum that is picking up pace after an EFL Cup win away to Derby in Midweek. It’s a home banker for me.
