Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
After the upset defeat at home to Swansea which cost Liverpool further ground in the title race they will put all thoughts of the Premier League to one side this Evening, that’s because there is the small matter of the EFL Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg this Evening and they go into this game trailing Southampton by a 1-0 deficit.
It was Nathan Redmond’s goal in the 1st leg at St Mary’s which was the difference between these two sides a fortnight ago and Claude Puel’s men will look to protect that slender advantage to advance to their first major final in 14 years. With their last final outing being the 2003 F.A. Cup Final defeat to Arsenal.
For Liverpool they have been to Wembley as recently as last season when they fell at the final hurdle in this very competition, with Manchester City eventually running out winners thanks to Willy Caballero’s shoot out heroics.
So Jurgen Klopp will obviously want to go one better this season but first they have to get past the hurdle that Southampton will put in their way and with The Merseysiders not in perhaps the best of form as of late, a trip to Wembley next month is by no means a foregone concusion.
It’s just 1 win in their last 6 matches across all competitions with that win coming thanks to a 1-0 win over Plymouth in the F.A. Cup 7 days ago, the recent run of results have asked questions over whether Liverpool have the credentials to mount a real challenge for the title and also whether or not this squad has the depth in which to challenge on all fronts.
Saturday bought around a huge amount of disappointment after Swansea’s stunning win at Anfield. Defensive lapses were arguably to blame that Afternoon as Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson were the the heroes thanks to their combined 3 goal haul.
It was a game that left many asking why Joel Matip did not play from the start as he was finally cleared to do so by FIFA, instead the Cameroon international was used as just an auxillary forward as Liverpool searched for a late equaliser.
For their opponents Tonight Southampton they come into this game with the ideal momentum thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over champions Leicester on Sunday, it was a very welcome three points as it ended a run of 4 straight defeats in the league. They coasted to victory over Claudio Ranieri’s side and that win saw them move up to 11th in the table.
The only blot on the copy book was the fact that Virgil Van Dijk had to go off with a foot injury in the second half and there is every chance he could be absent this Evening. Although their win at the weekend shows that life goes on without former Captain Jose Fonte, to go to Anfield without Van Dijk as well could be a massive blow for Claude Puel.
A lot will rest on whether the Dutch defender is available to play, if he is not then it will very much play into the hands of Liverpool and could just give them the extra edge going into this 2nd leg.
For that reason I think should Van Dijk be absent it will mean Liverpool will have enough not just to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat but to also overturn their first leg deficit. Liverpool to win and book their place in the final in my opinion.
