Liverpool return to Premier League action on Sunday against West Bromwich Albion having somewhat fought their way through to the knockout stages of the Europa League with a drab 0-0 draw with Sion on Thursday.
This has been a fractious campaign for a number of reasons. It became clear that Brendan Rodgers was no longer suitable as Liverpool manager. This season was his third attempt at balancing the rigours of a top club’s hectic schedule.
The best sides have to play two games per week more often than not. That takes an intricate skill in coaching and squad rotation, with a keen eye for who is fit and who needs resting. Rodgers never really mastered these arts while at Anfield.
New manager Jurgen Klopp has done better with the same players but the Thursday/Sunday conundrum remains difficult to solve. It’s not as if Liverpool weren’t handed a significant advantage in their season.
All six European matches were followed by a Sunday game on Merseyside — five winnable home games plus the derby at Everton. Apart from a nervy, slightly fortunate 1-0 win against Swansea, the Reds have failed to win the others.
Even when the Reds have had good sides in the past, they often found any team managed by this week’s opposing manager, Tony Pulis, a bit of a handful.
Albion are strange opposition too. They do have recent victories against the Reds, but they were all won by ex-employees of Liverpool — manager Roy Hodgson and coach Steve Clarke, who both perhaps had points to prove. You have to go back to 1981 for their last win against Liverpool before those.
You would therefore imagine West Brom would be good opposition for Klopp’s men to face at Anfield. Given Liverpool’s struggles this season in games they were supposed to win — which plumbed the depths with a ragged 2-0 defeat last Sunday at struggling Newcastle — you couldn’t safely predict anything at the moment.
The Pulis “modus operandi” at Anfield, while he was Stoke boss anyway, was basically to shut up shop and frustrate home fans, forcing the Reds not only to deal with stubborn opponents but a fractious support as well.
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