Preview: Liverpool vs. Ipswich
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Liverpool look to press on in the title challenge against newly-promoted Ipswich
LIVERPOOL VS. IPSWICH TOWN
| Saturday, January 25th |
Premier League | Anfield
3PM GMT/10AM EST
You'd be forgiven for underestimating newly promoted Ipswich, but you might want to do that at your own risk (just ask Chelsea, who did so and got trounced by these at home).
It would be easy to dismiss them given the heavy defeat to Manchester City last weekend. It's worth saying, though, that the Tractor Boys come into matches like these hoping to get something ("their cup final," if you will), and they were rather unlucky not to score before Manchester City got their first last weekend. Once Manchester City go ahead the efforts cease. This should be worrying for Liverpool, who suffer from the type of complacency that sees them exert complete control before conceding on the first on target shot they face. If they do get their goal you can assume Liverpool have made the match hard for themselves needlessly.
Arne Slot's side has conceded first in each of the last three home games, though each ended in a win. Regardless, there's only so many times you can graft to wrench the three points off your opposition.
They will also have the option of Kalvin Phillips, who was forced out of the squad last time out due to parent club rules.
Ipswich have not played a league game at Anfield since 2002, when they got trounced 5-0, and the Reds will hope to continue the pattern. The Reds have now won 10 consecutive home matches against newly promoted sides, a statistic that emphasizes how hard it is to come to Anfield.
If they do look to score, Leif Davis is perhaps counter-intuitively the creative outlet to watch: the defender has created a team-high of 41 chances this season. These are numbers comparable to Trent Alexander-Arnold, per Opta (though his teammates have let him down, scoring just two of them).
Two new signings could debut for Ipswich: Julio Enciso from Brighton and Jaden Philogene from Aston Villa. Sammie Szmodics, Conor Chaplin, and Chiedozie Ogbene are out for the Tractor Boys, with Axel Tuanzebe faces a late fitness test.
It's hard to predict this one, as manager Kieran McKenna rotates a lot. Regardless, they will want to make it difficult from the start. Liverpool will need to shake off any complacency to make that effort futile. In terms of complacency: It's worth noting that Ipswich's next game is a six-pointer against Southampton.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Núñez
Liverpool come into this one in good form, missing Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota, and likely Curtis Jones, who picked up a knock mid-week against Lille. Ibrahima Konaté has apparently been managing knee pain since his return, but Slot has said he's "safe" to play this weekend. Given the pain management, there could be some rotation in coming matches to maximize his fitness.
Arsenal kicks off at the same time as the Reds this weekend, which may affect matchday pressure in interesting ways — the chips fell in Liverpool's way playing first last weekend, but expect nothing this weekend: Wolves are terrible against set plays, and Arsenal, famously, like scoring from them.
The wind might affect the match, which is worrying: when the weather is poor, you expect it to impact the better team on paper, especially if that team has more possession. The Reds will need to be smart to avoid the impact.
Slot will have decisions to make in defense, largely in fullback positions: Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are battling for first choice, and Conor Bradley and Trent Alexander-Arnold form a less interesting but still active question on the other side.
Frederico Chiesa and Harvey Elliott both impressed off the bench of late, but it would be hard to see either shifting Slot's first choice midfield. Darwin Núñez will have a shout to start for the chaos factor — he tends to occupy defenders without the ball in a way that is useful when Liverpool are playing against a side you expect to be defensive.
What the Managers Had to Say
Arne Slot: "They've been a bit unlucky sometimes in the last moments of games. I've said this a few times recently that the second half of the season is always more difficult than the first half because some teams strengthen themselves during the winter break, some teams – not all of them but many teams – work with their manager for half a season and that normally leads to a team becoming better – and that's definitely the situation also for Ipswich, although they made it really difficult for us already in the first game of the season."
Kieran McKenna: "The Premier League is the strongest league in the world, they've been the best team in the Premier League this season and have shown outstanding qualities in all phases. And I think they've been the most impressive team I've seen in the Champions League as well."
The Officials
Referee: Michael Salisbury Assistants: Mat Wilkes, Derek Eaton Fourth official: Darren Bond VAR: Paul Tierney Assistant VAR: Craig Taylor
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