This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Liverpool may have maintained their six-point lead over Manchester City in the league on Sunday but the recent performances of Georginio Wijnaldum should be giving Jurgen Klopp plenty to think about.
On the chalkboard
The Netherlands international has been a regular component of the Reds’ midfield this season having started all ten Premier League outings and in some aspects of his game, most notably his pass accuracy of 92%, he has barely put a foot wrong.
However, there is a concern that the system Klopp operates with doesn’t get the best out of him, and though he is industrious with the amount of passes he makes per game – averaging 45 per game in the league – as well as making 1.2 tackles per game, he is lacking in a crucial area.
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Most notably, it is his failure to contribute to goals, with only 14 for the club in 154 games, and with Roberto Firmino failing to register a goal or assist in his last four league matches it has become a more noticeable weakness in Wijnaldum’s game.
It has led to Liverpool narrowly winning points in each of their last three league games, yet when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain featured in the Champions League last week and again against Arsenal on Wednesday, they looked much more like their familiar selves, earning a 4-1 win and partaking in a 10-goal thriller respectively.
Attacking edge
The former Arsenal man is recovering from a long injury lay-off but the more game time he gets the better he is looking with each display.
Against Genk he showed just what the Liverpool midfield has lacked – goals and invention – and with more performances like that it may only be a matter of time before Klopp begins to shuffle his midfield.
Wijnaldum, by contrast, offered next to nothing going forward against Spurs, as aside from a very respectable pass accuracy of 94% he failed to produce a single key pass or successful dribble, and that explains why the Reds had to rely on the service of Andrew Roberton and Trent Alexander-Arnold, who attempted 25 crosses between them.
With Liverpool likely to come up against teams who sit deep – such as Aston Villa this Saturday – it is imperative they add some creativity to their engine room. The trip to Old Trafford highlighted the lack of ideas to break down defensive teams, and it wasn’t until Klopp brought on midfielders that his side looked like scoring, with Adam Lallana finding the equaliser.
Oxlade-Chamberlain managed seven assists from 14 league starts in his debut season at Anfield, as well as one key pass per game, which suggests that he will provide that bit of difference the team is looking for.
He also scored key goals from distance in two games against Manchester City in 2017/18, and that can prove vital against teams which sit back.
With that in mind and the title race only likely to get hotter, it feels like now is the time to bring Oxlade-Chamberlain in at Wijnaldum’s expense.