Key events
Email! ““Slot has had a disastrous season in that he’s shown no obvious ability to adapt or inspire in the face of adversity,” reckons Niall Mullen. “That said, the adversity he’s had to deal with includes the death of Diogo Jota as well as injuries to players including a torn ACL, a broken leg, season-ending knee ligament damage, and an Achilles tendon rupture. I’m not sure I have any point other than perhaps Slot, while maybe deserving to be replaced as head coach, should probably be exempt from the banterpocalypse.”
It’s a thin line, isn’t it? And I agree with your analysis: there are plenty of factors beyond Slot’s control, but it’s hard to see where the positive influence is, starting with the summer business and extending to the lack of physicality, concentration, organisation and zest.
Up front, meantime, Alexander Isak continues. In the extended absence of Hugo Ekitike – and achilles ruptures are among the worst for any sportsperson, just ask Neil Webb – Slot wants a reference point, rather than using, say Gakpo through the middle to get Ngumoha in. I’d have gone with the latter and left out the former myself, but either way, he needs Isak to perform.
Otherwise, Florian Wirtz is again given a chance to assert and establish – the numbers and profiles behind him, more defensively minded, offer him yet some ballast, but does he have the necessary speed of thought and play, along with the required combativeness, to make a difference?
The problem he has is that he replaced two full-backs who were better in attack than defence, with … two full-backs who are better in attack than defence. Essentially, he doesn’t have a combination that works, so has prioritised solidity and experience here, the new lads excluded. That means Dominic Szoboszlai again plays at the back, which means Liverpool must do without their best midfielder in the centre of the pitch; I guess the plan might be for him to invert, but otherwise Slot will hope that the ball-carrying and tenacity of Curtis Jones compensate.
So, why has Slot made those alterations?
Anyway, back to the teams, Everton are unchanged following their 2-2 draw at Brentford, while Liverpool show four changes to the side that lost to PSG, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones, Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo coming in for Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Alexis Mac Allister and Hugo Ekitike.
Make up your own minds:
Jamie Carragher then notes the “bad luck”, citing Harrison Reed’s brilliant equaliser at Fulham; I’m not sure we’re aligned on what that means, because I watched that and saw skill Liverpool failed to defend.
We’ll look at those more closely in a few, but Slot is on Sky explaining that Rio Ngumoha has been left out because you need to be cognisant of Everton’s threat at set-pieces and how they like to play more generally. He also says it’s good to have agile players, able to take on opponents one on one, available to bring on late.
He bemoans injury and bad luck for a bit too, though is less loquacious on any responsibility that might be his.
Teams!
Everton (4-2-3-1): Pickford; O’Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Garner; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto. Subs: Travers, Patterson, Keane, Barry, George, Dibling, Alcaraz, Rohl, Iroegbunam.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Szoboszlai, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Isak. Subs: Woodman, Pecsi, Kerkez, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Frimpong, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Ashton-under-Lyne)
Also going on for you:
Preamble
Baking cookies or making stock with the lid off; visiting the smallest room and making use of all the rooms; we each have ways of turning a house into a home. Generally speaking, though, we tend to refrain from inviting round hated former neighbours in the hope of smashing them up in front of a worldwide audience; good old football.
Of course, in such context, such behaviour makes perfect sense: the thing that most firmly anchors us to a place is shared experience. Except those can be both positive and negative and so far, Everton’s record in their new digs is spotty – they’re 14th in the home table – as it is in home derbies – they’ve won one since October 2010 and just four in the league this century. Which is to say can invite the hated former neighbours in, but there’s no guarantee they won’t wreck the gaff and you with it.
And there’s more riding on this conflict than base hatred, delicious, affirming and deliciously affirming though it is: Liverpool sit fourth in the league table and Everton 10th, but between the gap between the two is a mere five points. Consequently, the Champions League is in the grasp of the former but still attainable for the latter, with the Europa and Conference similarly in play – likewise Arne Slot’s job, a state of affairs that seemed impossible just less than a year ago when he was dancing about as a champion.
But though the vibe in a home is a facility of the people in it, it quickly becomes clutter. Then if, on top of that, you toss in a load of posh but unnecessary furniture while ignoring the aspects of it which require urgent attention, it shouldn’t be all that surprising when a mess doth ensue. Whether Slot is permitted to tidy it depends a lot on what happens this afternoon.
Kick-off: 2pm BST
