On Tuesday, Liverpool welcomes Ajax to Anfield to restart their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign.
(Real-time Champions League standings)
As talks with UEFA regarding hosting the match at Anfield versus Ajax continue, Liverpool is still unsure if this game will go ahead after Premier League games 22were postponed at the weekend 0000as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
If it does, Jurgen Klopp's team will be entirely focused on earning their first Champions League points after being destroyed 4-1 at Napoli in their Group A opener the previous outing. On the other hand, Ajax is currently playing with house money after destroying Glasgow Rangers 4-0 in their Group A debut.
Here is all the information you need to know before Liverpool vs. Ajax.
Liverpool's defensive shortcomings were exposed last week against Napoli, where they fell 4-0 and may have lost more. As Virgil van, Dijk isn't performing at his peak, and the Reds are suffering from many injuries, particularly to midfielders, their high defensive line is just not functioning. There is concern that Liverpool may become trapped in this rut given that they have only won two of their first seven games across all competitions, Mohamed Salah has only scored twice thus far, and Darwin Nunez has taken some time to adjust. When Liverpool suffered a humiliating loss against Napoli, Klopp's response was telling. He said that Liverpool might need to "reinvent themselves" to turn things around.
Because Dusan Tadic is still the team's captain and continues to cause havoc with his deft flicks and passes, Ajax will want to capitalize on Liverpool's current slump fully. This is the kind of team Liverpool doesn't want to play right now, especially given their outstanding performance of forwarding running and strong pressing against Rangers. The current Champions League champions from the Netherlands have a history of pulling off surprising victories and making deep runs in the league. Another run is about to start despite being placed in a very difficult group.
Regarding Ajax, they have once again sold a large number of outstanding players, primarily to Manchester United. They also lost their manager, Erik ten Hag, to the Red Devils, yet they keep going. In addition to losing center-back Lisandro Martinez and his best winger, Anthony, to United this summer, new Ajax manager Alfred Schreuder also saw his team lose Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui to Bayern Munich, Andre Onana to Inter Milan, Nicolas Tagliafico to Lyon, and Sebastian Haller to Borussia Dortmund. And Ajax appears to have made some excellent transfers after collecting close to $220 million in player sales.
In addition to Steven Bergwijn's classy addition to the attack, the dangerous Brian Brobbey's return from Leipzig, and Lucas Ocampos' outstanding signing from Sevilla, Calvin Bassey has been a revelation on defense. With a terrific balance of youth and experience, this Ajax team will pressure Liverpool aggressively and create many mistakes. Edson Alvarez, a Mexican midfielder, might be the next big thing to depart Ajax, and Liverpool would kill for his midfield stability. In the Eredivisie, Ajax had a perfect record of five victories in a row going into Matchweek 6.
The list of injuries Liverpool had before the postponement of their home game against Wolves is below. While it will be interesting to see who Klopp starts in attack with Salah, Nunez, and Diaz, perhaps worth a go from the start, it appears that Carvalho could return to fitness for this match.
OUT: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson (thigh), Curtis Jones (calf), Naby Keita (undisclosed), Ibrahima Konate (knee), Calvin Ramsay (undisclosed) (hamstring), Fabio Carvalho (thigh), Caoimhin Kelleher | QUESTIONABLE (groin)
Login To Leave a Comment