Sky Sports pundit Danny Higginbotham believes that Liverpool have the best counter-attack in Europe – and reckons Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho is responsible for preventing it.
He says that the best way of securing victory over Pep Guardiola’s side in Thursday’s showdown at the Etihad is by transforming their defence in to an attack in an instant, something which City will need to prevent if they are to remain in the title race.
Higginbotham added that Klopp will likely return to a 4-3-3 formation for this clash in order to deal with teams like City who tend to keep the ball for long periods of time.
“Liverpool are probably the best counter-attacking team in Europe and will try to use it to devastating effect to take a giant step towards the title tonight,” he said in his column for the Sun.
“Jurgen Klopp will go back to 4-3-3, the formation I believe he prefers against teams who will dominate possession, which City will. The Reds can spring a break in an instant and it will be the task of City’s Brazilian holding player [Fernandinho] — one of the best in the business — to break it up.
“Liverpool’s pace will tear most teams in Europe apart and City need to make sure they keep it in check for 90 minutes if they want to stay in the title race. If they get it wrong, expect to hear the commentator going from ‘City are on the attack’ to ‘Liverpool have scored’ in a heartbeat.”
OPINION
Higginbotham is right – Liverpool do have one of the best counter-attacks in Europe, and this is something that could ultimately prove to be City’s downfall on Thursday. If they are unable to deal with this type of threat, then they might as well rule themselves out of the title race. The Reds’ counter-attack is lethal – something which they have demonstrated many times this season – and this is largely down to the fearsome front three of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. The trio have had a mixed campaign so far, but lately, they have really come into their own. In all honesty, it is hard to see City’s back four dealing with this threat, as they have shown numerous times that their defence is not the strongest in the league. Like Higginbotham pointed out, Fernandinho will be crucial to any hopes City have of winning due to him being “probably the best holding midfield player in Europe” – so fans will no doubt have their fingers crossed that he turns up on Thursday.
