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Barring a banana-skin against Burnley, Liverpool have enjoyed a fantastic start to the season, rocketing to fourth in the Premier League table before this weekend’s round of fixtures and claiming impressive results over Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the process.

But a meeting with Manchester United on Monday night represents arguably their toughest test so far this term. The Northwest Derby is always a cagey, feisty and bitter affair and but Jose Mourinho’s presence in the Red Devils’ dugout adds yet another intriguing subplot to the biggest fixture on the Premier League calendar.

Most still see the Reds as the favourites; after all, they boast home advantage and Mourinho’s United revolution has hardly set the world alight so far. But United are still incredibly tough customers and Klopp is faced with a couple of key dilemmas ahead of Monday night’s 8pm kickoff.

We take a look at four that could decide the result of the Northwest derby.

HOW CAN LIVERPOOL AVOID A STALEMATE?

The biggest danger of hosting a Mourinho side in a high-profile match is an obvious one; the master of the away draw turning the game into a complete stalemate. Klopp certainly wouldn’t turn his nose up at a point taken from their northwest and potential title rivals, but he’ll know Liverpool can do better – especially entering Monday night off the back of four straight wins in the Premier League.

Mourinho may well use Chelsea’s 2-0 win over the Reds at the end of the 2013/14 season, a game famed for killing off the Reds’ title push, as the template to follow, so Klopp must ensure his side don’t get bogged down in the same way as Brendan Rodgers’ did two years ago.

How can that be avoided? Liverpool need to kick off with a Blitzkrieg, something their mobile, lightning-paced attack is more than capable of doing. City exposed United’s inability to withstand heavy pressure in their own half, particularly when on the ball, during the Manchester derby and this Reds team has the right components to produce a similar kind of high-intensity performance.

CAN THE DEFENCE COPE WITH ZLATAN?

If Liverpool are still plagued by one flaw, it’s an overall lack of height. Indeed, Klopp’s usual front five are all of the slight and mobile build and although holding midfielder Jordan Henderson measures in at 6 foot 2, he’s not exactly renowned for dominance in the air.

That could be a real problem upon facing the Red Devils; Mourinho’s teams always carry a strong aerial threat and nobody in his United incarnation epitomises that better than 6 foot 5 front-man Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has already bagged two headers this season.

It’s likely United will take a direct approach to try and counteract Liverpool’s high pressing, which means lots of long balls for the Swede to win in the air. So how can the Reds contain Zlatan’s aerial menace?

It could require bringing Emre Can, a 6 foot 1 utility man with experience playing in the backline, into the engine room to offer added protection just in front of Ibrahimovic, essentially suffocating him with the two centre-backs squeezing from behind. That would solve another issue for Klopp, which brings us onto…

WHO COMES IN FOR WIJNALDUM AND LALLANA?

Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum’s efforts in the engine room have been instrumental to Liverpool’s strong start to the campaign, combining energy and mobility with quality on the ball. Lallana alone has bagged three goals already this season, but both could be absent through injury for Monday’s game.

As previously mentioned, Emre Can is the natural choice to come into the side. He’s been limited to substitute outings so far this season but the German international is the kind of player you’d want in such a high-quality contest, with good physicality and a strong defensive game.

But that will only solve one absence; other options include youngsters Marko Grujic, Kevin Stewart and Cameron Brannagan, enforcer Lucas Leiva or moving ad hoc left-back James Milner back into midfield – meaning Klopp will have to place his faith in Alberto Moreno.

Overall, none of the choices are particularly convincing, so the Liverpool gaffer will hope at least one of Wijnaldum and Lallana win their races for fitness.

HOW CAN LIVERPOOL STOP GOALS FROM CORNERS?

An extention of the aforementioned issues regarding height, no Premier League side has scored more goals from set pieces than Manchester United this season, four, and that could spell serious trouble for the Reds on Monday.

Indeed, Liverpool are infamous for their shoddy defending at set pieces and although the summer arrival of Joel Matip has brought some improvement, old bad habits die hard. It always feels as if the Reds are just one corner away from sloppily conceding.

Facing United in particular, Klopp must come up with a plan. The added height of Emre Can would certainly help but it might also be worth leaving just one player – or perhaps even none – out of the box when defending corners in the hope of finding strength in numbers.

It may seem a simplistic issue, but poor organisation and a failure to attack the ball at set pieces could well be what decides a cagey Northwest Derby at Anfield.

At midday on Sunday, one of football’s great matches takes place. The Emirates Stadium will be host to not only one of Europe’s bitterest rivalries, but a potentially pivotal Premier League fixture.

Three points currently separates the two north London clubs in the table, with Liverpool and Chelsea in between them. Goal differences mean that Spurs would need a comfortable win to leap frog their local rivals, while Arsenal will be aiming to avoid dropping points on Liverpool and Manchester City – with whom they currently sit level at the top of the table.

Make or break games simply do not exist this early in the season, at least not for two teams who have had strong starts domestically. Momentum, however, will be key. Spurs have drawn their last three league games and were unsettled against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek, leaving them in Champions League peril. Arsenal thrashed Sunderland last weekend, with Olivier Giroud scoring twice from the bench, and recorded a last-gasp victory over Ludogorets in midweek.

The Gunners’ poor defensive spell that allowed their Bulgarian midweek opponents to take the lead will give Spurs optimism of finding similar weaknesses. Mauricio Pochettino’s side, however, have struggled to create of late and will only have the option to use Harry Kane from the bench.

Tottenham’s own back line issues are the theme ahead of this game. Pressed into mistakes and inefficient with the ball in midweek, they have conceded in each of their last three games and look shaky without the excellent Toby Alderweireld.

Neither team is perfect at the moment. Arsenal’s recent shutdown against Middlesbrough and initial struggles against Ludogorets reflect a team who are sorely missing both Santi Cazorla and Theo Walcott. Their opponents were disorganised and shaken by Leverkusen and have not scored two goals in a game since their victory over Manchester City on 2nd October.

Home advantage and recent performances make Arsenal the natural favourites for this game. The implications of another drab display from Spurs could be significant, though. The defensive stability that underlined their successes last season and at the beginning of this has seemingly vanished, while the supporting cast of last season have failed to deputise in the lead role in the absence of Harry Kane.

Defeat is unlikely to change Tottenham’s league position, but it could leave them languishing six points off the top of the Premier League table. Ending their unbeaten start to the campaign and making it seven games without a win in all competitions. Pochettino would then be in by far the greatest rut of his tenure to date. Recovery from such troubles is what makes a great manager, but it would leave Spurs under the sort of pressure they are unaccustomed to. Increased expectation this season makes this fixture so much more significant than ever before. Victory is not only needed because of the opponent, it is needed to maintain their status as realistic challengers.

It has been a rarity that either of north London’s powerhouses have competed for the title in the last few years. Last season, even, Arsenal were outsiders for much of the race. Previously, Spurs have been clinging onto the entrails of the top four and Arsenal have been dining a couple of tables away from the title competing teams, too. This year, such is the openness of the competition at the top, both teams have as good as an equal chance of winning it. Other than Manchester City’s understandable tag as favourites, the following teams are about just as likely as one another to lift the Premier League title come May 2017.

We may never get a north London derby played before Christmas with so much significance ever again. Nothing can be lost at this stage, but defeat for Tottenham will raise serious questions about their credentials this season, while a poor Arsenal performance will leave everyone wondering whether they have really changed at all.

In a sensational report in this morning’s Daily Record, sources to the paper have told them that Neymar is unhappy at Barcelona and a potential £180m move to Old Trafford could be in the offing.

Really?

The Daily Record reckon the contract extension Neymar signed last month is a temporary resolve in a long standing dispute between the player and the Catalan giants.

[ffc_insert title=”Cantona: The Iconic and the Ironic” name=”Golden Goal” image=”https://www.footballfancast.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/1997-04-23T000000Z_1_MT1ACI148037_RTRMADP_3_ENGLAND-SOCCER-MNU.jpg?admin” link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/manchester-united/golden-goal-king-eric-and-a-story-of-delicious-irony” link_text=”Cantona’s greatest moment” ]

Now, Manchester United are said to be keen to keep tabs on the Brazilian international’s intentions as a move away from the Camp Nou could be a possibility.

Any fee would likely break world records with the Record saying Paris Saint-Germain are also interested. If the Record’s sources are correct, we could be in for a blockbuster summer transfer window in 2017.

World Class

If United can pull off the biggest transfer in history, it would go a long way to proving that they have what it takes to be competing for Premier League titles and UEFA Champions League honours once again.

Neymar has been a world class talent for years and continues to prove that at the age of just 24 he can be relied upon to deliver success at the most elite level at Barcelona.

The Brazilian attacker has scored 227 goals in 382 professional appearances, 91 of them coming in Barcelona colours.

At international level he excels too, with an outrageous 50 international goals for Brazil in 75 appearances.

Potentially the calibre of player that United haven’t seen since Cristiano Ronaldo strutted his stuff at Old Trafford, the prospect of this transfer will be catching the imagination of United fans everywhere.

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It is amazing how quickly the narrative in football can shift. At the beginning of the season some news outlets announced that the odds had been drastically shortened on the Italian coach Antonio Conte becoming the next Premier League coach to lose his job at Chelsea. This was on the back of a run of terrible form at the beginning of the season.

Fast forward to the end of 2016 and the media narrative around Chelsea is now concentrating on the brilliance of the Italian coach who has led his Chelsea side to the top of the Premier League by six points with a goal difference of +29. Since switching back to the 3-4-3 system that Conte used so successfully at Juventus, we have seen a different Chelsea side as they look to be defensively solid and devastating going forward.

There is a similar feeling around Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs. The Argentinian coach has now been in place at White Hart Lane since 2014 and the squad is very much formed in his image with players that fit his precise tactical system perfectly. This Spurs team work hard to support one another in various phases of the match and have the capacity to play some wonderful football when the opportunity arises.

The match between the two sides poses an interesting tactical comparison. Chelsea will stick to their now tried and tested 3-4-3 with the most important facet of their game plan being how they support Diego Costa in the final third of the pitch. The movement of Eden Hazard in particular is important as he moves in and out of the spaces around the Spanish international forward.

Spurs, on the other hand, have to find a way to overcome the lack of genuine pace in their attacking players to quickly access the spaces at the side of the three man defensive line to create scoring opportunities.

Costa the one man wrecking ball

There was a definite sense from Diego Costa under Jose Mourinho that he had fallen out of love with football and was looking to secure a move away from the club. The difference between then and now is startling he has rediscovered the form that he showed at Athletico Madrid.

There have been times this season that Costa has simply been unplayable with defenders unable to account not only for his strength on the ball but also for his underrated positioning and movement which see him take up positions that cause maximum damage to the opposition defensive structure.

Chelsea, though, still need to make sure that they have players able to support Costa to ensure that they are able to take advantage of his ability to shield the ball and bring others in to play. Eden Hazard will play from a narrow left position with either Willian or Pedro filling the same role on the right of the pitch. Having these players able to move in and out of central positions creates the opportunities for overloads against individual opposition players.

There are further supporting roles for Marcos Alonso on the left and Victor Moses on the right as they stretch the width of the field to open spaces for Costa to drift in to and exploit.

Costa is a great player on his own but to create chances against a talented Spurs defence, he will need the support of his teammates.

Spurs need to access the wide areas

The strength in the Chelsea tactical system is without a doubt in the centre. Nemanja Matic and N’golo Kante are an excellent shield for Cahill, Luiz and Azpilicueta, making it increasingly difficult for teams to access the central areas of the final third.

Instead, Spurs are going to have to try to stretch the defensive line horizontally in order to create spaces in the centre of the defence. Typically we see Spurs line up with Christian Eriksen on the left hand side and either Moussa Sissoko or Eric Lamela on the right. Whilst all three of these wide players are technically strong, none of the three have pace to speak of.

So instead of simply relying on pace to stretch the defence, Spurs will have to find a way to mechanise their movements to get their wide players in to space.

The most likely tactical concept that they will use is overload and isolation. As Spurs build up they tend to prefer the right hand side in the initial movement. With Kyle Walker and Moussa Dembele connecting with the winger on that side, they can draw the opposition’s defensive structure towards that side of the field before looking to quickly switch the play out to the left hand side where they will find Eriksen in space isolated against a defender on that side.

These movements are designed to open up space but also force the opposition defensive unit off balance and make it harder for them to effectively defend against threats across the field.

Conclusion

It is difficult to be anything other than impressed with the job that Antonio Conte has done so far with Chelsea. In a short period of time he has firmly imposed his tactical concepts on the squad and senior players are all speaking out regarding the quality of his tactical and technical coaching.

A match against an inform Spurs side will be a true test for Conte as he will be forced to find answers to the questions posed by Pochettino and his Spurs outfit.

Spurs will be hard pressed to find comfortable possession in the final third of the field and they will need to be aware of the specific spaces created when an opposition is playing in a 3-4-3 system.

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Whilst Sunderland manager David Moyes has publicly stated that his top goalscorer Jermain Defoe is not for sale during the January transfer window, the 33-year-old continues to be linked with a move away from the Stadium of Light this month.

The attacker’s former club West Ham United have already had a £6m offer rejected for the marksman – who has scored eleven Premier League goals this season to keep the Black Cats in with a chance of survival – and it is unclear whether the Irons will come back with an increased offer before the window slams shut.

If the Wearside outfit did receive an offer they couldn’t refuse for the 33-year-old, Moyes would be under pressure to find a replacement that would provide the goal threat and finishing ability that Defoe has in his locker in order to lead the club away from the relegation places that they have been in and around all season, and to safety.

Here are FIVE potential players that he could sign this month to replace his veteran striker…

Shane Long

The Republic of Ireland international is known to be a pest for defenders and seems to never stop running, but Sunderland fans may doubt whether he has the goals in him to replace Defoe.

Based on this season’s return – Long has scored just once in 15 Premier League appearances for Southampton – they may well be right, but the 29-year-old enjoyed his best ever campaign in the top flight last year, netting ten goals in 28 league games to show he does have the potential to put the ball in the back of the net.

Finding first team football hard to come by under Claude Puel at St Mary’s Stadium this term, this could be a move that would work for both parties.

Wilfried Bony

Stoke City supporters would have been excited when they signed Bony on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City during the summer – especially with the form he showed for previous club Swansea – but it has turned out to be a bit of a nightmare for both parties.

The Ivory Coast international, who is currently representing his country at the Africa Cup of Nations, has scored two goals in eleven appearances for the Potters this term and has generally struggled to impress in attack for Mark Hughes’ side, meaning he has often found himself on the substitutes’ bench.

You still get a feeling that Bony will get it right at another club, though, and if Sunderland were to make an offer for the 28-year-old, Stoke surely would be ready to end the loan move early.

Saido Berahino

The West Brom striker has been linked with a move away from The Hawthorns in the last couple of transfer windows, but it could finally happen this month.

The out-of-favour attacker has made just five appearances in all competitions this season and been made to undergo extra training by manager Tony Pulis in order to regain some fitness.

The 23-year-old’s contract runs out next summer and he could be available for a reduced fee, and would certainly be something of a like-for-like replacement for Defoe as he is known for his finishing ability in the penalty area.

Bojan

Like team-mate Wilfried Bony, the Spaniard hasn’t spent as much time on the pitch for Stoke City as he would have liked this term, and he could look for a move away from the Britannia Stadium in January to gain some more regular football.

Halfway through the campaign, you would imagine that the former Barcelona man would want to stay in the Premier League, and he could be tempted by the potential of being Sunderland’s main man over the course of the rest of the season.

Bojan has also been linked with an £8m move to the Black Cats’ North East rivals Middlesbrough, but at that price, David Moyes would be made not to be interested too.

Andre Gray

After scoring 23 goals in 41 appearances for Burnley last season and helping them to reach the Premier League, Clarets supporters were hopeful that he could carry that form into the top flight, and the 25-year-old hasn’t done too bad so far.

The striker has netted five Premier League goals – including a hat-trick in the 4-1 win over David Moyes’ Sunderland on New Year’s Eve, which is sure to have caught the eye of the Scottish manager.

Like Defoe, Gray has that pace and finishing ability to his game as he proved against the Mackems last month, and he could be the perfect replacement for the 33-year-old.

This weekend sees the not-so-small matter of the North West derby, which is our Fixture in Focus here at FootballFanCast. Indeed, ancient rivals Liverpool and Manchester United will do battle at Old Trafford at 4pm on Sunday.

Safe to say, there isn’t much love lost between the two globe-spanning sets of supporters, who sit either side of the most trophy-laden rivalry in English football. But lacking the success of previous eras, Liverpool and United find themselves as closely matched as ever in terms of quality ahead of Sunday’s clash – with just five points currently separating them in the Premier League table.

With that in mind, we posed an interesting question to Liverpool fans earlier this week: which Manchester United stars would you welcome at Anfield with open arms? Well, the results of our exclusive poll are now in and FFC can reveal who made the top three – which, somewhat surprisingly, doesn’t include world-record signing Paul Pogba or superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic!

3. Marcus Rashford

It’s not often Liverpool fans reserve affection for a player Manchester born-and-bred, but they appear willing to make an exception for prodigious forward Marcus Rashford. Goals have been harder to come by this term, in no small part due to the tactical and personnel changes Jose Mourinho has implemented at Old Trafford, but the 19-year-old remains an incredible natural talent. Furthermore, highly athletic, hard working and versatile in attack, he’d be a perfect addition to Liverpool’s nomadic, high-pressing front three.

2. Henrikh Mkhitaryan

“Liverpool have a great past, but Borussia Dortmund has a great present” said Henrikh Mkhitaryan in 2013, when deciding which path his career should take after excelling at Shakhtar Donetsk. Despite that rather honest rejection, Reds supporters still have a soft spot for the Armenian assassin, who has displayed his renowned attacking prowess in fits and spurts this season but still appears to be getting to grips with Premier League football – and working under Jose Mourinho. He’s another lightning-quick, forward-thinking player and of course, produced his best form to date under Jurgen Klopp’s guidance at Westfalenstadion.

1. David De Gea

Manchester United boast bigger superstars in the fame-and-fortune sense of the word but perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised to see David de Gea top our poll. The Spaniard is undoubtedly one of the top goalkeepers in world football, only rivalled by a small elite including Manuel Neuer, and has claimed three consecutive Player of the Year awards at Old Trafford. At the same time, Liverpool’s goalkeeping problems are notorious; De Gea would be the perfect solution to Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet’s haphazard displays between the sticks.

CLICK THROUGH TO THE NEXT PAGE TO SEE THE RESULTS IN FULL

Results

We thought we’d heard the last of Dimitri Payet’s long-lasting saga in the January transfer window after he completed a move to Marseille but he’s latest words won’t make Hammers fans happy.

What’s the word?

After finally landing a return to Marseille, after weeks of turning from hero to villain in the eyes of West Ham supporters, Dimitri Payet has handed one last blow to the fans of the East London side with his departing comments.

Upon arriving at Marseille, the club he represented before joining West Ham in 2015, the French international claimed he did not have to justify his behaviour to supporters of the Premier League side- which won’t sit well back on British shores.

What was said?

Quoted by The Independent, Dimitri Payet said at his unveiling:

“I was not feeling good in the club anymore. I don’t need to justify my behaviour at all. Slaven Bilic and I had conversations face to face. I will speak about this, but not now. It’s not the right moment. I prefer to savour this moment at a great club and return to that at a later date.”

Is he right?

Whisper it, but he may just be. After all, this whole saga has been blown way out of proportion. Yes, he was wrong to refuse to play and that hasn’t made him any allies but, when it all comes down to it, this is a player who was simply unhappy.

Keen on a return to France, family was the only thing on Payet’s mind. He’s taken a wage-cut to move to the Ligue 1 side, so it can’t be about money.

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Managers have a habit of looking back to players they have worked with before when recruiting at new clubs, and Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho has been heavily linked with Willian ever since his switch from Stamford Bridge (granted, he was technically a free agent) to Old Trafford.

Over the summer the Portuguese tactician supposedly wanted the Brazilian, a fact the player himself recently confirmed, and now the Daily Star are claiming that he remains on Mourinho’s transfer wish-list. Although it may seem like a case of joining the dots when it comes to Mourinho wanting Willian, we think it makes a lot of sense.

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Indeed, the former Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder is industrious, creative and a serial winner – all traits ‘The Special One’ loves in his players – and his stats this season are impressive…

As the numbers show, Willian has been a key contributor in Chelsea’s run to the top of the table, even if his role has been somewhat understated. The South American has managed to notch five goals in 20 outings – a decent return for a wide player – while making 85% of his 525 passes stick – again, a good tally given his advanced role.

Mourinho hasn’t really found the options he craves from wide positions and Willian, although an ambitious target, could be a solution.

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Europe is filled with illustrious goalkeepers, with the likes of Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois, Jan Oblak, Gianluigi Buffon and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen amongst the best of the crop. However, a new stat suggests they’re all surpassed by a Burnley ace.Figures show that goalkeeper Tom Heaton has made a whopping 104 saves in the Premier League this season, which is more than any other goalkeeper across Europe’s top-five leagues.

The 30-year-old shot stopper has kept an impressive six clean sheets in the Premier League this season, putting him eighth on the leaderboards behind the established elite at Arsenal, Manchester City, Spurs, Southampton and Everton.

With Joe Hart’s future with England up in the air following his ousting from Manchester City, Heaton could well stake a claim for the Three Lions’ starting position at the 2018 World Cup next summer- and these numbers will certainly help his cause.

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“Does any top player in the world want to be a plan B?”

Maybe Robert Lewandowski shouldn’t be Manchester United’s second choice, after all. The above comments (via ESPN) come from the Polish star’s agent in the wake of the Independent’s claim that the Bayern Munich ace is on the club’s agenda as they consider alternatives to Antoine Griezmann.

As a result of this, Red Devils supporters must have been paying real attention to the 28-year-old last night as the Bavarians demolished Arsenal 5-1 at the Emirates Stadium to secure a 10-2 aggregate victory, and Lewandowski was a key man in the north of London…

The ex-Dortmund man hit four shots at goal across the 90 minutes, one of which went in from the penalty spot to level the scores, while he was heavily involved in Bayern’s general final third play with 38 touches. He completed 80% of his 20 passes, too.

With Zlatan Ibrahimovic not getting any younger, maybe Lewandowski should be plan A…

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