How should West Brom set up to beat Liverpool?
If not for a very, very late goal from Divock Origi, West Brom would have claimed all three points at Anfield last season and it would have been a deserved win too.
However, Liverpool are a much different side from the one West Brom played on that December afternoon, so how should the Baggies look to set up as they travel to Anfield this weekend?
Firstly, we should look how Manchester United set up on Monday night. They worked hard for the first half an hour no nullify Liverpool, but then got deeper as they tired. Liverpool want to start games quickly and blow teams away, so Albion will need to match their work rate in order to stay in the game. It’d be hard to keep that up for 90 minutes, as United showed, so when legs are feeling a bit weaker, we might see the proverbial bus being parked.
However, West Brom shouldn’t be solely focused on getting a 0-0. Liverpool have an obvious weakness that Albion can expose. The Reds have not been great when defending set pieces. They’ve conceded to Arsenal, Hull and Swansea from set plays this year, whilst new goalkeeper Loris Karius hasn’t been confident under crosses.
West Brom probably won’t see much of the ball so it’s imperative that they are good from dead ball situations.
Tony Pulis has a pretty decent record against Liverpool, let’s hope that continues this weekend.