Premier League 2020/21: Everton vs Liverpool- tactical preview

Following a short unwanted international break, the Premier League gets back underway on Saturday afternoon at Goodison Park as Everton face off against champions Liverpool. Following an excellent start to the season, its Everton who sit top of the table at the time of writing this, with only them and Aston Villa boasting perfect records. Speaking of Aston Villa, it was them who upset Liverpools otherwise perfect record by defeating them 7-2 in a random, atypical game of football. Liverpool then will be looking to get back on track with a win against the league leaders, while for Everton, a win against their rivals would only increase the noise coming out of the blue side of Merseyside at the moment. This matchup doesnt just offer Liverpool vs Everton, but also Klopp vs Ancelotti, and this is always an interesting match up in styles. In this tactical analysis then, I will preview the tactics expected in the game, ranging from Ancelotti and Evertons build-up structures against Liverpools pressing, as well as looking at how Everton may look to set up defensively to combat Liverpools positional play.

Building past Liverpool

Liverpools press is notoriously one of the hardest to build past in world football, with Liverpools focus on forcing the opposition into central areas allowing them to manage and nullify overloads in midfield as well as create opportunities for high quality recoveries. As a result of this, if Everton are to be successful it it likely they will have to find a way to aid ball progression through this press, and thankfully their manager has a track record of setting up sides to do just this.

The most common way teams look to find space against Liverpools press is through the use of a double pivot, and it is something both Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola have used successfully at times. As you hopefully know if you have been reading tactical writing for long enough, Liverpool press in a 4-3-3 with the two inside forwards pressing the centre backs on a diagonal, while striker Roberto Firmino cuts access to the pivot with his cover shadow. The central lanes are therefore left open while the wide lanes are cut, and so Liverpool’s central midfielders play a vital role in pressing central players from behind in order to prevent ball progression.

This scene against Manchester City  is a good example of Liverpool’s midfield press. We see the same pressing system again, with Mané initially cutting the passing lane wide while Firmino cuts the lane into the pivot. Again then, City are encouraged to play through the two forwards, leaving the midfield to press from behind. Here, Milner could perhaps be a little narrower to press the player, but he instead looks to prioritise the pass out to the wing. Henderson then jumps to press the receiving Bernardo, however, because he is pressing from the blind side, he is able to arc his run without Bernardo seeing, and so he moves slightly towards Fernandinho.

Henderson is then able to apply pressure to Fernandino well, and City are forced back to the other centre back, which effectively resets Liverpool’s press and they can go again. Wijnaldum is across to cover the latest dropping midfielder, and Salah can start his run to press the centre back while keeping the full-back in his cover shadow.

The main weak point in this press then is Roberto Firminos