A response?
It’s a simple aspect of tonight’s match, but will Leeds United respond in any meaningful way to the narrative unfolding around them? For all of the talking and debating outside the club, everything boils down to how those 11 players perform at Anfield.
The bookmakers give Leeds very little chance of taking anything from Liverpool, despite the hosts’ own struggles this season. Even if the Whites take no points home with them, there are ways to lose and messages to be sent in how they play on Merseyside.
Jesse Marsch and the board need to see some form of progress from the players to avoid another week of speculation and upset about what’s going on with the club.
READ MORE: What Victor Orta has told under-fire Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch this week
The away end’s acid test
We saw exactly what kind of noise an away end can make last week at Leicester City. This will be United’s die-hards in the Anfield Road Stand and they will not suffer fools gladly.
At King Power Stadium, the chants stopped short of calling for Marsch’s head, but they were rightly annoyed with what they were watching at the division’s then-bottom club. The boardroom will be left with no doubt about how the fan base feels if the team again turns in a turgid display tonight.
Which of the walking wounded make it to the start line?
Thursday’s injury update landed like a hammer blow. With Leeds backs already tight against the wall, the last thing Marsch needed was several starters missing through injury. These are the types of injury lists Marcelo Bielsa was cursed by through the darkest moments of last season, notably at Anfield.
The players are set to arrive at 6.15pm, when we will get our first clues about who has and has not made it. Liam Cooper, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra are all players who would start in virtually everyone’s strongest Leeds XI.
Tactical changes?
It’s all well and good expecting something to change from the players on the pitch, but will there be any discernible changes from the head coach? He has thus far failed on eight consecutive occasions to find the winning formula in this team and the pressure is piling on him.
Liverpool away will bring its own challenges and opportunities. For one, they are not about to sit in and waste time as some opponents have done in recent weeks. Jurgen Klopp’s team will attack and commit men forward to leave space in behind.
Does Marsch change his formation or the pressing triggers or the type of pass his players take when building attacks? He said anxiety was an issue last weekend and his players were in too much of a rush to make a play.
Where do the 50-50 calls land?
If none of the questionable players recover for the Liverpool trip, Marsch has a couple of very tight dilemmas through the line-up. Luke Ayling and Rasmus Kristensen are both fit to play, with starts traded last week through the tightened fixture schedule.
Kristensen has not done a lot wrong, while the former is the vice-captain and possible skipper on the day if Liam Cooper does not make it. Diego Llorente or Junior Firpo are likely to start in Cooper’s absence. Neither has covered themselves in glory and it will be intriguing to see which way Marsch goes.
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