Liverpool have been improving by the week since their 3-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford and have now gone 14 games unbeaten in the Premier League. PHOTO: AFP
Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel is relying on the Reds’ recent defensive improvement to help them nullify the attacking threat of Tottenham Hotspur when the two rivals for a top-four place meet at Anfield on Tuesday.
Tottenham head to Merseyside on the back of a 2-1 North London derby win over Arsenal which lifted them to fifth place in the Premier League table.
In-form striker Harry Kane scored twice to take his season’s total to 22 goals as Spurs extended their advantage over Liverpool, who are seventh, to four points in the race for a Champions League place.
Liverpool were held to a goalless draw in their own derby last weekend and took only a point from the visit to Everton.
But Brendan Rodgers’ side, who have lost just one of their last 14 games, kept a fourth successive clean sheet in the league to underline their recent form at the back, and central defender Skrtel is looking for more of the same as Liverpool look to repeat their victory at Tottenham last August to enhance their prospects of Champions League qualification.
“We have changed the system to a back three and it is working for us,” said the Slovak. “I’m happy for the team because we have improved our defending. There was a lot of criticism. Since New Year, we have only conceded one goal from open play – that’s great and I’m happy about that.”
Wenger eager to hunt down Foxes after derby despair
Arsenal will try to recover from their North London derby defeat to Tottenham Hotspur when they face bottom-of-the-table Leicester City at the Emirates on Tuesday.
The Gunners have become synonymous with managerial stability during French boss Arsene Wenger’s more than 18 years in charge of the club.
Leicester, by contrast, were compelled to issue a statement late Sunday insisting Nigel Pearson was still their manager.
Both sides will have a point to prove, with Arsenal anxious to revive their bid for a top-four finish, having fallen to sixth after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Spurs.
The Gunners will be strengthened by the return of Alexis Sanchez to the squad after he was forced to sit out the trip to White Hart Lane with a hamstring problem.
“It’s not the first time we have lost a game but how we bounce back is to take the information from what we got and respond very quickly against Leicester. We must be ready to respond,” said Wenger. “Overall, there’s a long way to go this season. I believe that we must just keep going and recover, show a strong response quickly and then we see where we stand after that.”
Van Gaal defends United’s ‘long-ball’ tactics
Manchester United’s under-performing forwards forced manager Louis van Gaal into adopting long-ball tactics, the Dutchman said after his side snatched a 1-1 draw at West Ham.
“I’ve done that already a lot of times with [Marouane] Fellaini, so that is not new,” said Van Gaal. “West Ham should know that. But with him we have more power. With Adnan [Januzaj] and [Angel] Di Maria, we have more creative players.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 10th, 2015.
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