The Reds return to Premier League action at home against a
Blades team hoping to regain their 2019/20 form.

LIVERPOOL VS. SHEFFIELD UNITED

| Saturday, October 24th |Premier League | Anfield8PM GMT/3PM
EST

Sheffield United are without a win in the 2020/21
season, with one draw last week at Fulham and five losses
(including a loss on penalties to Burnley in the second round of the League Cup).

The Blades have approached matches by ceding possession somewhat
and relying on their organization and tactical approach. Even if
we’re all tired of hearing about “overlapping center halves” at
this point, Wilder’s method of overloading spaces with his
defenders has been effective and fun to watch, and more games are
needed to see if their tactics have been sussed or if they’ve just
been a bit unlucky.

Their major issue comes in their chance conversion, as they have
converted just 19% of their chances thus far this season, down from
24% last season. Though this seems a small difference, Sheffield
United don’t create many chances, and tend to rely on good quality
of the chances they do create, both through open play and from set
plays. This combines with another potential issue: Sheffield United
can no longer rely on the skill of Dean Henderson in goal, and
Henderson’s performance levels were crucial for a team that largely
played for narrow victories in 2019/20. Aaron Ramsdale is a player
to watch.

Their underlying metrics in both attack and defense aren’t
terrible, and their counter-attacks are slightly more efficient at
this point than they were last season. It is possible that just
their finishing, rather than their overall approach, needs
attention. Manager Chris Wilder might well give Rhian Brewster, who
joined the Blades from Liverpool near the end of the transfer
window, his first start for his new side. Both managers rate
the youngster highly, and his ability to score from a number of
different areas might allow Sheffield United to be a bit less
predictable.

As Wilder has noted, injuries have hit his side hard,
with Jack O’Connell out for the season, while Lys Mousset and John
Fleck are also out for long periods. New boy Max Lowe is
questionable following a head injury on his debut at Fulham.

Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)

Adrián; Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Gomez, Robertson; Henderson,
Thiago, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mané

This will be the first match in 75 Liverpool Premier League
games that does not feature Virgil Van Dijk, and the Reds will look
to take three points at home without the Dutchman shoring up the
back line. Joël Matip might be healthy enough to take his place
next to Joe Gomez, but Jürgen Klopp might well want to
give Fabinho the chance to get into a rhythm playing in the heart
of the defense.

Sheffield United might be the ideal side for Klopp’s men at this
moment, as a high-intensity game that could well be very open suits
the creativity and graft that one would expect from a Liverpool
side with a point to prove. While Brewster is a threat, Klopp might
relish a threat he knows so much about, as the side comes into this
test with little time to prepare following their Champions League

Other than Van Dijk, Klopp has confirmed that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Konstantinos
Tsimikas are unavailable. Though he noted that Alisson won’t be
“” back, the manager did not confirm whether the
goalkeeper, Naby Keïta, or Thiago will be available or unavailable
for this match, so keep an eye out for images of training. If fit,
expect Alisson and Thiago to feature.

If he starts, this will be Andy Robertson’s 100th Premier League
appearance for the Reds. The left back was one of the star
performers against Ajax mid-week, and this achievement emphasizes
his importance to the squad as well as the settled nature of this
Liverpool side, as Robertson’s landmark would closely follow
Mohamed Salah’s 100th goal in a red shirt.

What the Managers Had to Say

Jurgen Klopp: “It will be a very intense game,
it’s Sheffield, that’s how they play! If you want to win the game
you have to be intense yourself. And if Rhian [Brewster] is on the
pitch we know we should not let him finish at all. Wherever he gets
the ball he is a natural finisher and that’s his biggest
threat.”

Chris Wilder: “It’s quite easy for every club
when they’re doing well to say ‘we’ve got a fantastic group of
players and a great team spirit.’ And [after results like ours in
2020/21] it does get tested, and there’s no bigger test than going
to Anfield on Saturday night, regardless of the situation there.
Though they have a couple of injuries to world-class players, I’m
still not expecting anything less than 100% from them.”

The Officials

Referee: Mike Dean Assistants:
Darren Cann, Mark Scholes Fourth Official: Andy
Madley VAR: Andre Marriner Assistant
VAR: Scott Ledger

Kickoff is set for 8PM GMT/3PM EST tomorrow, and television
listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping
you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news
as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps
from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the
discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on
the action as it happens.