Kicking off our Gameweek 17 Scout Notes is a match that… started.
Two red cards, a costly yellow card, a growing Liverpool injury list and the most bought player of Gameweek 18 all contributed to Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 home defeat to the reigning champions.
SZOBOSZLAI BAN + TWO SPURS RED
Starting with that fateful booking, Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.7m) was the only player to receive his fifth warning of the season in Saturday’s Premier League matches.
It rules him out of the home match against Wolverhampton Wanderers in Gameweek 18.
Spurs had their own discipline problems. Xavi Simons (£6.5 million) was sent off for serious foul play, while Christian Romero‘s (£5.0m) kick-out on Ibrahima Konate (£5.4 million) earned him a second booking of the match in stoppage time in the second half.
They miss three and one games respectively.
TWO MORE ON LIVERPOOL’S INJURY LIST – AT LEAST
It may not just be Szoboszlai who misses the visit of Wolves.
Conor Bradley (£5.0 million) came off at half-time, while his replacement, Alexander Isaac (£10.3m), had to be helped off the pitch after being injured while scoring the opener for Liverpool.
‘I have no news [Alexander Isak] but if a player scores, then gets injured and then doesn’t come back onto the field and doesn’t try to come back… which is what Conor Bradley did for example, but I also had to take him off the field because he couldn’t continue. But if a player doesn’t even try to come back, that’s usually not a good thing. But I can’t say more than that, that’s just [a] gut feeling. Medically there is nothing to say about it.
“Let’s not be too negative yet. We don’t know yet. Let’s hope so.” [Isak] will be back with us soon, but it’s hard to tell you right now. – Arne Slot
To add insult to injury, the replacement’s replacement had to be replaced. Jeremy Frimpong (£5.7m) was bloodied in the closing stages, but Slot at least gave him everything without a fault.
“No, Jeremy has no problem with that at all. I didn’t want to go to 10 men for 30 seconds. I think this is the only country where players who are injured have to go off the field for 30 seconds, with head injuries.” [it is] even 45, so I adjusted to that. I knew there wasn’t much time left to play and I thought we were having a lot of trouble with our plus one, so half a minute of playing 10-v-10 while he was on the ground, yes or no, then we’ll just go with Federico [Chiesa].” – Arne Slot on Jeremy Frimpong
We say “at least” two Liverpool injuries, not because of Frimpong, but because Florian Wirtz (£8.0m) appeared to hold his hamstring in stoppage time. Shortly afterwards he came off.
Neither manager nor player mentioned it after the match, while reports suggest cramping could be the problem.
LIVERPOOL TEAM FOR GAMEWEEK 18?
If Isak and Bradley join Szoboszlai on the sidelines (although there is optimism about Bradley), could we see something like this in Gameweek 18 (this could be a 4-4-2 diamond with Federico Chiesa (£6.3 million) and Hugo Ekitike (£8.8m top)?
One thing worth mentioning from North London is that when Frimpong came on, he was deployed on the right wing, with Szoboszlai at right-back! A sign that Slot simply does not trust Frimpong as an orthodox full-back? If anything, it boosted the defender’s chances of an attacking return, and indeed it was Frimpong who assisted Liverpool’s second goal.
QUESTIONS ABOUT EKITIKE
Ekitike’s fifth goal in three Gameweeks has once again increased demand for his services. He has already been bought by over a million managers in Gameweek 17 and is way ahead of the rest in Gameweek 18 transfers in:
It’s not just the goals in his favor, but Igor Thiago‘s (£7.1m) recent lack thereof (many are making the move), Isak’s injury and Liverpool’s upcoming fixtures:
Due to a lack of serve, this was one of his quieter displays after the barrage of shots in the past two Gameweeks. His header was his only effort of the match, but a well taken one, as he ‘assisted’ Isak’s goal.
NEITHER SIDE IS CONVINCING
Wirtz becomes more impressive with every game, while being interesting to follow Alexis MacAllister‘s (£6.2m) output in a more advanced role. Although he doesn’t exactly stand out visually, he has had five shots in the last two Gameweeks, four of which were in the area.
But really, this again wasn’t great advertising for Liverpool. A week after scoring a clean sheet against Brighton, they found themselves on the ropes of Spurs’ nine men. Virgil van Dijk‘s ( £5.9m ) airstair led to Richarlison (£6.4m) overturns this week’s shut-out.
The Lilywhites themselves were mediocre in a match with few real openings, but at least they showed spirit The Redican Creation (£6.9m) came close with an early header and a deflected shot that hit the crossbar. Goal attempts and crosses also featured late in the Liverpool box.
Indeed, Spurs defeated and outpaced their visitors, despite the numerical disadvantage:
One of Spurs’ most deserving home defeats, but a defeat nonetheless. and they remain 17th in the home league this season.
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