3 reasons Nat Phillips must start for Liverpool vs Chelsea

Aerial Presence

Nat Phillips’ 6 ft 3 inches frame helps him compete with credibility against some of the Premier League’s most physically adept forwards. This has included the likes of Sebastian Haller (West Ham United), Danny Welbeck (Brighton & Hove Albion), and even Oli McBurnie (Sheffield United) on Sunday.

In each of these three encounters, Phillips has given his match a formidable challenge in the air. In the games against West Ham and Brighton, the Englishman won the most aerial duels in the air amongst both sides, five and nine respectively in the two games.

On Sunday, the only player across the pitch who proved to be better in the air was McBurnie, who won 12 aerial duels. However, Phillips was no pushover, having won seven duels on the night. All the above stats have been presented by the Twitter account @LFCData.

His aerial prowess may come to good use against Chelsea. Despite some blockbuster attacking signings made in the summer transfer window, the Blues do opt to play Olivier Giroud up top regularly.

The Frenchman does have a pretty decent record against Liverpool, scoring eight goals in his 16 appearances against the Reds. If we don’t want this impressive record to get even better, Nat Phillips must be present to keep him quiet.