Liverpool: Three MOTM candidates against West Brom
CM Thiago Alcantara
Though I gave some pause to the fullbacks and No. 9 Roberto Firmino, especially after the days he and Trent Alexander-Arnold had at Old Trafford, I am ultimately going to select Thiago Alcantara as my final “prime” Man of the Match candidate against West Brom.
Yes, it has been a bit of a rough transition to a new league for Thiago, but the injuries have affected the Spanish international has much as anyone, really. Both from the perspective of his own injuries – he’s played 1,588 minutes this season – and the way the injuries to the center backs and other midfielders have affected him.
We see Thiago at his best when he gets to play with Fabinho, because it becomes more realistic for him to play his style and control games. West Brom’s best player may be Matheus Pereira, but defensive midfielder Okay Yokuslu is not far behind. Outside of those two, the opposition midfield looks ripe for the picking by Thiago.
Next. An underrated midfielder for Liverpool to target in a transfer. dark
He’ll help Fabinho out defensively, but, above all else, he’ll be responsible for distributing the ball and constructing attacks that lead the front three to better days. Liverpool know they need to score loads of goals to guarantee wins in all their final games, and they have the matchups conducive to scoring.
But the root of goals comes from midfield. Thiago needs to be that anchor, and I think we’ll get to see him at his best on Sunday afternoon.