Match Focus: Rodgers Faces Another Tough Test Against Pulis

Brendan Rodgers is well aware of the stakes at Selhurst Park next Monday. He’s also, at least, well aware of what to expect. “This game will prepare us for Crystal Palace,” the Liverpool manager said after his side’s 2-0 loss to Chelsea. “We will have to deal with long balls forward, which we did very well today and we will have to deal with long throw-ins, and got the chance to do that today.”

In the immediate aftermath of the match, Rodgers’ words were clearly intended as something of a rebuke for Mourinho’s tactics, and a downplaying of the defeat. Now, they should be perceived as proper praise for Palace, and an acknowledgement of how much of a challenge Monday’s match is going to be. Make no mistake, because Liverpool can’t afford to commit any more themselves. It is more than just another momentous match in the title race. It is a proper acid test, that will distil so many of the dimensions of their season.

For a start, there is the context of the game itself, and how it will bring so much of the campaign to a head. At the very least, should Manchester City defeat Everton on Saturday, Liverpool will have to claim three points just to keep pace for the last day. Beyond that, should City slip, Rodgers’ side can completely reclaim the initiative.

To do that, though, they may also try and regenerate their momentum. The defeat to Chelsea marked the first dropped points since the start of February, and the questions from that are clear. How much of that title-chasing run was down to the confidence derived from the the winning streak itself, and how much was down to the base qualities of this dynamic team? It is a fair question given the unprecedented nature of their form.

In terms of trying to answer it, there are no better teams Liverpool could face, even if the challenge of an away trip to a Tony Pulis team is one of the worst fixtures you could possibly have at this point of the season.

Their record speaks for itself, given how Palace have beaten Everton and Chelsea, and made life so difficult for the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and even Arsenal. There is definitely a trend with Pulis, which is why top teams have such trouble playing them. What’s more, if Liverpool do drop points at Selhurst Park and City go on to win the title having also been the only side in the top three to win in the south-London stadium, it will almost certainly conform to another trend of Pulis’s career: the Welsh manager as king-maker.

Back between 2008 and 2011, during Stoke City’s first three years back in the top flight, only one of the title challengers each season won at the Britannia. All did so through late goals. All ended up lifting the trophy that season. It was a pattern that almost seemed to symbolically and symmetrically highlight the difficulty of travelling to a Pulis team, a key test of character. While “wet Tuesday nights in Stoke” became a cliche, any match at the Britannia was a proper battle.

Now, it is much the same at Selhurst Park. The reasons for that are obvious from the barest stats. Palace put in the second highest amount of tackles per game in the Premier League at 22.4 - only, interestingly, after Liverpool - but by far the highest number of interceptions. They also play the lowest number of short passes. No surprises there, or chances taken.

Tellingly, the number of those interceptions rises against the big teams, but so do the number of accurate passes. The percentage of long balls goes down. Evidently, Palace don’t completely distil their approach in the way Stoke used to.

That slightly greater sense of adventure and nuance is perhaps one reason why Palace have claimed big scalps such as Everton and Chelsea, but also left themselves that little bit more open once going behind against Manchester United and City. It is a tough balance to strike but one Pulis will always initially make tough to break down. Now, it is all on Liverpool. They must rediscover their rhythm against the only side second to Chelsea in terms of disruption.

It’s also difficult to dispute that Liverpool’s 11-game winning streak did see a dramatic escalation in the key traits of their game. They became sharper in the tackle (21.9 to 24.7), and better in all the passing stats. Momentum was generated from that 22 February late win away to Fulham.

Now, with that run disrupted, the question is whether Liverpool can maintain the level of the play. Rodgers knows what to do and what to expect. With Palace, however, that is part of the problem.

Can Liverpool win at Selhurst Park on Monday? Let us know what you think in the comments below