5 Q&A's with Liverpool reporter before Manchester City match

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – MARCH 02: Roberto Firmino of Liverpool and Fernando of Manchester City in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on March 2, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /

Prior to Saturday’s EPL showdown at Anfield with Liverpool, we sat down with “Rush the Kop” reporter Ethan Lowe @ethaniowe to get some answers on our upcoming competition.

Saturday will be an important fixture for both sides who are coming into the match on winning notes. A win for Manchester City moves two points ahead of Liverpool, while a win for Liverpool moves them four points clear of MC.

To get an idea on how the current match-up is viewed from the other side, we sat down with Ethan and asked five questions about Liverpool’s season and how they believe the EPL showdown this weekend will go.

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1.) LH – Liverpool’s goals have dramatically improved since last year, what would you say has been the reason?

EL- I think the manager has improved how many goals Liverpool are scoring. Last season he clearly worked on increasing the chances we had, but finishing them still seemed an impossible task at times. Now, players like Adam Lallana who lacked an end product are chipping in with goals. I think it’s fair to assume that the manager and his coaches have clearly worked on getting the ball in the back of the net. The addition of Sadio Mane has also worked wonders, because he not only threatens the opposition, but he allows so much space for those around him.

2.) LH – Missing Europe completely, do you think that is giving the advantage to Liverpool and Chelsea this year?

EL- The fact that Chelsea and Liverpool are up at the top speaks for itself. Missing Europe completely has allowed Liverpool to focus more on the league, and less rotation allows us to look for consistency. Chelsea are enjoying a strong season, and I think that can be put down to Conte’s incredible tactical awareness, but I’m sure a lack of European football is helping them just as much.

3.) LH -Who is the player that people are under valuing this season?

EL- For me, Georginio Wijnaldum hasn’t seen the praise he deserves. His pressing play has been great, and he drops back to cover defensively more than people seem to notice. He’s lacking goals and struggling to stand out against the likes of Lallana, but he always puts a shift in. I think he’s doing a better job than Emre Can at the moment.

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4.) LH – What do you believe is the biggest need during the January transfer window?

EL- I think we need a quality player to help us deal with losing Sadio Mane. When he goes to the African Cup of Nations we’ll be left without one of our strongest attacking options. Our defense is still pretty weak, but I think there’s no real need to make any urgent moves unless a top player becomes available and attainable.

5.) LH – Give us a score prediction for the match, and a prediction for where Liverpool will finish this season.

EL- Predicting a match like this is difficult, because it all depends on what Liverpool show up. If we play our best, I think we can win, but any of the stupid mistakes from previous weeks and we’ll be exposed. Let’s say a 2-1 Liverpool win. When it comes to where I think Liverpool will finish this season, we should be getting top four from this position. Top four is in our hands, and dropping out of it after a good first half to the season would be poor. That’s all I’m hoping for this season, and I think even a fourth place finish would be good in Jurgen Klopp’s first full season.

Overall a fair set of answers from Ethan, and cheers to him for his contribution. Be sure to check out the rest of the RushTheKop‘s content ahead of this important match.

5 Q&A’s with Liverpool reporter before Manchester City match

By Larry Henry | Dec 30, 2016