Premier League Dream Team that can beat Liverpool this season. Let us look at a super team comprising of the Premier League’s best to defeat Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have been in a league of their own this season. They have played 20 matches in the Premier League this season and have won all but one of them. They are 13 points clear of their nearest opponents in the points table with a game in hand.
Also read: Manchester United warns Manchester City fans ahead of derby game at Old Trafford
Today we will dwell into fantasy land and create a super side comprising of the Premier League’s best players; a fantasy 11 if you will, capable of handing Jurgen Klopp’s men an elusive loss. The formation for this side will be 3-5-2; the only formation that came close to beating the Reds when Liverpool drew 1-1 to Manchester United at the Old Trafford.
This team will field 3 centre backs to counter Liverpool’s famed attacking trio’s compact front game. There will be two wingbacks to stop Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold, dead on their tracks. The 3-man midfield will directly take on Liverpool’s own midfield while the two-man attack will see one of them try to take one or even both of Liverpool’s central defence with him giving the other striker the best chance to put the ball past Alisson on goal.
With that out of the way, let us now look at the Premier League Dream Team that can beat Liverpool this season.
Defense
Goal Keeper- Kasper Schmeichel (Leicester City)
Leicester City Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel will be our man between the sticks. The Danish glovesman was always a brilliant keeper. However, this season he has been remarkable. Schmeichel has played all of Leicester’s 21 matches in the Premier League this season and has kept 8 clean sheets.
Schmeichel has conceded a goal every 105 minutes in the Premier League this season. This is better than all but one other keeper in the league this season. Only Liverpool’s Alisson Becker has a better number conceding once every 203 minutes.
Schmeichel is also blessed with incredible concentration that allows him to save both long range and short-range shots and will be the perfect glovesman for our Premier League Dream Team that can beat Liverpool this season.
Centre-back- Lewis Dunk (Brighton and Hove Albion)
Brighton and Hove Albion captain Lewis Dunk, makes it into the team as one of our centrebacks. The central defender has been brilliant for his side this season. He is an excellent blocker of the ball; a very important attribute when going against Liverpool front 3.
Comparing him with Virgil Van Dijk’s gives us a perfect picture of how good Dunk has been for a fairly average side. Dunk has 5 clean sheets in comparison to Van Dijk’s 7 while playing in a far inferior side. He has also made 23 tackles with a 70% success which is higher than Van Dijk’s 14 tackles with a 64% success rate.
Dunk also has 33 interceptions to Van Dijk’s 22 interceptions although the Dutch defender has a far superior clearance and headed clearances. He has also made far more recoveries and has 4 successful 50/50’s to Van Dijk’s 2.
You’ve got to be an exceptional defender to pull this numbers playing for a side like he does. However, the Brighton skipper is one to lead by example and it is for all this reasons that he makes it into this Premier League super side.
Centre-back- Harry Maguire (Manchester United)
The World’s most expensive defender, Harry Maguire, may get a lot of stick on social media. However, the Manchester United faithful will tell you that the 26-year old gives the side a much more reliable look at the back compared to seasons past.
Maguire is not a flashy defender who will make the news for his tackles, headers or crosses. However, he is solid on the ball and gets the job done without a lot of fuss. This is precisely why Maguire is Gareth Southgate’s number one choice at the back for England.
The most important thing to his game is that he wins a lot of duels and successfully passes the ball to the other players on the field. A very responsible player, Maguire is a very important reason why Manchester United are the only team in the Premier League to have faced both Manchester City and Liverpool come out unscathed.
Centre-back- Nathan Ake (Bournemouth)
Bournemouth defender Nathan Ake completes our 3-man defence. The Former Chelsea man has become one of the best players in the league since leaving the blues. He is brilliant on the ball and is incredibly versatile and consistent as well.
He is brilliant at clearing the ball and is an amazing distributor of the ball and does it quite successfully as his 90% passing accuracy in the Premier League would suggest. While he is not the best at tackles, he has made several crucial interventions in the penalty box this season.
Despite being only 24 years old, the centreback is one of the most experienced defenders in the Premier League and it shows in his game. The fact that Bournemouth have conceded and lost more in the games that Nathan Ake hasn’t played in, compared to the ones he has participated in, shows his impact for the Cherries. For all of the above points, Nathan Ake is the perfect player for this super side designed to beat Liverpool.
Wings
Left Wingback- Ben Chilwell (Leicester City)
Arguably the best left-back in the Premier League only behind Liverpool’s Andy Robertson, Ben Chilwell has come a long way and has continued to take large strides in the Premier League this season. The 23-year old is very tactically aware of the game and is very capable of seamlessly getting into attacking positions without being exposed.
Chilwell brilliantly distributes his time in both halves of the pitch and spends nearly an equal amount of time in the opposition half as he does in his own. Which means he efficiently contributes to the side both in attack and defense.
In fact, his positional awareness and consistent timing in tackle makes him a perfect player you would want in a one on one situation with the opponent wingers, or in this case, Liverpool’s advancing fullbacks. His defensive understanding can suffocate the opposition and, in this case, would stifle Liverpool’s chances from their right, effectively winning half the battle for this dream team.
Right Wingback- Kyle Walker (Manchester City)
Pairing with Chilwell on the right flank is another City player but from Manchester. Kyle Walker has built a career out of shutting down wingers. The right winger is one of the major reasons why Manchester City have become such a dominant force in the last few seasons.
This has not been his best season with the Sky Blues at Manchester. However, there is no denying his talent. Walker has blistering pace and is a constant goal threat from the side. The fact that he is constantly involved in the game makes him a player to keep an eye out for all through the game.
Together with Chilwell, not only can this wingback pairing shut down Robertson and Alexander-Arnold, but also keep the attackers on their feet while consistently sending the ball to the opposition box. Very little can go wrong with Walker on the right side of your defence.
Midfield
Defensive midfielder- Rodrigo (Manchester City)
Manning one half of the Defensive midfield positions in this team is Manchester City’s Rodrigo. The defensive midfielder’s main job alongside his partner in this team is to completely nullify Liverpool’s midfield.
Rodrigo is the perfect main for this job as he possesses the natural instinct to sense danger, cut passing lanes and put a foot in for tackles. He can also swiftly provide cover for his centrebacks during quick counters, effectively making him a priceless asset through his defense alone.
Rodrigo is however, much more than just a defensive midfielder. He is capable of spraying both long and short passes, as is evident from his average of 73 passes per match. with a passing accuracy of 92.3% and is also quite good in the air for a defensive midfielder.
All in all, Rodrigo is the perfect man for this side due to his ability to spot a pass, make runs and defend effectively. He is the heart of this team that ensures his side always keep the upper hand in the midfield battle between both sides.
Defensive midfielder- Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City)
The fact that 23-year old Wilfred Ndidi is already being compared to Former Leicester City player, N’Golo Kante, should tell you more than enough about the meteoric rise of this young midfielder. Much like Kante during Leicester’s title winning season, Ndidi has been the driving force of the side that currently sits 2nd in the Premier League table.
He is phenomenal at winning the ball back and provides the extra layer of defense ahead of the centrebacks. He also links efficiently between the defense and attack allowing the fullbacks and the forwards to express themselves freely while searching for goals.
Ndidi is also very good at drawing the second striker or a midfielder out of position by playing deep, allowing for the more creative players around him to drop in the spaces in the build their attacking play from there.
Together with Rodrigo, they will allow for the wingbacks and the front three to go all out without worrying, knowing that their defense and midfield is well looked after. Allowing for even more pressure to be applied on Liverpool’s defense.
Attacking midfielder- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
The playmaker for this side will be Kevin De Bruyne, The Belgian midfielder is almost the perfect player to take this position and is arguably the best in his position in the world or at the very least, the Premier League.
His 12 assists, the highest in the league, tells you about his ability to make key passes in the game. Through balls, long shots, you name it and he’s good at it. He is the perfect number 10 for his ability to create and even score goals.
When on song, there is no one that can stop him and with two strikers ahead of him, De Bruyne has even more options while taking the ball forward. As the number 10 of this side, De Bruyne is perhaps the most important player this side. However, there are two more players in this side who have the all-important task of putting the ball behind the net and winning the game for this Premier League Dream Team that can beat Liverpool this season.
Attack
Second Striker- Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
Arsenal have had a tragically poor season so far. One that could see them drop out of the top 6. However, this has had little to no impact on Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has carried on from his golden boot winning campaign last season.
Aubameyang has scored 13 goals in the Premier league so far, this is the second highest in the league. He scores at an average of almost 2 goals every 3 games, despite playing in a team that has been lacklustre in front of both goals on the field so far this season.
Aubameyang’s task in this team is to take one or both of Virgil Van Dijk and his central defence partner with him and create space for his strike partner. This should not be much of a problem for a pacy striker like the Gabonese who could take the defenders with him for a ride and then send the ball through the space created.
His ability to take advantage of the situation, if one were to drop their guard down for even a second, is startling. Before you know it, he has already sneaked in the defender’s blind spot, evoking a rash response from an already panicked defender creating a chance for even more mistakes.
Striker- Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
The last piece of the puzzle is Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy. The striker was instrumental in their title winning season and it is no surprise that he is still the reason why Leicester City have left the more established contenders behind to bite the dust.
Vardy has scored 17 goals in 19 matches this season. That is an insane 0.9 goals per match! Although, Vardy is better off as a solo striker, he is an excellent player for a counter attacking style of play. Considering how defensively this team is built, there is a very high chance that the goals will come off a counter attack and what better man to have than Vardy in your side.
Much like Aubameyang, Vardy has blistering pace and with Aubameyang tasked to lure the defenders, Vardy’s only job in this side is to correctly position himself, make sure to not rule himself offside and then let his speed and finishing do the rest.
This is how the team would look like:
Click here for more football news
