This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
The prospect of coming up against Sadio Mane and Mo Salah as full-backs is always going to be a daunting prospect, and that is exactly what could lie ahead for Serge Aurier and Danny Rose when Tottenham Hotspur travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on Sunday.
Salah returned to the starting XI against Genk in midweek having missed the trip to Manchester United previously, and he marked the occasion with one goal and one assist.
On the opposite flank, Mane netted once meaning he now has nine goals and two assists in 13 appearances for the Reds this term, with his African teammate also having 11 goal involvements over the same number of games.
As well as their threat in those terms in the final third, the fact that Salah and his Senegal teammate have successfully completed 1.6 and 1.3 dribbles per game respectively in the top flight in 2019/20 only enhances the threat that they pose.
Pochettino has something of a conundrum then, with Spurs hardly looking convincing away from home this season when it comes to keeping the ball out of the net.
Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below
Indeed, they have conceded twice on their travels against Arsenal, Manchester City, Olympiacos and Leicester City, while in their previous trip they went down 3-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion.
The duo also started in the 7-2 humiliation against Bayern Munich and struggled to deal with the threat of Serge Gnabry – who netted four times – and Kingsley Coman, and perhaps they need that extra support on Merseyside this weekend, especially with two attacking full-backs in Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, too.
Aurier started against Red Star Belgrade in midweek, and unless Pochettino is willing to blood Foyth there then he is likely to remain, while Danny Rose was rested against the Serbian outfit, suggesting he will be back in contention for a start.
If the pair do get the nod, there is a potential solution that could make their life a lot easier – a 3-5-2 formation.
Letting Rose and Aurier play as wing-backs already puts an extra body in defence, while a midfield trio inbetween them means they can also be covered if they do venture forward in search of goals.
Whether Pochettino would be willing to take Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld out of the starting XI against Jurgen Klopp’s men remains to be seen, but a back three of Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth could potentially work.
Davies started as a centre-back three times for Spurs last term and they all ended in wins and clean sheets, and he would of course provide that full-back know-how against Salah on that flank, while Foyth is in a similar situation himself having played as a right-back and centre-back in his career to date.
With the likes on Winks and Sissoko able to cover in wide areas too, it could just be the genius solution to ensure that Rose and Aurier aren’t overworked and become possible liabilities on what is likely to be a tough afternoon.
