Why Yohan Cabaye Is the Crystal Palace Player Liverpool Must Shut Down
Sunday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace marks one month since Jurgen Klopp's appointment as Liverpool manager, and by now, the German will have grasped the reality of mounting a top-four challenge in the Premier League with its tactical nuances and physical demands.
Klopp endured a slow start to his reign on Merseyside, but with three wins on the bounce, against Bournemouth in the League Cup, Chelsea in the league and Rubin Kazan in the Europa League, he has settled comfortably.
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Alan Pardew's Palace represent a major challenge for the Reds in the Premier League, with the 54-year-old leading his side to 10th in the table heading into the 12th round of fixtures.
The Eagles sit just one point behind eighth-placed Liverpool.
Palace are now an established mid-table side and have lofty ambitions of European qualification, which has allowed Pardew to secure top-level targets in the transfer window.
This summer's marquee acquisition was £10 million midfielder Yohan Cabaye, who joined from Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Cabaye is a symbol of a competitive, new-look Palace, and he must be shut down for Liverpool to succeed on Sunday.
Crystal Palace
Cabaye is, of course, not the only threat within the Palace ranks heading to Anfield, and Klopp would be wise to utilise the tactical and analytical nous of assistants Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz to pinpoint the many talents at Pardew's disposal.
So far this season, the Englishman has typically utilised a 4-2-3-1 formation, similar to that favoured by Klopp.
Built on the foundation of a strong back four of Martin Kelly, Scott Dann, Pape Souare and one of Brede Hangeland and Damien Delaney, Pardew emphasises structural integrity—as evidenced by the fact his side has conceded just 11 goals in the Premier League this season, the sixth-best record of any side in the division.
Palace are similarly effective in the attacking sector, however, with any four of Dwight Gayle, Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha, Jason Puncheon and Bakary Sako forming a fluid, interchanging forward line.
While Bolasie has served as the scourge of Merseyside in the past, Zaha has been Palace's most impressive forward in 2015/16. The 22-year-old has dazzled defences with his pace and trickery, averaging 3.7 successful dribbles per 90 minutes in the league, being felled twice to win Palace penalties.
"Wilf is a talented player. He needs to keep working hard and play every game like this one because we need him," Cabaye told reporters, including the Mirror's Dave Kidd, at the beginning of November. "He’s confident now and just wants to play his football. His football is to take on his full-back and try to make a difference on the right or left. He did that against United."
If Zaha starts on the left-hand side of Palace's attack on Sunday, Reds right-back Nathaniel Clyne will be required to perform to the best of his abilities to stymie his fellow Eagles academy graduate at Anfield.
However, while the selfless Cabaye is quick to heap praise on his team-mates—and Zaha is fully deserving of this—it is the Frenchman who truly makes this Palace side tick.
Yohan Cabaye
"We’re very fortunate to be able to finance that deal," Pardew told the Mirror's Neil McLeman in October, referencing Cabaye's £80,000-a-week contract. "But it was a deal that knocked us out of kilter and the board worried about that."
But continuing to outline Cabaye's talent, particularly in relation to the rest of his squad, Pardew underlined the midfielder's importance:
"I assured them there’s no player who can knock on my door and say, ‘I want the same money as Cabaye’.
If you increase the wage structure because someone has come in and they don’t deliver, then you have got a problem.
But they can all come and knock on my door on Monday and ask for more money. Saying, ‘I want Yohan’s money’ and they’ll get a simple answer, ‘You’re not as good as him’.
He can smell what to do at the right time. It’s very important for a manager to have a lieutenant like that. Like Roy Keane at Manchester United.
"
Comparing Cabaye with former Manchester United captain Keane was a pertinent observation by Pardew, who has seen the 29-year-old shine in an adapted role to the one that saw him earn the move to PSG from Newcastle United.
Under Pardew at Newcastle, Cabaye operated as chief playmaker, making use of his exceptional passing range and dead-ball proficiency to service the bullish attacking duo of Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse.
But at Selhurst Park, Cabaye has been required to summon more of the club's trademark grit in a Keane-like defensive role.
Cabaye has averaged 3.7 successful tackles and 3.9 interceptions per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season, with Leicester City's N'Golo Kante (5) and Swansea City's Jack Cork (4.1) the only regular central midfielders averaging more interceptions so far in the English top flight in 2015/16.
Signing Cabaye has limited the opportunities of Palace captain Mile Jedinak, who has played just 87 minutes of Premier League football this season over six substitute appearances.
Cabaye provides Palace with their impetus, and his experiences with Lille, Newcastle and PSG have made him something of an unofficial captain alongside midfield partner James McArthur.
The Frenchman sets the tone for Palace and as their leading goalscorer plays a key role in securing victories. He is capable of breaking up play, kicking off attacks and finishing moves, all to a high standard.
For Liverpool to avoid this on Sunday, he must be shut down at all costs. To do so, Klopp has several options.
How Liverpool Can Shut Cabaye Down
With Cabaye serving as the focal figure in Palace's engine room, it will be necessary to close off all angles around him before he is able to pull the strings from deep.
Fortunately, Klopp's intensive brand of football has prepared the Liverpool squad for this situation.
In the first six games of Klopp's tenure, Liverpool have employed his gegenpressing philosophy to great effect, pressing high and maintaining pressure on the opposition when not in possession and looking to attack with pace when the ball is won.
This has seen both Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana thrive under Klopp, with the attacking-midfield pair occupying space in order to suffocate opposing defenders on the ball.
It is this function that has seen Klopp's side create the majority of their chances in front of goal.
Therefore, with Cabaye taking up a deep-lying role in Pardew's midfield, the onus is on the likes of Firmino and Lallana to apply pressure on him quickly and efficiently. However, as Klopp will stress, this is a collective effort.
The energetic performances of Emre Can and Lucas Leiva—both defensive-minded midfielders—will be key as Liverpool look to win the contest in the middle of the park.
Lucas has made more successful tackles (6.1) per 90 minutes than any player to feature regularly in the Premier League this season, and his tenacity in the midfield will be essential if Liverpool are to shackle Cabaye.
It may transpire that Klopp tasks one of Lucas, Can or James Milner to serve in a man-marking role at Anfield, such is Cabaye's influence.
With Klopp's side in top form heading into Sunday's clash, however, the German should be confident of dealing with the threat posed by the stately No. 7.
Statistics via WhoScored.com.
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