Lyon Vs Liverpool: Closer Than You Think...

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Hello Readers,

I am back. After one whole year where the daily grind of life and the transition from being a high school senior to an university student took their toll on my soccer watching and article writing hours, I am back at Bleacher Report and hoping to give my opinion on all things soccer.

So, this week's Champions League matchday will begin in a few hours time and I, for one, simply cannot wait for battle to begin. I believe the big matchup will be Liverpool vs Lyonnais. The latter have been accused of not having enough quality to cut the cake in Europe inspite of making the French League a one-horse race for years(that trend was broken last year though). But what makes this match hard to ignore, and indeed such an exciting and enticing prospect for viewers is the fact that while Lyon have been on a roll this season both in Europe and domestically, Liverpool have stuttered, and that too with alarming frequency this early into the season. With the English league looking so open and top teams dropping points, Liverpool are still in the hunt for the title race, but only just. They are already a little off the pace and have lost more times than they did the whole of last season. Whereas last season they were plagued with home draws against teams like Stoke, this year they seem to be making a habit of being defeated.Of course, any rational person would know a draw is better than a defeat. A win tomorrow against the storming French, and much of the early season jitters and domestic frailties will be forgotten, but something about this Lyon side tells me that, whatever the result tomorrow, Lyon will not die wondering.

Too many teams come to Anfield with a defensive mindset intent to sit back and soak up the pressure. Lyon have the quality to spray the ball around and play a slick passing game. Torres will not play, which is a boost for the French. Lyon's 4-3-3 formation can be a treat if they play the system, although I presume that this being an away fixture, they might play a more conservative 4-1-4-1, with it changing to a 4-5-1 when they lose possession. Aly Cissokho has been a great buy to replace the disappointing Fabio Grosso. It is tough to understand why Italians struggle so much outside their own league.

Back to the main point, so Liverpool are struggling a fair bit and Lyon are flying. Sure, the former has a better team on paper, but as they say, the beautiful game is not played on sheets of paper but on a pitch where reputations count for nothing and form and confidence is all that counts.Form...and confidence...two things Liverpool can do with doses of right now.

Make no mistake, I will not be surprised if the Reds turn around the formbook and turn in a classic performance in a tomorrow, but Claude Puel's tactical nous, coupled with the great acquisitions that their painfully ambitious president, Jean-Michel Aulus, has made this season(think Lisandro Lopez, Gomis, Cissokho), we could be in for a classic European tussle tomorrow, one that will go a long way to defining how this group ends up.

Let the game begin!!!

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