Liverpool's Midfield Faces Its Toughest Test as the 3-5-2 Heads to Arsenal

Giving every football hipster in the land something to talk about over the past few weeks, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has diverted from the tactical norm and adopted a 3-5-2 formation.

As the most popular formation in Italy, it seems to have been successful for Liverpool.

However, now it faces its toughest test, as Liverpool visit the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal.

Increased Liverpool Possession?

Theoretically, the 3-5-2 helps sides to transition from defensive to attacking positions quickly and should allow them to combine the strength that comes from a five-man midfield with the added benefits of a strike duo.

At first glance, this appears to have worked for Liverpool since they adopted the 3-5-2.

As shown in the diagram below, the Anfield side have enjoyed increased possession levels since they switched formation—a trend that some have attributed to the formation tweak.

They take on an Arsenal side renowned for midfield dominance on Saturday, so will this trend continue?

The short answer is probably not.

Whilst it is true that Liverpool seem to have an extra midfield player going forward, in reality they don't, and the increased possession when using a 3-5-2 can be explained by the low calibre of opposition that they have been playing.

Myth Busting: An Extra Liverpool Midfield Player? 

When the Reds have the ball, their set-up is not all that different from when they play a more conventional back four.

In a back four, both full backs push up when the team has the ball, and the holding midfield player—usually Lucas Leiva—drops into a deeper position with both centre-backs pushing wide of him, effectively creating a back three when in possession.

One of the big differences of the formation change, therefore, at least going forward, is of personnel rather than positioning and numbers.

With an extra defender behind them, midfielders aren't required to provide as much cover and can push forward more. This means that the formation doesn't give them an extra player going forward. It merely changes who is marshalling the centre circle from Lucas Leiva to the central centre-back.

Tomorrow, this is likely to be Martin Skrtel, providing a potential area of weakness for Arsenal to exploit due to his relative discomfort in possession when compared to Lucas Leiva.

The action areas map above shows Lucas Leiva playing the holding role against Swansea City in a 4-2-3-1 cum 4-1-4-1, whilst the map below shows his action areas in a 3-5-2 against West Bromwich Albion.

In the 3-5-2, the extra centre-back allowed him to push further forward, shown below on his action areas map in a 3-5-2 against West Brom, meaning that the formation has released the central midfield players to play further up the pitch.

Considering that the duo that have been released are Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard, it is worth questioning whether this is actually of much benefit.

Whilst the idea of having an extra player going forward is a bit of a myth, the big difference going forward is the obvious inclusion of two strikers.

This means that the forward three, which in any other formation would be the striker and two wide players, consists of the attacking midfielder and strike duo.

Playing far narrower, although with license to drift into wide areas, the central forward three are the area where Liverpool can hurt Arsenal.

The trio of Daniel Sturridge, Luis Suarez and either Philippe Coutinho or Jordan Henderson can pose problems for Arsenal on the counter, breaking at pace in central areas.

Key Battle 1: Ramsey vs. Henderson/Coutinho/Suarez

In the absence of Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey is likely to be tasked with defensive duties in the Arsenal midfield.

Brendan Rodgers frequently labels Sturridge and Suarez as "nine and a half's," and their abilities to come deep could give Arsenal problems. Ramsey will need to get a grip on his defensive duties in what could be a busy afternoon for the Welshman.

Suarez's heat map from last week shows the freedom the Uruguayan is afforded in the new formation, and the areas between Arsenal's defence and midfield will be key.

Fortunately for the Gunners, Ramsey has the joint highest number of successful tackles in the league.

Key Battle 2: Can Arsenal Exploit Liverpool’s Wings?

Whilst the impact on possession of Liverpool's formation has been exaggerated, the system represents a big defensive change for the side.

There is the potential for Arsenal to exploit the spaces behind Liverpool's wing backs and to subsequently draw the wide centre-backs out of position.

Liverpool have yet to play 3-5-2 against a team with the ability on the ball of Arsenal, and if the Gunners midfield can shift the ball quickly, then they could drag the defence out of position. Alternatively, if Liverpool are under the cosh, then the formation could resemble more of a 5-3-2 and lose its ability to counter in numbers.

Arsenal's full backs can also help to exploit the Liverpool wing backs, who are afforded less protection in the current formation.

Both Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna like to get forward and may be able to contribute to two versus one situations in wide areas.

Whilst Liverpool's formation is flexible—at times Kolo Toure and Mamadou Sakho can move into full back positions with a wing back in front of them to counter Arsenal's wide players—Rodgers will need his players' concentration levels to hold up for the full 90 minutes.

Prediction

Both teams have areas that they can exploit.

For Liverpool, it is their narrow front three, whilst for Arsenal, it will be in their numbers going forward in wide areas and their ability to split a formation that has historically been known to leak goals.

Arsenal are sure to have more possessions but could hardly have picked a worse game to be without Flamini, due to Liverpool's ability to counter at speed.

Team and player football stats from Squawka.com.