Why Liverpool Must Restore Mamadou Sakho and Emre Can to Defence vs. Swansea

Liverpool travel to south Wales to face Swansea City for this weekend's Monday night Premier League match.

The pressure could be on Brendan Rodgers' side depending how their fellow top-four competitors get on before they take to the pitch at the Liberty Stadium—a ground at which they've not won in three attempts.

Arsenal host West Ham United on Saturday afternoon, while Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur go head-to-head on Sunday afternoon. Outsiders Southampton are away to Chelsea.

Entering the weekend two points behind United, Liverpool could leapfrog their north-west rivals and move into the top four for the first time this season, should United fail to beat Tottenham and the Reds pick up three points against Swansea.

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Liverpool have had the rare luxury of a week to prepare and recover ahead of this match, the first week they've not had a midweek game since mid-January. Their last match was the goalless FA Cup quarter-final stalemate with Blackburn Rovers at Anfield last Sunday.

That match with Blackburn saw Rodgers without several first-team players due to injury. Without Lucas Leiva, Steven Gerrard and Joe Allen, the Reds' boss was forced to move Emre Can into midfield to partner Jordan Henderson.

Meanwhile, Mamadou Sakho hadn't recovered from injury to play against Blackburn, and Martin Skrtel suffered a serious-looking injury in the opening minutes. It meant an unfamiliar back three of Glen Johnson, Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren lined up for the Merseysiders.

While a clean sheet was achieved, the side lacked the same thrust and dynamism that has become Liverpool's trademark in recent months.

Emre Can

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The first time Liverpool lined up with a back three of Can, Skrtel and Sakho was the second half against Burnley on Boxing Day. Can was introduced for Toure at half-time in order to get a player onto the pitch who was capable of passing out and moving out from defence comfortably.

It worked to great effect, and Can, the 21-year-old German, revelled in the role. Toure headed for the Africa Cup of Nations while Can cemented his place in the side, starting all 19 games since that Burnley match.

Two of those 19 games have seen Can played in his natural role in midfield: against Besiktas (first leg) and Blackburn. He partnered with Allen against Besiktas and with Henderson against Blackburn, but at neither time did he impress as much as he has while playing as the right-centre-back.

His ability to play from the back, make marauding runs from deep and be composed on the ball in his defensive third has been a key part of Liverpool's improved defensive record. He's also powerful and quick to recover when opposing wide men get in behind on that side.

While Can may end up moving into midfield in the long term, right now he looks more comfortable in the back three, and Liverpool need him there more than in midfield.

Allen expects to be fit to face his former side on Monday, telling the official website: "I'm obviously disappointed to have missed the cup game at the weekend, but hopefully that's the only game that this injury will cost me."

With Allen back, Can can move back into defence—which means no more Johnson in the side, either.

Mamadou Sakho

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While Can found his place in the side due to Rodgers' switching him with Toure at half-time at Burnley, Sakho's introduction also took place at half-time—away to Bournemouth in mid-December.

When Rodgers opted for the 3-4-2-1 shape a week earlier against Manchester United, the back three consisted of Toure, Skrtel and Lovren, while Lucas was shunned for a midfield pairing of Allen and Gerrard. No wonder the Reds ended up losing 3-0.

Injury to Lovren against Bournemouth three days later forced Rodgers to bring Sakho back in from the cold, having marginalised him for his Merseyside-derby walkout when he was dropped for Lovren back in September. Who could blame Sakho for feeling aggrieved to be overlooked for Lovren?

Alas, Lovren's injury stopped Rodgers from playing his £20 million man, and instead Sakho showed why he is France's first-choice centre-back and captained Paris Saint-Germain as a teenager.

Similarly to Can, Sakho is capable of playing out from the back and is—perhaps to his detriment at times—prepared to take risks in order to get the team moving forward and attacking. He always looks for the forward pass; getting the ball quickly to Philippe Coutinho and Alberto Moreno has been key to Liverpool's strength in attack.

Sakho has been sidelined since the home game against Besiktas, with the first game he missed being away to Southampton. That match saw Rodgers switch Can to the left side and play Lovren on the right, as Can seems more mobile when faced with the threat of Nathaniel Clyne down that side.

As we saw when Liverpool first experimented with a back three in the 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United, Lovren struggles when dragged out into wide areas, something that was also evident in that defeat at Old Trafford.

While the Croatian has done OK in recent games since returning to the side in Sakho's absence, Rodgers simply must bring the Frenchman back in ahead of the former Southampton man.

Sakho made his comeback from injury for the Reds under-21s vs. Everton on Monday night, with manager Michael Beale praising his leadership and competitive qualities to reporters post-match:

"

Sakho is an unbelievable professional.

What a role model for our boys. When they were leaving at half-time, he was saying, 'Don't lose this game—make sure you win.

I said that the boys would definitely win because they would be scared to go back in there and face him!

"

With such a big opportunity available due to two of their top-four rivals playing each other this weekend, Rodgers must restore his best back three and give the Reds a solid foundation to build on against Swansea.