The Champions League Draw saw Liverpool grouped with the almighty Real Madrid and humble Bulgarian side Ludogerets, so their fight for qualification is surely going to be against under performing Basel. Basel are working with a new coach this season, and although they had a good start in the Swiss Super League, they are now struggling to recover the form that made them Champions last year.
The 3-5-2 formation is proving to be a burden on Basel’s wing backs, who haven't been able to pass from attack to defence quickly enough, leaving big spaces for oppositions to counter attack. In the Champions League this can be very different though, because I dare to bet that Basel are going to play a defensive style against big teams, and their central defenders have great quality: not to forget that in addition to Schar, Xhaka and Suchy, they have incorporated Walter Samuel, all of whom seem to have what it takes to stifle any attacking team, especially one that is just starting to recognize each other like Liverpool’s. Basel’s central defenders haven’t been at fault for conceding last minute goals, neither has their excellent new goalkeeper Vaclik.
In attack, Basel have a lot of new names: Gashi and Kakitami have had varied levels of performance, while Suffy has the makings of a great player. Delgado and Streller are well known players that Liverpool’s defence should be controlling easily enough.
Source: DSG
