The ongoing World Cup has been described in many ways. What's easily forgotten, though, is the tournament essentially represents an extended international break.
Small wonder the disgruntlement among club managers and supporters at the competition bringing the domestic campaign to a shuddering halt for six weeks.
Having suffered a hugely underwhelming start to the season, Liverpool were just finding some momentum with four successive victories before the shutdown as thoughts turned to Qatar.
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Jurgen Klopp has previously suspected his team have been given a bit of a rough ride when it comes to how the fixtures have been scheduled post-international breaks. Evidence suggests he may have a point.
Starting with his very first game in charge of Liverpool at Tottenham Hotspur more than seven years ago, Klopp has overseen 27 previous international breaks while at Anfield. During that time, the Reds have faced top-six rivals on 11 occasions, while the remaining fixtures have included two Merseyside derbies. Indeed, their first game back after the World Cup, while not a Premier League match, is the trifling matter of a Carabao Cup fourth round tie at Manchester City.
But for all the concerns over how the international break can disrupt preparations and threaten the fitness of players, Liverpool have lost only one of their 27 post-break fixtures under Klopp - even if the last such game, in October, ended in a disappointing 3-3 draw at home to Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Reds have played Tottenham four times – drawing 0-0 at White Hart Lane in Klopp's debut match in 2015, being held 1-1 in the return in 2016, and winning 2-1 both at Wembley and at home in 2018/19 – and Manchester United three times, all of which ended in a stalemate.
Manchester City were beaten 4-1 at the Etihad in 2015, while Liverpool's only defeat in this sequence was the 5-0 thrashing to Pep Guardiola's side early in 2017/18. Even then, that loss owed much to Sadio Mane being dismissed in the first half. Arsenal were defeated at both the Emirates and Anfield in 2020/21, while Everton were beaten at home and two years ago saw a 2-2 draw at Goodison.
Of the rest, Leicester City (twice), Newcastle United and Southampton were beaten at home, the Saints earned a goalless home draw in 2016, while Liverpool won at Crystal Palace in 2018 and 2019 and at Huddersfield Town in 2018/19. They have also beaten Leeds United and home and away, while they have won twice away and once at home to Watford.
City, of course, will be a tough test when the action resumes on December 22, even if Guardiola joked at the possibility of being without a number of World Cup-affected players: "He's (Klopp) going to play at left-back, I'm going to play holding midfielder. This is the strategy."
But Klopp's Liverpool have long shown they can get back up to speed quickly after an international break.
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