Can Liverpool Bounce Back vs Leeds?

0:00Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same. Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with Power Boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different. And Messi only trusts Duracell.

0:39hello and welcome into the latest edition of espnfc frank laboeuf is joining myself and craig burley here in the studio it's been a big day we had the world cup draw 2026 it's been a long day well it's been a longer day for you guys it's been for me it has definitely but if you would like to see the fruits of our labor they will be streaming now available on the app and on espn plus full reaction to today's draw and all the guys speaking their thoughts on what we've seen and what they think will happen going forward but this weekend it's back to Premier League talk as Liverpool will be taking on Leeds and just a reminder after those three losses in a row for Liverpool they did have that win on Sunday against West Ham United then it was back to a draw on Wednesday against Sunderland so ahead of Leeds let's get word from Arna Slott.

1:30What steps do you feel you've taken in the past week with four points from a couple of games just to start turning things around? The first thing you said in your question, four points out of two games, is different than the last two home games we've played, which we've both lost and conceded seven goals. In the last two games we were one deflection away from keeping two clean sheets. I said against West Ham the good thing for us was that they didn't score their one and only chance. And the same thing happened again in this game. They did not score the only chance they had. And you're looking at me, but they did score.

2:10Yeah, but that for me was not a chance. The only chance they had was after 93 minutes when they went one-on-one to the goalkeeper. So that's the step forward if you compare that to seven goals conceded in two games. We did not concede a set-piece in both games, which is also important. As a result of that, maybe we got two results. And I think we're also positives to take from the players we've brought in during the summer, that I see they are getting more and more consistent in their performances. Foreans may be the most obvious one, but I see the same with Miloš Kjerkeš as well. Alex scored his first goal a game ago.

2:49So, yeah, there are positives to take, but of course still not where we want to be. Let that be obvious and clear. What do you think of what he had to say? Sounds like they're having a great season. The thing is, he's even getting sarcastic at the point, you know, by the last chance that Sunderland had. Had Liverpool lost that game, I think he could have been fired, you know, because people are starting to be fed up with him, you know, trying to find excuses about the results that they have. I mean, we can't recognize Liverpool from last season. And it's part of the, because of his responsibility of not being able to put the best team, to find the chemistry between the new players and the former player.

3:35But he can't talk like that. I mean, we don't listen to him anymore because he's not saying the truth. And what we obviously all see. Did we hear what he had to say there? Well, they've just played one of the weakest teams going forward in the league in West Ham, who don't create a lot of chances, and they won. And they played a side in Sunderland, who've promoted from the Championship, having a great season, but particularly away from home. They did it at Chelsea. They got a great result at Chelsea, but they sit in and they defend deep and they hit you on the break. And that's what Sunderland did.

4:12and that's why Sunderland did not create many chances against Liverpool. Not because Liverpool were great defensively. What he forgot to mention, that his skipper again made more mistakes. His skipper gave the ball away, his skipper turned his back, his skipper Van Dijk never closed the ball down. That was the goal of the deflection off his hip. They play Leeds this weekend at Ellen Road. Leeds who could have came back from 2-0 down, didn't against Man City, but could have in the second half. Leeds who have just beaten Chelsea. at home. And Leeds who, I know we threw a stat out in midweek, Mark Ogden's fault.

4:47It was wrong, right? Augie. That's why we avoid stats. But it was something like they only lost once at home in 18 months, but I think it was a couple of times. But part of that's in the Championship. But they've got their ginger up, Leeds. They're feeling a bit more confident about themselves. Daniel Fark got his players playing. If Liverpool were to be on the wrong end of another result here at Ellen Road against against another promoted team, he's just going to face more questions. And would I be super confident that Liverpool are going to go to Ellen Road and win? No. Because they haven't defended particularly well recently, even if the results have been slightly better.

5:27And Leeds obviously needing points themselves, as you can see where they're sitting as it stands right now, just outside of the relegation zone on 14 points in 17th place right now. So that's one of the games that's coming up this weekend in the Premier League. What's your prediction on it, Craig?

5:46Do you know what? Great atmosphere, Lennon Road. Feeling good about themselves. Liverpool not. I'm going to go for... I'm going to go for a draw. 2-2. Frank? I want to go for a draw as well.

6:04And because of the position Leeds is right now, I'm saying that you can't win against Chelsea and also win against Liverpool. You have to have weaknesses and drop some points. So yeah, I'm going to go for 1-1, 1-0 for me. Yeah. They lost a goal leads at the Etihad after a minute, 59 seconds. And then they lost another one. But they still had enough about them, enough character, enough skill, enough desire to come out the second half and take the game to Manchester City at the Etihad and then beat Chelsea. So they're not, they are not going to be a team that's just going to roll over for Liverpool and say, hey, get your season going.

6:43Start here at Elland Road. Yeah, that's the last of the games on Saturday. The first of them is Aston Villa taking on Arsenal. And you can see that that is first against third in the table right now. It's Aston Villa playing host in this game. This is going to be an interesting one, Craig, an interesting one to pick apart, really, given the fact that it is Villa against Staston right now, two Spanish managers. I mean, think about it after Villa's start to the season, which was very slow, and you wonder, have they run out of steam a little bit, Unai Emery's players, with all that high-octane intensity that it likes his players to play with?

7:18But it turns out it was just a slow start to the season. They go three points behind with a win. I mean, all of a sudden they're thinking, hey, we could be hanging in there in this. But I don't know. Is it eight wins in the trot or something like that? Morgan Rodgers playing great. Ollie Watkins getting some goals again. Arsenal have some injuries, particularly at the back. But they're a strong side, aren't they? I'm edging towards Arsenal eking out a narrow win here, rolling the sleeves up. If you're going to win the title, these are the type of games. Got a couple of players out, go to Villa Park, the early kickoff, roll the sleeves up, and just eke out some sort of close win.

8:02And that's how I see it from an Arsenal perspective. My concern is what I saw from Arsenal against Chelsea. 11 against 10. Not capable of finishing the job. And Chelsea is still being a threat. 10 against 11. Neto could have scored a goal. And Aston Villa is doing great. And because I really want to race, I don't want to make it too easy for Arsenal. so when I said Chelsea would win against Arsenal I think Aston Villa can win against Arsenal and they did a very good run right now so I'm going to go for a 2-1 for Aston Villa OK, that will make things interesting that's two of the games coming off in the Premier League this weekend there are of course plenty more this is what you've got to look forward to including Manchester City taking on Sunderland on Saturday and it all wraps up on Monday with Wolves against Manchester United

8:58I like things my way. My coffee, my schedule, and my treatment. So I talked to my doctor about self-injecting with the Vivgard Hytrulo Pre-Filled Syringe, which contains F-Gartigamide Alpha and Hyaluronidase QVFC. It's injected under your skin subcutaneously. It means I can inject in my space on my time. It's my treatment, my way. Visit VivgardMyWay.com. That's V-Y-V-G-A-R-T MyWay.com. and talk to your doctor about Vivgard Hattrulo. Brought to you by Argenics. If you've shopped online, chances are you've bought from a business powered by Shopify. You know that purple ShopPay button you see at checkout?

9:36The one that makes buying so incredibly easy? That's Shopify. And there's a reason so many businesses sell with it. Because Shopify makes it incredibly easy to start and run your business. Shopify is the commerce platform behind 10 % of all e-commerce in the U.S. from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started. Shopify gives you a leg up with hundreds of beautiful, ready-to-go templates to express your brand style and forget about the code. Tackle all those important tasks in one place, from inventory to payments to analytics and more. Spread your brand's word with built-in marketing and email tools to find and keep new customers.

10:16And did I mention that iconic purple ShopPay button that's used by millions of businesses around the world? It's why Shopify has the best converting checkout on the planet. Your customers already love it. If you want to see less carts being abandoned, it's time for you to head over to Shopify. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash network. Go to shopify.com slash network. Shopify.com slash network.

10:48Meanwhile in La Liga, it's Barcelona sitting top of the table after 15 rounds, a point ahead of Real Madrid. And next up for them are a team that can definitely cause a few problems to the big sides in Real Betis. That's who they'll be facing this weekend. Obviously, this game will be available on ESPN Plus as always. You were saying yourself, Frank, before we even got underway with this, that Betis are a little bit of a force to be reckoned with right now? Yeah, it's going to be hard for Barcelona. And Real Betis lost one game at home out of ten. And I think it's possible for them. I mean, they would have to be clever.

11:25I mean, when you see Barcelona playing, you just have to be clever. You have to attract them to make sure you have the space in behind. Well, like they play a high line. We all know that. And maybe playing counter-attack, even if you play at home. So that's the thing that's going to be hard for Real Betis is understanding the weakness of that team, Barcelona, playing the high line and accepting to wait for them. But if you do so, I think Real Betis can win against Barcelona. It's almost like Barcelona, their struggles, it seems, come against teams that are further down the league and that you're expecting them to sort of roll over.

12:05The teams that were supposed to give them a game, like Atletico Madrid really did not recently at the Camp Nou. Athletic Club didn't really give them a game, if we've been honest. They didn't give Real Madrid a game the other night as well, so at least they're consistent. And Real Betis are in good form, so you're thinking Real Betis, well, they might try and possess the ball a bit more, might try and go at this Barcelona team a bit more, and maybe that just leaves these teams higher up the league a little bit more open to be exposed by Danny Olmo, who I know is injured at the moment, but Laminya Mal and Rafinha is back.

12:41So they're a threat going forward again. Whereas maybe Barca have been a little lax against the smaller teams and have been exposed with that ball in behind time and time and time again. You know, we saw it against Sevilla. We've seen it against a lot of teams. But they've had a couple of good results recently. You know, Deportivo Alaves at home and Atletico Madrid at home. So I get to me, although Barcelona, I think they got hammered by Chelsea. They're not over the defensive issues, but I think they got a little bit too much for Pellegrini. It's why Real Betis have to be patient and clever and really accept to leave the dominance of the game to Barcelona.

13:21Because we can see that against a smaller team, Barcelona struggle. Because they get confident, they go high on the field, and they get surprised by balls behind the space. Atletico Madrid sorry Atletico Madrid score early in the game against Barcelona who have got a back two of Coo Barcy and Gerard Martin at centre half they play the ball in behind easily to Alex Bueno he scores and then they stop doing it then they stop playing that ball I mean it's just bonkers because every other team has been just clipping it in behind Selk to Vigo the whole first half in the game in Vigo they were getting getting in behind.

14:03And Atletico Madrid, a team that you would have thought is built to be in the title race, got a lot of joy early on with that ball and then stopped. It just doesn't make any sense. And if teams can figure out, which some have, how to play that offside line better with deeper runs from midfield, that's where it has caused them problems. It's given Hansi Fleck palpitations at times this season. The upside for him, he's got this sort of great attacking line that can sort of bail them out when things go wrong. Pellegrini is clever. He has experience. So I guess he saw that. So what he's going to do with his players, we'll see.

14:41Yeah, and bestest games against Barcelona, always worth a watch. You can do that this weekend on ESPN+. That's the earlier game in La Liga. Later on in the day, it's Athletic Club taking on Atletico Madrid. Buster Olney here for La Quinta by Wyndham. Summer work travel can feel like extra innings. long days late nights and not a lot of room to stretch out especially when your hotel room feels more like the dugout than the clubhouse but when you stay at la quinta by wyndham you can step up to spacious suites that give you room to relax recharge and get ready for the next day i always feel like i need that when i'm traveling on the road covering ball games plus you can earn wyndham rewards points with every qualified stay because when you've got space to unwind you're always playing at your best.

15:30Tonight, La Quinta. Tomorrow, you shine. Book your next work trip at laquinta.com. Terms and conditions apply. As you know, managing maintenance, repair, and operations is never easy. But for the ones who always rise to the challenge, Grainger has your back. From professional-grade products you can count on to fast, dependable delivery, they're there to help you keep things running smoothly. Plus, their technical product specialists are here to help answer your toughest questions. And because Grainger knows safety is always a priority, they're committed to being your partner and protecting both your people and your facilities.

16:04Call 1-800-GRANGER, click granger.com, or just stop by.

16:36We'll be right back. Ahmed continues on, works it across, and it's in the back of the net again. The best collective they've had that advances to MLS Cup for the first time in its 15-year history.

16:55Yes, it is. Into Miami, taking on Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS Cup. And these are the odds heading into this game coming up on Saturday. Miami, favourites in this game. a chance to see Lionel Messi and the boys can they win it though can they do something he's never done and win MLS Cup wow I don't know well I guess he's going to win everything that guy and and with all the players that he that he has in his service because they work for him I think yes they can do it and but I don't know the Whitecaps enough to say that they're not good good enough to win it. So I have to respect that. So let's see how it works.

17:34What do you think, Craig? You know, something that's been brought up is the fact that obviously Thomas Muller is with Vancouver weight caps and there's all these stats about him winning seven of his ten overall meetings with Lionel Messi in whatever team it may be, but including the 2014 World Cup, Germany taking on Argentina. Muller came out on top in that one. Do these stats account for anything? No.

17:58into Miami's Barcelona Bay, isn't it? It's Jordi Alba, it's Luis Suarez, it's Lionel Messi and some other good players, to be fair. And obviously Thomas Muller's had an absolutely stellar career. But you get the feeling, and somebody said this on the show the other day, Major League Soccer, they shouldn't really, but they really want this to happen, don't they? And they want it to happen in the proper way, but they want into Miami to be the champions. They want Messi to be the story. They want Messi to drive the subscription and the interest. And I get the feeling that's what Major League Soccer are going to get.

18:33And somewhere in his trophy cabinet of list Major League Soccer, what do you call it? Champions, whatever it is. Right. What do you call it? MLS Cup. MLS Cup. That's MLS Cup. It's going to be on the right side over there. It won't be front and centre in front of the World Cup and there's La Liga and Champion League titles. That's an achievement. Is that what you're saying? You're saying that. Maybe he's going to have to make room for it anyway, isn't he? He's got plenty. Plenty in that trophy cabinet. Yes, we'll be talking about it on ESPN FC, which is available daily on ESPN Plus, covering all the big games and all the big names.

19:11Avoiding your unfinished home projects because you're not sure where to start? Thumbtack knows homes, so you don't have to. Don't know the difference between matte paint finish and satin? Or what that clunking sound from your dryer is? With Thumbtack, you don't have to be a home pro. You just have to hire one. You can hire top-rated pros, see price estimates, and read reviews all on the Thumbtack app. Download today. In today's world, planning ahead isn't always top of mind, but not having life insurance can leave families facing difficult financial uncertainty during already emotional times. In many cases, loved ones are left managing expenses, debts, or long-term obligations without a clear plan in place.

19:53Life insurance is one of those ways to help provide financial security and support when it's needed most. That's where Ethos comes in. Ethos makes getting life insurance fast and easy. And it's 100 % online. You can get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and even get same-day coverage. There's no medical exam. You just answer a few simple health questions online. And coverage options are flexible, with up to$3 million available and some policies starting at around$30 a month. Ethos has also earned strong customer feedback with a 4.8 out of 5-star rating on Trustpilot based on more than 3 ,000 reviews.

20:30Help protect your family with life insurance through Ethos. Get your instant free quote at ethos.com slash sports. That's E-T-H-O-S dot com slash sports. Application times and rates may vary. Okay, that will do it for the latest edition of ESPN FC. Extra time's on the way, though. These two will be answering your question. I've got them here. Thank you so much for being with us on the latest edition of ESPN FC. Oh, please answer them. Thank you. Welcome into the latest edition of Extra Time. Craig and Frank are here. Yeah. To answer your questions. Okay, Craig, are you having deja vu? Ask Steve Nichols, personal assistant, obviously referring to today's World Cup draw.

21:14Well, obviously, if Norway were in pot three, which was the same pot as Scotland, otherwise it could have been potentially the same group as 1998. It's close. I mean, if you have not been to your World Cup for 28 years, as Scotland have not since 1998 in France, and you get two of the same teams in Brazil and Morocco, that's quite something. You know the sad news? It's nice to see Scotland coming back to the World Cup, but the problem is Craig, last game in the World Cup, he got suspended. He got a red card against Morocco. Yeah, but I've served that, Frank. No, you didn't. I served it many years ago.

22:01No, not for the World Cup. So it's still going to be... It's still suspended. No, it's all changed since Cristiano Ronaldo got... Oh, that's true. That's true. They make special rules. Mine is available. Yeah, but he's not Ronaldo. I'm actually worried about Haiti. No, I know, but that's the kind of banana skin that Scotland usually... With all due respect to Haiti, not Prime, but if Scotland loses again against Haiti, why they are in the World Cup? Really. So you're going to get the three points, and you might be qualified with the three points. This is the first game. The Titan Army are going to have fun, though, aren't they?

22:41Yeah, and most of the games are in the... Well, all the games, I believe, are in the East Coast, which obviously is, for European countries, is much better to be in the East Coast. I believe, in no particular order... It's in Miami. The Brazil game, I believe, is in Miami. That's the final game. There's a game in Foxborough in Boston, Massachusetts, and a game in New Jersey in East Rutherford at MetLife. So, watch out, New York and New Jersey. Yeah, look out Miami though. Scots in Miami. That's going to be fun. They won't go. They won't attend. Craig, is there any hope for Scotland after getting Brazil and Morocco?

23:19I just said that he's afraid that I did. Look, let me give you a reality check. Scotland have had some good teams over the years, right? I'm not particularly talking about the team I've played in, but you've had players like Kennedy Duglisian, the list goes on, Graham Soones, there's a list of superstars. As a country, Scotland have never been out at the group stage of any major competition, the European Championships or the World Cup, and it's baffling, it really is baffling. I can see that trend continuing, unfortunately. Yeah, the thing is, it's possible, but if they finish third, they would have gotten an advantage comparing to the previous national team when to the World Cup because you finish third in 1998 you don't go you don't go through there with even Brazil and Morocco if they finish third they can go through because it's 30 48 teams some of the some of the some of the teams are all not all eight of them go straight third eight the eight third gonna go through we need a whole show on all of the new rules and regulations.

24:31To explain to you. To explain to all of us, let's be honest. All right. Is the group of death a dead concept since the World Cup has expanded and likely will keep expanding in the future? Yes. A few have been picked out here as a group of death. You could mention even Group C, obviously, have been difficult. But Group I is obviously really standing out right now. We wait to find out who joins France, Senegal and Norway, but that has been touted as it right now. Yeah, it can be the group of death, but explaining just I'm gonna say what I just explained you know the three teams can go through that that group stage that's the prime is the one who's gonna finish the third in that group is gonna play against the first of another group so that's where it gets a little bit tricky for for that team but otherwise yeah I'm not gonna I'm not really scared about French finishing even third and going to the final because they can play after they can play I don't know Mexico or USA and beat them.

25:31So you have to do well, but because you have 48 teams, it doesn't really mean anything for me. What we didn't tell you, Craig, was during the draw, Frank was pulling, Frank was like getting it more than most of us. Oh, they can't be trying against them and this won't happen. He was on the ball today. Well, he was on a transatlantic flight. No, no, no, no. I had some time. No, because I really, I quickly understood that you had 12 groups and then that African clubs, African teams couldn't fight against each other, couldn't play against each other. Basically his geography was better than Chester's.