MY ACCOUNT
West Ham’s trip to Liverpool pits two of the Premier League’s best midfielders against each other in Declan Rice and Fabinho.
Both sides will need their midfield maestros at their best, not just this evening but for the rest of the season, with the Reds battling for the title and the Hammers chasing Champions League qualification.
Ahead of the clash at Anfield, we analyse the battle between two of the top-flight’s standout defensive midfielders.
Liverpool’s metronome
Defensive does not always mean aggressive and Fabinho is the perfect example.
The Brazilian’s aggression largely comes through his positioning and his constant cutting out of opposition’s passing lanes.
He averages 2.06 interceptions per 90, which is the most of any Liverpool player to play 900 Premier League minutes or more this term.
Once he has won the ball, the 28-year-old strikes the perfect balance between quickness and composure, to set the tempo and start attacks for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
Fabinho has been getting involved higher up the pitch recently, more than doubling his Reds tally with five goals since the turn of the year — including the winner at Burnley last month.
West Ham’s talisman
An integral part of England’s run to the Euro 2020 final, Rice has carried his strong summer showing into the current campaign.
And to label West Ham’s vice-captain purely as a defensive midfielder does him something of a disservice — he seems to become more complete by the match.
Possessing laser-guided precision, Rice’s passing accuracy of 91.09% places him third among midfielders with 900 Premier League minutes or more under their belts this term. That is just behind team-mate Manuel Lanzini (92.23%) and Manchester City’s Rodri (91.66%).
Rice is also an elite ball carrier and rampaging runs forward are a prominent feature of his game.
That is highlighted by the fact he has accumulated 4,877 progressive yards this season — the most of any midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues.
The glue that holds it all together
Speaking in January, Klopp lauded Fabinho’s “incredible” ability and highlighted how he holds the whole Liverpool side together.
He said: “If you want to win because you are the better team you need stability. How good is Fabinho? The quality he has is absolutely incredible.
“If he is at his best, and is in the centre of that pitch, yes that’s then very, very helpful because then you can think about a lot of other things.”
Ultimately, Fabinho makes life a lot easier for the Merseysiders — as was evidenced by their struggles when he had to fill in at centre-back, amid their defensive injury crisis last season.
England’s next £100million man?
Naturally for a young player on his trajectory, Rice has been linked with a big move away from the London Stadium.
And rumours of a transfer to Manchester United have only intensified following recent comments from the 23-year-old star.
Speaking after West Ham’s 1-0 defeat to the Red Devils in January, he said: “I was loving it. Every time I come to Old Trafford, I’ve always said it’s one of my favourite places to play. It’s an amazing stadium.”
Was this Rice’s way of hinting that he wants to leave West Ham this summer? Perhaps.
In any case, this evening gives him another opportunity to put on a show against one of the very best teams on the planet and further justify his reported £100million price tag.
In the thick of it
On a pitch brimming with quality on both sides, Fabinho vs Rice could well be the most intriguing individual contest of all.
With his elite powers of interception, Fabinho will look to neutralise Rice’s pass mastery — and vice versa.
Victory is a collective accomplishment, of course. But if either team comes out on top, they are bound to owe much to their respective maestro in the middle of the park.
