best players in dream league soccer 2020

But in Joe Gomez and Nathaniel Phillips, Klopp has two options who are aged 25 and about to enter what they will hope can be their respective peak years. There are no centre-backs at Liverpool who are currently in the peak corridor of age for a defender. In Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, the two 31-year-olds who started against Fulham (though Matip was 30 at the time - it was his birthday yesterday), Liverpool have two players no longer in what is considered to be their position’s prime years.īut what club would say no to starting Van Dijk every week? And can the same not be said for Matip? Age could be considered just a number when watching the duo regularly put in top-level performances.

In the shot-stopping department, headed up by John Achterberg, there’s a clear balance of youth and experience.Ĭentral defenders are, according to our data breakdown, at their best between their 25th year and the early months of their 28th. At the age of 23, Kelleher still has a couple of years before entering the years when goalkeepers are thought to perform at their best levels.Īnd who doesn’t have a veteran keeper on their books, just in case? Adrian is Liverpool’s and is fresh from helping them win the Community Shield at the age of 35 in what was only his second first-team appearance for the club in 18 months. If we break it down by position, and refer to The Athletic’s guide to when players in each position are at their peak, then in terms of goalkeepers, we see Liverpool are well-balanced.Īt 29, Alisson, who turns 30 on October 2, is about to exit the “prime” age for goalkeepers. The Fulham game was a week after the Community Shield against Manchester City, in which Liverpool fielded their oldest XI (an average of 29 years, 315 days) since 1953 (30 years, 39 days). The last time that happened for Liverpool in a Premier League game was against Southampton in February 1994. Jurgen Klopp’s side, who drew 2-2 with promoted Fulham at Craven Cottage, had six players aged 30 and over in their starting XI.

On the opening weekend of this new Premier League season, Liverpool fielded the team with the joint highest average age of the division’s 20 clubs (28.7 years, according to FBref - the same as Chelsea’s later the same afternoon).

Best players in dream league soccer 2020