And speaking of Deadpool 2...
The Marvel showdown
Not, it's not gonna be Deadpool versus Wolverine. Or even Deadpool versus Cable for that matter. Rather, we have Le Professeur X going against Weasel. Please rest assured that Deadpool will not be involved.
Recently, the heat has been turned up quite a bit. Dejan "not Louvre" Lovren claimed that either him, the X-Force team, or both will have more than enough superhero powers to stop Cristiano "O Sete" Ronaldo. As the result, the Portuguese word for seven burned him like a Russel Collins.
So will it be a case of Louvre versus Sete?
As tempting as it sounds for John to say yes, the answer isn't that straightforward. Let's take a look at the two teams' preferred formation. Namely, that most Marvelous 4-3-3. Be it Le Professeur X or Weasel, it's always 4-3-3. However, there's a decisive difference between their respective 4-3-3.
3 holding mids versus the closest guy to Colossus
#RoboKlopp favours a 3 holding mids approach. While this didn't work out well initially, the team soon grew into it. While it's anybody's guess on whether the likes of James "not the brother of John" Milner and Emre "yes, he can" Can will start, John won't be surprised if Le Professeur X will have an eye on how his opposite number plays his middle 3. By John's estimation, however, Milner will start the game. Because there's not much choice for #RoboKlopp when it comes to linking up play from the back. Alex "North Korea got #RocketMan, Anfield got #RocketOx" Oxlade-Chamberlain is currently not available since he's still recuperating in the FICU (i.e. Footballers' Intensive Care Unit, not some kind of vulgarity).
Assuming Milner starts, #RoboKlopp will be better equipped to deal with C.R Sete. The reason why being that it'd be easier for Liverpool to hold the fort. Instead of the classic four by two approach first made famous by the Germans, #TeamRoboKop will be operating a four by three instead. After all, seven is better than six when it comes to numbers. Needless to say, Milner's role will be to slow down play and pass it long. Not exactly the hardest thing to do in the same way firing a plasma rifle is as easy as ABC to Cable.
As for Le Professeur X, he's got the closest guy to a man of steel. Not some Clark or Piotr, but this amigo.
If Le Professeur X is to win it twice in a row, he will need Casemiro at the top of his game. As the lone defensive anchor, he has to grapple with the deadly three coming from #TeamRoboKop. This may effectively be the closest thing to Colossus going up against Juggernaut. While Colossus is effectively reduced to a comic relief role in the Deadpool movies, seeing the same thing happening to Casemiro would be disastrous. Last season, he was one of the two heroes breaching the Roman fortress of Turin (the other being who else but C.R Sete himself). This time around, Le Professeur X will need his Colossus more than ever.
Marvel+Star Wars=Oddest couple ever
It's like pairing Qi'ra with Deadpool (definitely NOT a wookie because PETA will declare war on someone who is never an otter named John in the first place). It has to be the most absurd pairing of them all. Then again, perhaps George "not Lonesome George" Lucas and Stan "not the Singaporean Mr Lee" Lee will eventually do a crossover of Marvel and Star Wars. Who knows? After all, there's this company by the name of Walt Disney. Before that, however, Le Professeur X has his very own Marvel-Star Wars partnership.
The video indicates someone by the name of Luka "he passes the ball with the power of the Force" Modrić. The picture indicates someone by the name of Toni "he passes the ball with the power of a repulsor beam" Kroos. Let's just call them Luka Skywalker and Toni Stark for now.
Unless something happens, John won't be surprised if Luka Skywalker and Toni Stark will start the game. An interesting question would be how high either or both will play in the name of passing the ball. To make the most out of the attacking wide players while forcing back the Liverpool backline, Le Professeur X needs his Stark-Skywalker duo to string their passes asap instead of just trying to slow down the tempo first. In fact, slowing down the tempo will be inviting the likes of Mohamed "not the Malay version of Salah" Salah, Roberto "the Brazillian Baggio (?)" Firmino, and Sadio "Mané the man" Mané to zerg Casemiro like a pack of wolves tearing into a lone musk ox. #TeamRoboKop may have realised its own attacking potential because John won't be surprised if #RoboKlopp discovered a tactical magic formula of his own. By having three attacking players both fast and furious, #TeamRoboKop can afford to have a gap the size of the Pacific Ocean between the attacking three and back seven. So long the likes of Louvre and Dijk can hold their ground, it should give the attacking trio more than enough time to track back. And once this happens, #TeamRoboKop can easily reorganise and do what #RoboKlopp does best: Die Gegenpress.
Verdict:
Los Blancos will have a hard fight up in their hands. Yes, this sounds like what Sergio "one half of the Super Sergio Bros" Ramos said. But the opposition is a different kind of brigade altogether. Whether it's the Franks from Paris, the Romans from Turin, or the Teutons from Bavaria, none of them boasts the kind of top gear aggression the Anglo Saxons from Merseyside are having right now. Favouring a lone defensive mid means Le Professeur X must deploy Toni Stark and Luka Skywalker closer to Casemiro. To play a compact four by three by which a fast passing game can be done may well be the most ideal way to win it twice in a row. Otherwise, chances are that the greatest prize in continental football (apart from the Euro Cup) will be sailing across the sea and making its home in a city which got Jeremy "double confirm even more top gear than Xiaxue" Clarkson into more trouble since the Mexican Maserati saga. Also, Liverpool tends to do better against attacking teams favouring the continental approach. Pep definitely wasn't amused by that.
And... Peter?
You really have to feel sorry for the initial batch of Deadpool Corps. All of them died a horrible death apart from Domino. You have someone vomiting acid, a tribute to Hollow Man, a black guy, and someone who is... well, homosexual (this is not some sick joke. Shatterstar is really a homosexual). All of them died a horrible death. And that includes Peter. And speaking of Peter, there's another Peter. Before that, let us all take a look at the new gaffer of Les Gunners.
It is NOT John's fault if El Emerytes looks weirdly like Peter Paul Wisdom. Now it must be stated the appointment of El Emerytes wasn't exactly the name getting Les Gooners pumped up. In fact, John won't be surprised if the white half of North London are sniggering right now. After all, Mauricio "five more years of sipping his cappuccino in London" Pochettino has signed a five-year extension.
So is El Emerytes the right man for the job? It must be stated that while he boasts an impressive CV in Spain, he's not exactly the most successful amigo beyond the Iberian peninsula. Spartak Moscow was a disaster while PSG wasn't the best way to prove himself on the global stage. Simply put, Les Gunners were taking a gamble on a talented bloke yet to prove his worth on the global stage. However, it seems that he's someone who can truly do his best with lesser teams. No disrespect intended, but Almeria, Valencia, and Sevilla can never be Real Madrid or Barcelona. And this is where the biggest question lies: Can Arsenal be now considered a top team compared to the likes of the two Manchester teams, Chelsea, and even Tottenham? You can't blame the Gooners for having a prolonged sense of "we could have done better" ever since Sir A.Fergie succeeded in turning the tables on Le Professeur post-Les Invincibles.
John will only touch on one area. That's because a migraine is coming like winter itself.
The central midfield may be one that El Emerytes will want to look at. It doesn't matter whether it's 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. Les Gunners aren't known for being guns of steel. Instead, they have the tendency to be cannons made of glass. A strong central midfield, however, can go a long way. After all, the central midfield can be seen as the spine connecting the pelvis (i.e. backline) to the head (i.e. attack). In fact, a compact midfield triangle may help. To make this work, however, El Emerytes will need to ask what kind of wide attackers he wants. A compact central midfield triangle would mean more emphasis on pace out wide. In particular, Mesut "Der Ottoman" Özil will want to prove his consistency. Özil's style tends to be more languid with his passes being the reason why he's such a talent. However, such player does have a higher tendency to be panned by Anglo Saxon critics as proven by Dimitar "Berb" Berbatov. If El Emerytes does decide to adopt a compact middle 3, it means Özil will have to work more for the ball due to tracking back more. In this case, the wide attackers and lone forward will have to do the same as well. This is to allow Özil his freedom to express himself on the pitch while making sure the team, on the whole, can be more combative compared to the previous regime.
Verdict:
The future of two players will be a topic of interest in the days, weeks, and months to come. Pierre-Emerick "not just Pierre" Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsey are the ones John is talking about. The former is big and fast enough, the latter is versatile enough to excel either as a holding mid or a no.10. Les Gunners are now in need of a more combative approach in the attack and midfield without compromising the continental DNA Le Professeur has instilled in them. It's up to El Emerytes to do that.
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