Midfielder dropped against Man Utd and Arsenal; injury crisis has seen 19 players miss at least one game this term; Fabinho one of only eight first-team players not to suffer injury; watch Liverpool vs Leeds live on Sky Sports Premier League from 6.45pm on Saturday; kick-off 7.45pm
Saturday 29 October 2022 21:10, UK
Fabinho has been widely considered one of the leading No 6 midfielders on the planet for several years but appears to be struggling this season - the question is why?
It would be unfair to cast direct blame for Liverpool's lacklustre start to the season upon the Brazilian when a myriad of issues have contributed to stuttering form - including 19 players missing one game or more due to injury and fitness, merely three months into the campaign.
Liverpool have qualified for the Champions League knockout stages after beating Ajax 3-0 but sit three points shy of their upcoming opponents Napoli - and six goals behind on goal difference. In the Premier League, Jurgen Klopp's side are eighth with 16 points from 11 games - already 12 points behind leaders Arsenal.
Defensive issues and diminished midfield mettle have also contributed to the Reds' struggles. Fabinho was dropped from the starting line-up for the 2-1 defeat to Manchester United in August but returned to the side for the convincing 9-0 rebound win at Bournemouth five days later.
The midfielder lost his starting berth again in the 2-0 win over Rangers and, again, five days later, in the 3-2 defeat at Arsenal - before missing the 1-0 victory over West Ham last week.
In the Premier League, his game time equates to playing 76 per cent of available minutes, which, in fact, is his highest seasonal ratio in a Liverpool shirt to date - but the scale of Liverpool's injury issues raises questions about whether a dip in his performances have contributed to time on the bench.
Notably, the Reds have not switched back to a 4-3-3 starting formation since the 3-3 draw with Brighton, but the Brazil international has since been deployed in a 4-4-2 twice, in a much-debated 4-2-3-1 during the pulsating 1-0 win over Manchester City and in a 4-1-4-1 against Ajax this week.
In terms of partners across the midfield line, Harvey Elliott has been his most common comrade, followed by club captain Jordan Henderson and Thiago - but the combinations have largely failed to match Liverpool's customary intensity in that area.
So are Liverpool's issues purely down to injuries or has the Reds' famous midfield intensity dipped and become more penetrable?
Liverpool's famed pressing from the front has tailed off dramatically this season, with recoveries in the final third tumbling from 7.6 to 5.0 per game - equating to a 33 per cent dip. For context, Klopp's side ranked top of the division in this metric last season but have slipped to eighth this term.
With opponents beating that press, the midfielders have also failed to recover possession as frequently in the middle third this season, slipping from 29.1 to 26.6 per game.
These numbers suggest Liverpool are more penetrable in the final and middle thirds this season, which, working backwards, contributes to facing more shots and conceding more goals.
The graphic below visualises the dip in solidity, with red and white bands representing areas of low solidity. Last season, Liverpool were notably strong across all areas of the pitch, but have become far less solid outside the opposition's penalty area and across the entirety of their own half.
As a result, Liverpool have retreated on the pitch, too, playing on average around 2.3m deeper than last season - only Crystal Palace have retreated further.
The Reds' passing sequences averaged at a league-topping 45.47m from their own goal last term, but have dropped to 43.19m this season - now ranking fifth in the division, behind City, Leeds, Chelsea and Arsenal.
One theory is the dips have been caused by Liverpool's ageing side, which now ranks as the third-oldest in the Premier League with an average starting XI age of 28 years and 18 days - only Fulham and West Ham have older sides.
But the running stats suggest Liverpool hold up well. In fact, Klopp's side are covering 2km more per game than last season, when they took Manchester City to the final day and finished merely one point shy of Pep Guardiola's men on 92 points.
Fabinho has been pivotal in Liverpool's midfield since he joined from Monaco for £43.7m five seasons ago, but if losing midfield battles is a key factor behind Liverpool's drop-off, then his statistics would cause alarm - most notably a 30 per cent decline for interceptions and a 28 per cent dip for recoveries in the middle third.
The midfielder has patrolled the same areas of the pitch across both campaigns, primarily in the centre of a three-man midfield - clocking 556 league minutes in that role this season.
The Brazilian typically covered the entire middle third last season, box to box - almost stretching to the flanks. However, there is a stark change this term, with a similar spread of coverage but limited only to the right side - an area opposition sides have typically targeted further up the pitch.
Fabinho's defensive actions, marked with points in the graphic below, reveals a dearth of actions in the four areas he patrolled so heavily last term, left- and right-of-centre areas in the middle third of the pitch - albeit accounting for far fewer games played.
In terms of passing, the Brazilian is also primarily passing to centre-backs and full-backs this season, while his counterpart midfielders were among his top four passing targets last term - suggesting a more regressive approach during this campaign.
Drilling down deeper, the graphic below reveals a spike in passes made directly to his left and a dip in distribution upfield, with a general rise in backward passes.
Critics have often cited burnout for previous periods of poor form at Liverpool, dating back to when the Reds outran all opponents or when Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane clocked considerable game time for club and country without sustained breaks.
Since the start of last season, Fabinho has made 64 appearances for club and country in all competitions - starting 53 of those - which is almost on par with fellow workhorses Henderson and Andy Robertson.
Meanwhile, Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold have all started 60 or more games in that period.
Indeed, the running numbers suggest Fabinho is not suffering from physical fatigue, with distance averages surpassing his previous two campaigns - but registering a slight dip for sprints during that period.
Clearly, injury setbacks have partly derailed Liverpool's form, while formation changes have sought to patch deficiencies and nullify opponents' strengths. However, the famed front-foot approach wanes when the high line ebbs.
Conversely, forays upfield can be punished when the counter-press fails and defensive lines falter.
Fabinho's dips are largely symptomatic of the team's in general, but regaining the famed midfield intensity and restoring the front-foot press appear to be the key areas to address if Liverpool are to rekindle their sustained form of old.
Watch Liverpool vs Leeds live on Sky Sports Premier League from 6.45pm; kick-off 7.45pm
