- Thanks to Simon Treanor, the author of our Liverpool By The Numbers series
Liverpool can move clear at the top of the Premier League with victory at home to Newcastle United on Monday night – though it’s hard to tell if numbers purists will be shouting for or against them.
On the one hand, nine of the Reds’ starting 11 has a number in the 1-11 category, with just numbers 6 and 10 missing.
On the other, the number of the highest player, Trent Alexander-Arnold’s 66, is just one short of the aggregate of the other ten players’ numbers.
The two missing players, Thiago Alcântara (6) and Alexis Mac Allister (10) would be likelier to start ahead of Curtis Jones (17).
However, the fact that both are midfielders – along with number 2 Joe Gomez slotting in at left-back due to injuries to both Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas – means that a 1-11 is likely to be elusive for Jürgen Klopp’s team this season.
They had some close calls in the recent past – in December 2018, they also managed nine of 11 at home to Manchester United.
Of course, the next time that a 1-11 appeared in the Premier League, it happened at Anfield – but for the visiting team.
