Lucas v Henderson: Who should anchor Liverpool against Newcastle?

With Lucas Leiva suspended for Liverpool’s home game against Crystal Palace, Brendan Rodgers called on the services of Jordan Henderson to take the Brazilian’s place in midfield. Liverpool’s jack of all trades gave an impressive performance in the role, which has given Brendan Rodgers a selection dilemma ahead of Saturday’s game against Newcastle.

Henderson has been putting in solid performances for Liverpool all season, with most of his appearances coming on the right side of midfield, or as a right wing-back. Lucas has been the preferred option to play alongside the Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, in a pairing that Rodgers had seemed reluctant to break up until his hand was forced by Lucas’ suspension.

Luckily for the purposes of this article, it’s easy to compare the two players and what they bring to the side, as they were involved in games against similar opponents in Liverpool’s last two games.

Lucas played the holding role in Liverpool’s 3-1 win away at Sunderland, whilst Henderson stepped in for the home game against Crystal Palace which also finished 3-1. In both games Liverpool lined up in their 3-5-2, or 3-4-1-2 formation, with similar personnel in the other areas of the pitch for both games.

If we look at the positioning of the two players in these two games, you can begin to see the subtle differences you get from them when they’re asked to do the same job.

Jordan Henderson spent just over 13% of his time on the pitch in the attacking third of midfield, and when you compare this with Lucas’ 7.23%, you can see the data suggests that one of these players is more comfortable in the advanced areas.

Henderson’s ventures forward could be down to the fact that his chance in this midfield role came in a home game, where he might have had more licence to roam than Lucas did in the game away to Sunderland. Even so, we’ll take a risk and discard the statistics for a second, and say that, of the pair, Henderson looks the one who’s more comfortable in attacking positions.

Turning to the defensive part of the role, it seems obvious that Brendan Rodgers has asked the players in this position to attempt to win the ball back higher up the pitch during certain phases of the game.

As a result of this, we’ve often seen Lucas being dragged out of position as he attempts to press into the opposition half to win the ball back. If the ball is won, the tactic works well, but it can leave the defence exposed if the opposition manage to escape this high press.

Much of the criticism of Lucas during games this season seems to come from the fact he’s often out of position, and putting in careless tackles high up the pitch. This might also be the reason he’s racked up so many cards so early in the season, but it’s obviously a job he’s being instructed by his manager to do at certain times in a game.

Henderson was asked to press similarly when he played in the position, and for someone who has become Liverpool’s engine wherever he plays, it’s a role which he relished.

Henderson won five of the seven tackles he attempted against Crystal Palace, with three of these occurring in the opposition half.

In the game at Sunderland, Lucas attempted four tackles and won two, and again the fact that half of these tackles were in the opposition half, back up the idea that Liverpool want to force the issue without the ball, rather than wait for the opposition to come onto them.

Whilst Lucas might be considered the more defensive of the two, the tackling statistics suggest that Henderson is just as adept at the defensive side of the game, and that he relishes the opportunity to win the ball back for his side as much as he enjoys keeping it in attack.

As there are phases of the game when Liverpool try to force the issue in defence, there are also times in a game when Liverpool will attempt to keep possession for a prolonged period of time. Attempt being the key word here.

When the manager calls for a spell of ball-hogging, you need a holding midfield player who can give and receive the ball under pressure, whilst also having the vision to feed the attacking players should the opportunity arise.

Lucas has become a master of the short passing game, as he patiently plays the ball around between centre backs, full-backs, his midfield partner, and occasionally to any attacker who drops deep.

With a pass success percentage of 89%, he lies joint second in the team overall, behind centre back Martin Skrtel (91%), and alongside Mamadou Sakho (also 89%). You can largely discount the centre backs from these statistics though – Jamie Carragher lead the team last season with 92% of his passes reaching their target!

Whilst most of Lucas’ passing during a game may seem short and simple, it’s worth watching him next time to see how many passes he’ll play into the feet of a forward. As the graphic below shows, the majority of Lucas’ passes are forward thinking.

Henderson’s pass accuracy for the season comes in at 83%, but in his midfield appearance against Crystal Palace he completed an impressive 92% of his passes.

Neither player has an assist so far this season, but something which may come as a surprise is that Jordan Henderson is second in the Liverpool squad when it comes to chances created, with 9 overall, just behind Steven Gerrard on 10, with Lucas trailing in the distance on 3.

These are just a few of the many factors which Brendan Rodgers might be considering when it comes to picking who will play in this position on Saturday. Liverpool won their last outing at St James’ Park by six goals to nil, so in a game where Liverpool will look to dominate similarly, the slightly more attacking Henderson might be the better option.

With Lucas having played 90 minutes for Brazil in midweek, thousands of miles away in China, it might make sense to rest him for a game which comes early on Saturday, leaving the door open for the much improved Henderson to cement a first team place.