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Adam Lallana will have a key role to play when Liverpool face Watford on Super Sunday, according to tactical expert Danny Higginbotham. The Reds head into the weekend level on points with leaders Manchester City and second-placed Arsenal, and they will be looking to extend an 11-game unbeaten run when they welcome the Hornets to Anfield. Liverpool vs Watford November 6, 2016, 1:30pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Their front three of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho and Sadio Mane have gained plenty of plaudits in recent weeks, but Higginbotham feels Lallana could be even more important. Everyone is talking about Liverpools front three and rightly so, but Id say theres a little more to them than that, he told Sky Sports. I think Lallana is key as well.The former Southampton star has scored three goals and claimed three assists in nine Premier League starts so far this season, and Higginbotham believes his clever runs from deep could help Jurgen Klopps side exploit gaps in Watfords three-man defence. Football Score Centre app Sky Sports customers can watch goals and highlights during Arsenal v Tottenham at no extra cost. Higginbotham shows how Lallana could get in behind Watfords defence This game is going to be interesting because what Liverpool are going to come up against is more than likely a back three, he said. I wouldnt be surprise if we saw Coutinho and Mane starting that little bit wider, trying to drag the two wide centre-backs out with them.At the same time, Firmino will drop that little bit deeper himself, which will then will create space for Lallana to get himself forward.This season, Higginbotham believes Lallana has been freed up to join the attack by the more defensively-minded midfielders behind him. Lallana has a big part to play for Liverpool against Watford, says Higginbotham Its a real team effort, he said. [Jordan] Henderson and [Emre] Can - or [Georginio] Wijnaldum if hes playing - play in a box shape with the centre-backs. It means that both of those players are happy to go into full-back areas to make sure they are nice and compact when going forward. It gives Lallana licence to go forward.The movement of the front three, with Lallana joining in and the insurance of having the two sitting midfielders behind them, is fantastic. Its absolutely brilliant to watch and its shown by the goals that are coming from different areas of the pitch. Klopp: EL exit could help Utd Jurgen Klopp says Manchester United could be helped by going out of Europe. Liverpool are heavy favourites for the win, but Watford beat them 3-0 at Vicarage Road last season and Walter Mazzarris side are on a four-game unbeaten run of their own.Higginbotham believes Liverpools defensive midfielders - particularly Henderson - will have to be switched on to the threat posed by Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo. Jordan Henderson will have to pay close attention to Troy Deeney, according to Higginbotham Everyone talks about Watfords succession of changing managers, but one thing that doesnt change is Deeney and Ighalo, he said.What happened last season was that, when you had Ighalo and Deeney up front, it was near enough two-for-two. The midfielders for Liverpool were pushed that little bit higher up the pitch, so what would happen is the centre-backs were pulled forward and there was space for Ighalo to run into. Watch NOW TV Watch Sky Sports for just ?￡6.99. No contract. What I think were going to see now from Liverpool - and they did it very well last week with Christian Benteke - is Henderson sitting on Deeney, which means [Joel] Matip can stay in his area, so that space we talked about is not going to be there.Liverpool are going to have a lot of the ball and Watford are probably going to play on the counter-attack, look to play long to Deeney and get Ighalo in behind. Thats where Can and Henderson are going to be key. Key battle: Firmino v Kaboul We look at the key battle in Liverpools clash with Watford on Super Sunday. Liverpool are fantastic going forward, but theyve got to be at their best defensively as well if Watford play a little bit longer.Despite the threat posed by Watfords front two, however, Higginbotham is predicting a Liverpool victory.I think Liverpool are going to be very difficult to stop, he said. I think there are going to be goals. Ill go for a Liverpool 3-1 win. Also See: Sky live: Liverpool v Watford Henderson on pressing Cheap Avalanche Jerseys .A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. Colorado Avalanche Pro Shop . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . Anor had not scored since getting his first two goals of the season vs. Philadelphia on March 22 but struck with laser precision from distance in the 56th and 75th minutes. Montreal (3-10-5) lost its third straight and Impact coach Frank Klopas said it literally was a case of his players not stepping up. Colorado Avalanche Shirts . -- Nelson Cruz has only two hits in 15 at-bats against the Kansas City Royals this season. Colorado Avalanche Gear . Leaning forward with both hands on his knees, Buffon appeared to be resting or somehow trying to withstand the rain. Or perhaps the 36-year-old goalkeeper and Italy captain was reflecting on this: He is only the third player in history to be part of five World Cup squads, along with Germany great Lothar Matthaus and former Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal.MIAMI -- History would suggest they did everything right. Oops. Since LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh teamed up for the "Big 3" era with the Miami Heat, there had been some absolute truths when it came to their home playoff games. When they shot at least 48 per cent, they were 18-0. When they made at least 10 shots from 3-point range, they were 12-0. And in this post-season, they were a perfect 8-0 in their building. No more. On any count. No Miami miracle this time, either. A blowout got interesting for a few minutes, but in the end, it wound up as a blowout -- and the road to a third straight NBA championship for the Heat got considerably tougher. Down by a staggering 25 points at one point in the first half, the Heat whittled their way within single digits. But they never got all that close to the San Antonio Spurs and wound up falling 111-92 in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night. The Spurs lead the series 2-1, and need only to hold serve at home to end Miamis reign as NBA champions. "What it feels like is the finals," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And you have to deal with all the emotions there are in the finals -- frustration, anger, pain, elation, all of it, and it can swing back and forth. Its a long series. We have to be able to manage this and it starts with tomorrow, owning it. Thatll be the process we all have to go through together." James and Wade each scored 22 points, Bosh didnt miss a shot, they connected on 52 per cent of their tries from the floor, and they still got drilled. Rashard Lewis scored 14, Ray Allen had 11 and Bosh had only nine -- getting just four shots in 34 minutes. "We will get better from tonight," James said. "We hate the performance that we put on. But its 2-1. Its not 4-1. Its 2-1, and we have to make some adjustments, come in and learn from our mistakes as we always do after a loss." So far, these finals are just like the 2013 version: Spurs win Game 1. Heat win Game 2. Spurs blow Heat out in Game 3. Only this time, Miami doesnt have the luxury of potentially having a Game 7 at home. "We have to take this one oon the chin," Bosh said.dddddddddddd"We are kidding ourselves if were going to win a championship with that kind of effort, home or away." Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with 29 points. Danny Green and Tony Parker each scored 15 for San Antonio and Tim Duncan added 14 for the Spurs. The signs of trouble for the Heat were obvious from the get-go. James had 14 points in the early going, and Miami was still down by seven. The Heat gave up 41 points in the first quarter, defence nowhere to be found. At one point in the second quarter, it was Spurs 55, Heat 30. That matched the largest deficit Miami has faced at home at any point in the Big 3 era, tied only with the 25-point lead Oklahoma City held over the Heat during this regular season. The numbers were absurd. Out of San Antonios first 21 shots, the Spurs missed two. Yes, two. They were shooting 91 per cent for the game at one point in the second quarter. They made 11 straight shots in one stretch. They had the best-shooting first half by any NBA team since ... well, them, more than three years ago against Detroit. "That will never happen again," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I mean, thats crazy." Predictably, the Heat locker room was not the worlds happiest place at halftime, with Miami down 71-50. "We had every conversation," Allen said. "We yelled at each other. We encouraged each other. We went through a range of emotions trying to find a spark." A spark, they found. But they needed an inferno. Miami got within seven in the second half, and the 19,900 white-clad fans in the building had to be thinking of the ridiculous finals comeback last season against the Spurs. The Heat were down by five with 28.2 seconds left in Game 6, then rallied to not just save the game, but save their title hopes. "We knew they were going to make a run," Duncan said. Thats all it was, just a run. The outcome was never really in doubt. And the building was just about empty when the final buzzer sounded. "Little frustration," Wade said. "But thats the nature of the playoffs. Its not always good." ' ' '
