May as well say
Ed/Eddie---Auba/Martinelli
for CF and LW respectively, no?
I think Art might see Partey as a Fernandinho-type role, but honestly I'm not sure. If we had both Xhaka and Partey I'd be tempted to play a double pivot and become a more defensive team than we are necessarily imagining.
-----------------Leno
Bellerin--Saliba--Gabriel--Tierney
------------Partey--Xhaka
----------------Ceballos
Pepe-----------Jovic-----Aubameyang
You're basically playing 3 finishers ahead of a press-breaking midfield/defense designed to win the ball in their own half, rather than higher up like 'pool or City, build quickly from the back and spring the forwards with a ball through the lines or an overload switch. It's a cup team that needs a tweak to beat the 'smaller' clubs, like pushing Partey or Xhaka forward (or dropping one) and adding the likes of Willian, Saka, Willock, or a new player like Buendia, Aouar, or Grealish to hit some one-twos and break through packed defenses in more of a 433.
Between Xhaka, Partey, and Tierney you can make sure you've got 3+2 back at any given time, with other 5 pushing up.
He could be going for a purer 433 with Partey/Xhaka as a sort of Fernandinho/Rodri equivalent. Hard to predict. Either way I expect we'll end up with something that looks like a double-pivot quite frequently, whether by design or out of necessity. Klopp has relied on it quite a bit for what it's worth, and Pep's equivalent tactic is to sacrifice a forward and play a false 9 to pack the area between the lines where his teams are more comfortable.
