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A winter break was decided by the FA, Premier League and EFL in June 2018.

The change imposed was supposed to benefit clubs such as Liverpool, but since the Reds took a step back from the pitch before returning, they haven't quite been the same.

Jurgen Klopp's outfit have played 360 minutes of football in all competitions since the winter hiatus, but have only led for 24 of them.

The Anfield club haven't been as fluid as usual, but the sluggish performances have also stemmed from the tactics used by opposing teams.

Norwich, Atletico Madrid, West Ham and Watford seems a fairly easy run on paper, but once considering the stylistic nature of those sides, it becomes relatively clear why the Reds have struggled.

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Three of those four have deployed situational back six formations as a means of ensuring that Liverpool are limited offensively at the business end of the pitch.

Watford in particular managed to cause Klopp's men serious problems both with an without the ball.

Nigel Pearson used a generic 4-2-3-1 formation but once the league leaders advanced towards the final third, Watford's wide players consistently tracked the movements of Liverpool's deeper runners, forming the shape pictured below.

The 6-3-1 allowed the Hornets to block the centre while also restricting the likes of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold on the flanks.

David Moyes had a similar idea one week earlier. The Hammers boss seemed to instruct his players to track back to form a compact block that catered for the threats of Liverpool's full-backs.

Days earlier, Atleti defeated the Reds 1-0 in Spain. 6-3-1 wasn't used by Diego Simeone, but his 4-4-2 often morphed into a back six because of the defensive nature of his wide midfielders.

The concept is simple and very conservative but it does seem to have caused Klopp's team problems since the winter break.

A somewhat languid version of Liverpool have been tasked with breaking down defensive units that can stretch to cover the full width of the pitch without channels opening up for players to dart into.

Ultimately, it's an issue that the world champions will have to overcome very quickly, especially considering Simeone's outfit travel to Anfield next week for the second leg of the Champions League knockout tie.