The right-sided eight: Szoboszlai's role in Liverpool's midfield

The role in plain terms

A right-sided number eight is one of the two central midfielders who play ahead of, or alongside, a holding player in a three-man midfield. The number is inherited from an older era of fixed shirt numbers, and it survives as shorthand for a midfielder who is neither the deepest organiser nor the furthest-forward creator, but the connector between them.

The right-sided version of the job is shaped by what happens around it. On that flank a team usually has a winger who holds the touchline, a full-back who may push high or step inside, and a good deal of grass between the two. The eight fills that grass. In possession the role means occupying the half-space — the vertical channel between the winger and the centre of the pitch — receiving on the half-turn and either playing forward or drawing a defender out of position. Out of possession it means leading pressure on the opposition's left-sided defenders and recovering the space a high full-back has vacated.

It is a running role before it is a passing role. The physical demand is repeated high-intensity work in both directions, which is why the position tends to be filled by players comfortable covering long distances rather than by pure playmakers.

Where it came from

The modern eight emerged from the decline of the flat midfield four and the rise of three-man central units in a 4-3-3. Once teams began defending high and pressing as a unit, the old distinction between a defensive and an attacking midfielder became less useful than a distinction between the player who screens the back line and the two who shuttle either side of him.

Liverpool are one of the clubs most associated with that structure, and Szoboszlai's route into it runs through the Red Bull network, where he played for Red Bull Salzburg before RB Leipzig. Those clubs built their identity on aggressive ball-oriented pressing and rapid vertical attacking, which asks midfielders to defend forwards — to attack the ball high up the pitch rather than drop and hold shape. A player developed in that environment arrives with the pressing habits the role assumes.

Tottenham's own tactical history has followed a similar arc at times, moving between compact counter-attacking setups and high-line, high-pressing approaches. The precise system either club will use in any given meeting is not something that can be stated in advance here.

How it works today

Three mechanisms define the job as it is played now.

The first is rest defence. When a side commits its full-backs forward, the moment the ball is lost the pitch behind them is open. The right-sided eight is typically the player expected to slide across and cover that lane, either delaying the counter-attack or fouling to stop it. This is unglamorous work that rarely shows up in a highlights package but determines whether a high defensive line is viable at all.

The second is the third-man run. Because opposition defenders track the winger and the striker, the midfielder arriving late from deep is often the least-watched player in the sequence. Runs from the half-space into the penalty area — timed to arrive after the cross or cutback rather than before it — are a designed output of the role, not improvisation.

The third is positional interchange. Modern eights are asked to rotate: dropping into the full-back position when the full-back inverts, pushing to the touchline when the winger comes inside, or stepping into a number ten position when the team needs an extra body between the lines. Szoboszlai has been used across several of these positions, including in wider and more advanced roles, and that flexibility is part of why the role suits him.

In a fixture between two clubs that both, at various points, have pressed high and attacked at speed, the eight becomes a pivot point. Whichever side wins the second ball in central midfield tends to dictate whether the game is played in long, controlled possessions or in end-to-end transitions.

What people get wrong about it

The most common error is judging an eight the way you would judge a ten. Goals and assists are the visible outputs of attacking midfield play, but they are not what the role is primarily built to produce. A midfielder whose main contribution is starting a press that forces a turnover forty yards from goal has done the job even if the sequence is credited to someone else.

A second misunderstanding is treating positional flexibility as indecision about a player's best position. In practice, a squad benefits from having a midfielder who can fill more than one slot, and being moved around is often a function of what the team needs on a given day rather than a verdict on the player.

A third is the assumption that the eight is chiefly a defensive compromise. The role is defensive in the sense that it defends space, but the space it defends is chosen to enable attacking risk elsewhere. Remove the covering eight and the high full-back becomes unaffordable.

Finally, in the specific case of a Liverpool–Tottenham meeting, search interest tends to cluster around individual names. Google search data from Great Britain shows queries for Szoboszlai appearing alongside terms such as "Liverpool vs Tottenham" and "Liverpool F.C.", which reflects attention rather than any tactical significance in itself.

Where to look next

Anyone wanting to understand the role better should watch a full match without following the ball, tracking one midfielder for fifteen minutes at a time. The patterns — when he presses, when he holds, where he stands when his team has the ball on the far side — become visible almost immediately and are invisible in highlights.

Beyond that, coaching literature on the 4-3-3 and on positional play explains the half-space concept properly, and Premier League and club media both publish tactical breakdowns of specific phases. For the fixture itself, the two clubs meet twice in each league season, home and away, with any cup meetings determined by draw; official competition sites carry the scheduling rules that govern when those matches are played.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dominik Szoboszlai?

Dominik Szoboszlai is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Liverpool. He came through the Red Bull club network, playing for Red Bull Salzburg and then RB Leipzig in Germany before his confirmed move to the Premier League. He is an established Hungary international. He is most frequently described as a central midfielder, though he has been used in wider and more advanced positions as well.

What is a right-sided number eight in football?

It is one of two central midfielders positioned either side of a holding player in a three-man midfield, operating on the right. The job combines pressing the opposition's build-up, receiving the ball in the channel between the right winger and the centre of the pitch, covering space behind an advanced right-back, and making late runs into the penalty area from deep positions.

How often do Liverpool and Tottenham play each other?

In the Premier League the two clubs meet twice each season, once at each club's ground, as every side plays every other home and away. Additional meetings can occur in the FA Cup or the EFL Cup, but those depend entirely on the draw and on both clubs progressing. European meetings are possible in principle but are similarly dependent on qualification and draws.

Why is Liverpool against Tottenham considered a tactical test?

Both clubs have, in different periods, built their play around pressing high, defending with an advanced line and attacking quickly in transition. When two teams with those instincts meet, the midfield becomes contested territory and the space behind the full-backs on both sides becomes the decisive area. How each side protects that space, and who wins loose balls in the centre, tends to frame the contest.

Does the number eight role still mean anything in modern football?

The shirt number itself no longer indicates a position, since squad numbers are allocated by club rather than by role. The label survives as coaching shorthand for the shuttling central midfielder in a three, and it remains useful because it describes a distinct set of duties: pressing, connecting, covering the flank behind a high full-back, and arriving late in the box.

Sources and further reading

• Google Trends data for Great Britain, which reports the search terms clustering around this subject.
• Premier League official publications, for competition structure, fixture scheduling and squad-number rules.
• Official club channels at Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, for confirmed squad and transfer announcements.
• Coaching literature and broadcast tactical analysis on the 4-3-3, positional play and half-space occupation.