Plymouth Argyle may have struck gold with double transfer | OneFootball

The centre half duo were outstanding in the Pilgrims' FA Cup triumph over Liverpool and could hold the key to Plymouth potentially staying up.

Plymouth Argyle’s January signings Nikola Katic and Maksym Talovierov could hold the key to the Pilgrims potentially finding a way to secure their survival in the Championship.

The centre half duo were outstanding in Sunday afternoon’s FA Cup victory, when Miron Muslic’s side pulled off a huge giant killing by knocking Liverpool out in the fourth round.

The Championship’s bottom club have conceded more goals than any other team in the entire EFL this season, but in the win over Liverpool the defensive duo of Katic and Talovierov looked imperious.

That isn’t the first time the pair of centre halves have impressed at Home Park, having helped Plymouth to victory over high-flying West Brom in the league last time out.

The Pilgrims may have struck gold with the signings of the two defenders, who look like they could potentially hold the key to their team’s second tier survival fight.

Katic and Talovierov were excellent again on Sunday

Plymouth have enjoyed a slight upturn in their form of late, which has potentially provided them with an outside chance of staying in the Championship for another season.

They had already been written off by many, but a draw at Sunderland, followed by victory over West Brom last time out, has cut the gap between them and 21st placed Hull City to just four points.

Given the recent performances of the duo, the signings of Katic and Talovierov look like they could make Plymouth a completely different proposition in the second half of the season.

The centre backs both arrived at Home Park on 31st January. Katic joined on a loan deal until the end of the season from Swiss side Zurich, while Talovierov was signed for a club record fee from LASK of the Austrian Bundesliga.

Muslic’s men have won both games that the pair have featured in so far, which suggests that they could play a vital role in helping to turn Argyle’s campaign around.

Katic, in particular, was superb in Sunday’s remarkable cup win over Arne Slot’s Liverpool, despite losing a tooth as a result of a collision with teammate Adam Randell in the game’s early stages.

The 28-year-old Bosnian made a phenomenal 17 clearances, 11 of them headed, as well as winning five duels in the 1-0 victory.

For the first time in a long while, Plymouth looked capable of showing the level of steel and resolve in their defensive play that will be needed if they are to drag themselves out of trouble.

Plymouth will have some huge games ahead of them

When you look at the games that are still to come in the remainder of the season, the Championship’s relegation battle could turn significantly on several occasions.

The run-in is littered with ‘six pointers’ at the foot of the table, meaning there is still plenty that could change between now and May.

As surprising as this would have been just a matter of weeks ago, Muslic’s men now have plenty of games where they could pick up enough points to save themselves from the drop.

In the remaining 16 matches of the campaign, the Pilgrims face all five of the sides who are currently directly above them. That includes three consecutive clashes with Luton, Cardiff and Hull respectively in the middle of February.

Alongside trips to Luton, Hull and Portsmouth, Plymouth will welcome Cardiff and Derby to Devon. Sunday’s victory has proven how Home Park can be a fortress at times, and it will need to be for those two games in particular.

All five of those ‘six pointers’ come between now and the middle of March, so Plymouth’s upturn in form couldn’t have come at a better moment.