There’s no rest for the wicked. Liverpool play their fourth game in the space of eleven days as they travel to the Bet365 Stadium to face a struggling Stoke City. With his side just three points off the drop zone after a third of the season, Mark Hughes has come under severe criticism from the Stoke faithful and as we enter the period of fixture congestion, he will be desperate to pick up some much needed points, especially at home.
It is vital that the Reds keep picking up the points themselves though and with draws against Watford, Burnley and Newcastle already this season, Liverpool can ill-afford too many more points dropped against sides outside the top six.
So how strong will Jurgen Klopp go? Here’s my predicted XI:
SIMON MIGNOLET
Clearly, Mignolet will start between the sticks.
JOE GOMEZ
While Stoke are no longer the horrible long-ball team that they became known for under Tony Pulis, defensive solidity is always handy in away Premier League matches which is why I think he will opt for Gomez ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold. I can foresee Trent getting starts in both the match against Spartak Moscow and the following Wednesday against West Brom but it’s Gomez for me for these two away games.
JOEL MATIP
Having put in a reasonably good performance against Chelsea on Saturday and with Lovren’s struggles well-documented, I expect Joel Matip to play this one.
RAGNAR KLAVAN
Ragnar Klavan really shouldn’t be playing as many games for Liverpool as he does. However, with Nathaniel Clyne out, the reality is that he is the third choice centre-half with Gomez considered a right-back for the time being. With Lovren and Matip seemingly always missing matches through illness or slight knocks, Klavan will play a lot more matches than expected.
ALBERTO MORENO
After his nightmare in Seville, Alberto Moreno redeemed himself with a superb performance against Chelsea on Saturday. Andy Robertson has played a lot less football than we all expected this season but that will have been mainly down to the generally good form of the Spaniard. With plenty of mid-week matches on the horizon, the position will surely be rotated between the two but for this one, I see no reason to change.
EMRE CAN
Jordan Henderson has played a lot of football and it’s starting to show with his performances on the field. Klopp confirmed in his press conference that Emre Can is fit again and it would make sense for him to play as the deep-lying midfielder for this one.
GINI WIJNALDUM
With a very attacking front four, Wijnaldum’s link play will come in very handy for this one. Fresh after being on the bench against Chelsea, the Dutchman is expected to replace James Milner for this one. Away form with Wijnaldum is always an issue but hopefully with a lot of last season’s team around him, he can recapture last season’s form.
ADAM LALLANA
Philippe Coutinho has looked leggy of late and with Lallana’s gradual return to the team after a long lay-off, it seems the perfect opportunity to throw him back in. His return will be a massive boost to everyone around him and even in a short cameo on Saturday, you could see what Liverpool have missed in his pressing and technical ability.
MOHAMED SALAH
Salah looked extremely tired towards the end of the match on Saturday and surely a rest is in order for the Egyptian talisman at some point. However, three points are desperately required in a tricky fixture on Wednesday evening and Salah is a very good athlete so I can’t see him being dropped for this one, despite a relatively good performance from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain against Chelsea.
ROBERTO FIRMINO
Klopp confirmed in his press conference on Tuesday afternoon that Firmino will start this one. Along with Lallana in midfield, Liverpool will look to bring back the infamous press of the first half of last season and create opportunities by winning the ball high up the pitch.
SADIO MANE
With Mane visibly and understandably annoyed with his playing time on Saturday evening, he will have a point to prove when he starts against Stoke, as confirmed by Klopp this afternoon.
