Tonight, Liverpool take on Bournemouth in their first home game of the season in the hope of getting three points and gaining confidence ahead of some difficult fixtures to come. Below are five things to look out for.
A case for the defence
Last week against Stoke we were effective without being infectious, yet one strong point in our game was the quality of our defending.
Gomez looked solid, Lovren excelled and while Skrtel was OK, Clyne showed what he can do with confident positional play and promising overlapping of Ibe going forward. I expect the defence to stay the same, and I expect the manager to place a particular importance on building momentum for the team, starting with a solid back five.
The help of Milner and Henderson defending and attacking in partnership and Can (if he starts) will help keep undue pressure off the defence.
Benteke bouncing
Although it is only his second competitive game for the Reds, I do think Benteke will be looking to get off the mark, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he scored tonight. Bournemouth have played Villa this season, and whilst they are an OK team, their attacking threat is nothing compared with that what Liverpool offer, and any attention taken off Benteke will serve to help the striker gain a yard on the Bournemouth defence. I think he will look to bully and to harry the Bournemouth defenders, and as Skrtel can vouch for, he can be a very tricky customer.
Firmino’s full debut
The reason I’m so confident on Roberto Firmino making his full debut is that I think Rodgers will want to start the player away to Arsenal, a week today. Doing this will mean that Firmino will need to get his match fitness up to speed, and with him playing in the behind-closed-doors friendly against TNS earlier this week, (and scoring a hat-trick in the process) I think the stage is set for the new darling of Anfield to show what he can do. Plus, he will be another player to worry our newly promoted opposition.
Henderson growing into the armband
It is very easy to gear yourself up for a game against local rivals or fellow title contenders, but it is games that you should be winning that often slip through the net.
This should be at the forefront of Jordan Henderson’s mind as he captains the side for the first time at home under his official regime. Henderson will be looking to fire up his team mates and remind them of what is required this early on in the season. He should know, and Rodgers should have reminded him, that six points from six has only been done by three other teams in the league, and it is margins gained at any stage of the season that can be the difference between a title challenge, a top four place and obscurity. I expect our captain to be calm, composed and not shirk responsibility.
Substitutes’ bench making all the difference
Last week it was Emre Can who came on and made his presence felt, and this week who knows who it might be?
There’s a feeling amongst supporters right now that this is the strongest bench we have had at the club in a number of years, and if Bournemouth show up and give as good as they get, Ibe’s pace or Lallana’s trickery may be the difference between holding six points at the end of the night and holding four. We may not have the best starting XI in the league, but I do think we have one of the best squads, and that’s what makes us such a scary proposition for teams. And who knows, one of the players on tonight’s bench may well end up making a case for his inclusion in next week’s starting XI against Arsenal.
