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So, Sheffield United. Last season’s games against Chris Wilder’s team represented two of the defining moments of Liverpool’s campaign: a landslide and champion performance that surprised Wilder; a late-game result and eager to get out, which can often make the title race decisive.
Jürgen Klopp’s team will head to Sheffield this week after a tough and close midweek clash in the Champions League against Ajax. “We were good enough to win the game, that’s what you need,” he told BT Sport after the game. “I think both teams can play better football, it was pretty wild at times. I think the field was really tough, deep, a little muddy, both teams seemed really exhausted at first.”
The rotation could be in sight. The coach has some lingering injury concerns and must carefully manage his team’s fitness as we move into the hectic part of this always hectic season.
Keita in or Keita out? Matip or Fabinho? Should the front three be rotated? There are many questions to answer. Here, our writers offer their team picks before the start of Saturday afternoon.
Oliver connolly
4-3-3: Adrian; Trent Alexander-Arnold; Fabinho; Joe Gomez; Andy Robertson; Jordan Henderson; Naby Keita; Gini Wijnaldum; Mohamed Salah; Takumi Minamino; Sadio Mané.
I’m going 4-3-3 and I assume Thiago is not available, more out of a precaution than anything else. The back-five is resolved. Fabinho should keep his place until he offers a reason to think otherwise; He’s been so calm, so proactive at the back that, while he can’t make up for the loss of Van Dijk on his own, he has brought the kinds of skills that perfectly complement Gomez.
Higher up, I have moved Henderson to sixth to accommodate Naby Keita alongside Gini Wijnaldum. Keita should be available for selection after testing positive for COVID while on international duty. “We’re still learning, we’re all learning about this kind of thing when a child has no symptoms completely, which was Naby,” Klopp said this week. “Yesterday he looked really good in training, to be honest. But I don’t know how he looks today, how he reacted, that’s much more important then. Then we will see. At this point, I’d probably rather wait for him to participate, but I don’t know. ”
Klopp was with Curtis Jones ahead of Keita in Amsterdam and the team lacked Keita’s positional skill and control of the game. Against a Sheffield United team that will be looking to overload midfield, the Henderson-Wijnaldum-Keita trio offer three active defensive-activated pressers, who should be able to control the flow of play in an area that Wilder will see himself in. overwhelm.
Upstairs, I have chosen to give Roberto Firmino a break. Although he has been largely out of shape, he was fine against Ajax in the middle of the week. Still: the traditional top three should get some kind of break for the next five games. The question is whether to rest one at a time, two at a time, or rotate all three from a selected match. I have opted for the one-to-one strategy here, with Takumi Minamino having the chance to race alongside Mané and Salah, who are in top form.
Mark Wakefield
4-2-3-1: Adrián; Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho, Gomez, Robertson; Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Jota, Mané
I’m going with a formation change and switch to a 4-2-3-1, which will allow an additional attacking player to enter the team. Hopefully Thiago Alcantara is available for selection after staying out of the Amsterdam trip in the middle of the week, and it’s a perfect start if he’s in shape.
The same goes for Jordan Henderson. You could instantly see the impact he has on this team the moment he set foot on the field against Ajax in the second half. With Van Dijk injured for the foreseeable future, Liverpool must ensure that there are as many leaders in the team as possible, and who better to have than the captain himself.
After his impressive performance at center-back on Wednesday, there is no reason to take Fabinho out of the heart of the defense this weekend. The back five, you would think, will remain unchanged for the Blades visit.
It’s up front where my team gets interesting. After being retired at the hour mark against ajax, it would be a surprise if any of the three forwards did not start at Anfield tonight. But having Thiago and Henderson on the squad means a line-up change, but that could allow another player to get his first Premier League start with Liverpool: Diogo Jota.
The Portuguese international has impressed in his brief performances since arriving from the Wolves, and he more than deserves to be included in the starting eleven sooner rather than later. If he goes down the left wing where he is more adapted, that leaves Sadio Mané to rise as the main forward, with Roberto Firmino falling to the 10th spot that could suit his game. That leaves Mohamed Salah to come out on the right wing.
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