LIVERPOOL PREDICTED XI: FULHAM (H)
- Andrew Corns
- Nov 9, 2018
- 4 min read
Following a poor result and performance to match during their trip to Serbia, Liverpool return home and welcome a Fulham side currently residing at the bottom of the table.
These have proven to be tricky games for Liverpool in recent years, but it’ll be imperative that they get a victory in order to maintain their position battling Chelsea and Manchester City in the race for the title.
Jurgen Klopp will be happy to have several key members of his squad returning from injury which could play a role in what lineup he chooses to go with.
GK – Alisson Becker –
There’s no way anyone other than Alisson is picked to start in net unless a sudden injury were to occur.
Liverpool will expect to have a vast majority of the possession and could have the game killed off within the first half hour.
Alisson won’t have much to do other than trying to keep himself warm defend the odd corner kick here and there.
LB – Andy Robertson –
Not that it’s saying much, but I thought Andy Robertson was Liverpool’s Man of the Match in Belgrade on Tuesday, constantly offering an option on the left with his crossing ability.
If Klopp really wants to shake things up, this could be a game he gives Alberto Moreno another start.
I can’t see that happening with the international break on the horizon and Klopp wanting to field as strong a side as he can to avoid slipping up.
CB – Virgil van Dijk –
The big Dutchman has been a brick wall at the back for Liverpool this year and even when the defence has made errors, van Dijk has had little to do with being responsible for them.
He relishes battling physical centre forwards and gets to test his might here against Aleksandar Mitrovic.
CB – Dejan Lovren –
Jurgen Klopp’s best back four this year has included Lovren partnering Virgil in the heart of defence.
Joel Matip did little to impress on Tuesday and with the struggles we’ve seen from Alexander-Arnold, Gomez will be favoured to push out wide so Lovren can slot into the side.
RB – Joe Gomez –
It’s no secret that Trent Alexander-Arnold has performed poorly in a number of matches already, but it’s also worth remember how young and inexperienced he still is.
His time will come again and it should do him some good to start less frequently and spend more time working on the training pitch.
It wouldn’t shock me if Klopp played Joe Gomez in the centre paired with Lovren or van Dijk while starting Nathaniel Clyne at right-back to get some minutes under his belt.
I still say that if Klopp has a completely healthy squad, it makes sense to just play the group you think are best so that’s why I’ve got Joe Gomez in the team.
MF – Fabinho –
There were several Liverpool supporters who took to social media after the Arsenal game last week to condemn Fabinho for a poor display.
I personally didn’t see him playing that badly and his performance did improve in the second half once Klopp shifted tactics and switched back to the 4-2-3-1 which suits Fabinho’s skillset most.
I think Klopp uses this game to continue working that new formation and work to ease Fabinho into his Premier League adaptation against inferior opposition.
MF – Jordan Henderson –
Partnering Fabinho in the holding midfield area will be captain Jordan Henderson who’s been declared fit to return to action.
It makes sense to allow both Wijnaldum and Milner to get a rest after playing on Tuesday and massive amounts of minutes over the entire start to the year.
It’ll be a great opportunity for Jordan to prove more doubters wrong by using his quick passing and energy to anchor the midfield and feed the forward line ahead of him.
FW – Xherdan Shaqiri –
If not for the potential for rioting and controversy, Shaqiri would have been a lock to start on Tuesday at Red Star.
Now several days removed from that game, it’s obvious he was missed on that night. The 4-2-3-1 system I expect Klopp to employ really allows the front four to create chances when the possession is heavily in their favour.
Each of Liverpool’s front four are also capable of playing in any of the positions and that fluidity and flexibility will cause nightmare for an already suspect Fulham defence.
FW – Sadio Mane –
This season has brought with it added pressure on Mo Salah’s shoulders and defences focusing much more on his side of the pitch.
That’s allowed space and time for Mane to create and it’s been a contributing factor to his goal total to this point.
His pace and ingenuity will be key in Liverpool getting the lead early as he and Salah work to find the chemistry they had most of last season.
FW – Roberto Firmino –
Starting Daniel Sturridge on Tuesday wasn’t the worst idea Klopp could have come up with, but there’s a huge difference between what he offers in comparison to Roberto Firmino.
He’s still finding his footing in the number ten role of this system, but is understanding it more each time out and his movement opens the door for Salah to get in behind the defenders and terrorize the keeper.
ST – Mohamed Salah –
Salah still isn’t at his irresistible best, but every game finds him closer to being unleashed and returning to his dominant goalscoring ways.
He’s finding new life playing as a central striker instead of out wide where he’s found it more difficult to operate due to added attention being focused on him.
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