It’s a big day for Liverpool in the Champions League.
The Reds travel to Austria to play RB Salzburg in their sixth and final match of the group stage. It is a clash they cannot afford to lose – should they do so, they will likely drop down to the Europa League as it is expected that Napoli will dispatch Genk in their own last fixture.
Salzburg have been in fantastic form offensively this term – they have scored five more than the Anfield outfit in Europe so far – so it will be interesting to see what team Jurgen Klopp puts out at the Red Bull Arena.
Here, we try to predict his starting XI.
In goal, Alisson will take up his usual place. He will be looking for his first clean sheet of the campaign in the Champions League, but he will have his work cut out against the likes of Erling Haaland.
Expect to see Trent Alexander-Arnold come back into the team at right-back. Joe Gomez started there at the weekend and, although he gave a good account of himself, it is likely that the 21-year-old with six Premier League assists already this campaign will retake his place. In regards to the rest of the back four, there shouldn’t be any more changes, so Andrew Robertson, Virgil van Dijk and Dejan Lovren will be looking to give their shot-stopper the best possible protection.
With Fabinho still out injured and Adam Lallana unavailable, Jordan Henderson should play in the defensive midfield role. Naby Keita scored and provided an assist against the Cherries at the weekend, but considering his lack of regular football, he should drop down to the bench for this one. Georginio Wijnaldum, therefore, should be re-introduced after Klopp confirmed he is fit to play, and James Milner is likely to feature alongside him.
After Sadio Mane was rested on Saturday, expect the Merseyside club’s famed attacking trio to line up together in Salzburg. Whilst a draw will be enough to see them through to the next round, the former Borussia Dortmund manager will be hoping that his stars can make it a far more comfortable evening by being prolific in front of goal.
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