Liverpool and Arsenal meet at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in the traditional curtain-raiser to the Premier League season, the Community Shield.
With injuries and a very short pre-season to consider, Jürgen Klopp will have plenty of decisions to make before The Reds take to the hallowed Wembley turf.
Alisson will start in goal for Liverpool as the Brazil international enjoys this injury-free spell after suffering two separate injuries last season. Klopp’s Number 1 missed 14 games due to a calf injury (August to October 2019) and a hip injury (March to April 2020).
Trent Alexander-Arnold is still recovering from a slight knock according to reports and missed out on Liverpool’s Austrian training camp. Neco Williams is likely to start at right-back on Saturday in Alexander-Arnold’s place. Joël Matip is also still out injured and not expected back until mid-to-late September.
Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson should make up the rest of the back four.
Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are unavailable on Saturday as they continue their injury rehabilitation. Therefore, I believe Klopp is likely to go with a midfield triumvirate of Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum and Naby Keïta.
Rhian Brewster has been grabbing the headlines in the last week for his goalscoring exploits against VfB Stuttgart and RB Salzburg. Klopp may well still opt for his full-strength front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané to start, however, Brewster will get at least 30 minutes of action in the second half.
Predicted Liverpool lineup (4-3-3) vs Arsenal: Alisson; Williams, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Keïta; Salah, Firmino, Mané
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