Liverpool meet Dutch giants Ajax tonight at Anfield in the Champions League. Jürgen Klopp has more difficult decisions to make regarding his starting eleven.
James Milner was the latest Liverpool player to be added to The Reds’ ever-growing injury list after picking up an injury against Brighton in Saturday’s 1-1 draw.
Milner will therefore miss tonight’s game as will Naby Keïta, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago Alcântara, Xherdan Shaqiri, Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk.
The only good news this week was regarding the captain Jordan Henderson. He came through his 45 minutes in the Brighton match without any issues so could be fit to start tonight.
Alisson Becker should be good to start in goal for Liverpool, despite some rumours on social media on Monday that the Brazil international had contracted COVID-19. There has been no such news from any more reliable sources so we can presume Alisson is fit and ready for action.
It looks like Klopp will have to stick with young Neco Williams at right-back. The 19-year-old has been enduring a tough time of it in recent games but Liverpool currently don’t have any other fit options for the right-back position at the moment.
I think Joël Matip and Fabinho will partner-up in central defence with Kostas Tsimikas starting at left-back. This is mainly just to give Andy Robertson’s legs some rest. The Scotland captain needs to have his workload managed like everyone else this season. We could see Robertson in the second-half but only if Liverpool are struggling in the game.
Klopp could opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation meaning Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum would start in midfield with Diogo Jota, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané just in front of them. Mohamed Salah is likely to lead the line in attack.
Predicted Liverpool lineup (4-2-3-1) vs Ajax: Alisson; Williams N, Matip, Fabinho, Tsimikas; Henderson, Wijnaldum; Jota, Firmino, Mané; Salah
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