Liverpool and Real Madrid meet tonight in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final clash in Spain. Who will start for The Reds?
Jürgen Klopp’s men will be high on confidence after another impressive win on Saturday night when they beat Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium. Diogo Jota came off the bench to score two second-half goals with Mohamed Salah also on the scoresheet.
Klopp will, of course, be without several first-team players with Virgil van Dijk, Joël Matip, Joe Gomez, and Jordan Henderson all out injured. Backup goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher is also out, as is Divock Origi.
Alisson Becker will start between the sticks for Liverpool. The back four in front of Alisson will probably consist of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson at right and left-back respectively while Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak will man the centre of The Reds’ defence.
Fabinho should remain in his natural role as a defensive midfielder with Gini Wijnaldum and Thiago Alcântara alongside him making up the trio in the centre of the pitch.
I think Bobby Firmino could be starting again, despite Diogo Jota’s super-sub appearance against Arsenal on Saturday. Firmino may be used to harass and harry the Real Madrid defence for the first hour before Jota is then unleashed later in the game.
Predicted Liverpool lineup (4-3-3) vs Real Madrid: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Kabak, Robertson; Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Mané
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