Team Selection
Liverpool make the trip to France as they face Toulouse FC on matchday four of the Europa League group stage.
Following the Reds’ 1-1 draw with Luton Town on Sunday, Jurgen Klopp will be looking for his team to bounce back with a positive performance.
A victory for Klopp’s side could potentially confirm their final position at the top of the group, automatically sending them into the Round of 16 of the competition.
Klopp will be hoping for a similar performance to the 5-1 victory over Toulouse at Anfield in the previous meeting between the two sides last month.
Today we’re going to be predicting Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI ahead to Thursday’s game.
The Defence:
Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to come back into the side for his fifth appearance of the season so far, which would give Alisson Becker the night off ahead of the Brentford clash on Sunday.
After being rested in the 2-1 victory over Bournemouth in the Carabao Cup last week, Trent Alexander-Arnold will likely play in both of the last two games before the international break.
With Joe Gomez already starting two games in the past five days, he will drop to the bench as Kostas Tsimikas will be reintroduced into the lineup at left-back.
After performing brilliantly as a partnership against Bournemouth, I expect to see Jarrell Quansah partner Joel Matip at the heart of Liverpool’s defence.
This would mean both Virgil Van Dijk and Ibou Konate remain fresh for the huge game against Brentford on Sunday.
Verdict: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas
The Midfield:
Prior to the 1-1 draw with Luton Town on Sunday, Wataru Endo would’ve been nailed on to start against Toulouse but with Alexis Mac Allister now being suspended for the Brentford game, that decision becomes less clear.
However, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic are both already ruled out of this one, while there is still doubt surrounding the fitness of Curtis Jones.
Therefore, after another poor performance in the holding midfield role on Sunday, this could be a brilliant opportunity to see Mac Allister further up the pitch while also giving minutes to Endo ahead of Sunday.
Finally, after another brilliant performance from the bench on Sunday, I expect to see Harvey Elliott start in midfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch would both be rested, but nailed on to start at the weekend.
Verdict: Endo, Mac Allister, Elliott The Attack:
Due to the importance of this game, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see Mohamed Salah start in Jurgen Klopp’s front three on Thursday.
I believe that Cody Gakpo is pretty much nailed on to start this one, as well as Luis Diaz (depending on his own personal issues).
Should Luis Diaz not be ready to start this one, then Diogo Jota would likely be the favourite to slot onto the left-hand side.
Darwin Núñez will be benched for this one, but will hopefully be raring to go ahead of Sunday’s game.
Verdict: Salah, Gakpo, Diaz Starting XI prediction: Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Quansah, Tsimikas, Endo, Mac Allister, Elliott, Salah, Gakpo, Diaz Bench: Alisson, Jaros, Gomez, Konate, Van Dijk, Chambers, Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai, Jota, Núñez, Doak
