Liverpool take on Inter Milan in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday night. Jurgen Klopp has the luxury of having a full squad available to pick from.
The Reds collected their fourth Premier League win in a row on Sunday. Their 1-0 win over Burnley wasn’t pretty but it means that they travel to Milan full of confidence.
Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both made their first starts since returning from AFCON. Luis Diaz was also given a rest after impressing last Thursday night against Leicester City.
It is a massive game for Liverpool against the Italian champions. We are likely to be given some idea of what the manager regards as his strongest eleven.
Defence
Alisson Becker has been outstanding so far this season. He continued that form on Sunday where he defied the wild weather to stand firm against Burnley. He’ll start at San Siro on Wednesday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold wasn’t at his best at Turf Moor but he’s a nailed on starter here. As is Virgil Van Dijk who simply has to play in all of Liverpool’s biggest games.
Alongside him Joel Matip will likely be asked to go again for a third time in less than a week. With Norwich City coming up at the weekend and Leeds United the following midweek, expect him to get a rest for those two games.
Andy Robertson will once again be at left-back. The Scotsman has returned to something like his best form recently and is a real weapon for Liverpool.
Midfield
Fabinho is Liverpool’s most in-form player at the moment and there’s absolutely no chance he doesn’t play this one. Thiago Alcantara was bought for exactly these kind of occasions and Klopp will be relieved to have him available tomorrow night.
There is a real question mark over who joins that pair in midfield. Although Jordan Henderson started against Burnley, the captain looked to take a knock in the first-half.
It remains to be seen whether that will rule him out here. But even if he is fit to play, his performance on Sunday was disappointing.
Klopp is obviously a huge fan of Henderson and likes to have him playing in these knockout ties. He loves his versatility and called the 31-year-old ‘special’ via liverpoolfc.com after he filled in at centre-back last season.
But if he compares the two players performances on Sunday, he should go with Naby Keita here.
Attack
All of Liverpool’s fantastic five will be desperate to be picked tomorrow. Only three can get the nod though.
Mohamed Salah is a certainty to start, as surely is Diogo Jota who appears to have recovered from the dead leg that limited him to a substitute role against Burnley.
That leaves one place up for grabs. We think that the late change that Klopp was forced into on Sunday will mean Luis Diaz starts.
The plan seemed to be to start Jota and bring Mane on later on, giving him some minutes before a start against Inter. But seeing as Mane played over an hour, he may need a bit of a rest here.
Diaz had the full 90 minutes off. He will be raring to make an impact in the Champions League for Liverpool and could prove to be a wildcard for the Inter defence to deal with.
Liverpool predicted XI vs Inter: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Thiago, Keita, Salah, Jota, Diaz
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