Liverpool must play both Jordan Henderson and Fabinho in midfield to help them get a result against Manchester City on Sunday.
That’s according to Shaun Wright-Phillips, who made the comments whilst appearing on The Kelly & Wrighty Show, which was broadcast by Optus Sports.
Wright-Phillips thinks that by playing the midfield duo, Jurgen Klopp can get the best out of Trent Alexander-Arnold.
“I think the biggest thing that he’s got to do, especially to allow Trent to do what he has to best, is that he has to play Henderson and Fabinho,” said the former City winger.
“He has to play them both, he can’t play one of them, because that’s stretched too far. City go from one side of the pitch to the other so quickly that the midfield most probably won’t be able to get across to help Trent, whereas if he plays both of them they can just say ‘you take care of the left, I’ll take care of the right’.
“That allows the full-backs to bomb on and they won’t get hit on the counter-attack either.”
It’s a sensible shout from Wright-Phillips. Fabinho and Henderson are two of Klopp’s most trusted players, it seems almost certain that they’ll both play at the Etihad Stadium.
Keita makes his claim for Sunday
It was a slight surprise not to see Liverpool’s captain start Tuesday win over Benfica. Henderson has been a mainstay at Liverpool for over a decade since signing for £20m in 2011.
The 31-year-old is usually a shoo-in for the big European nights, but Naby Keita got the nod instead.
As it was, Keita was arguably the best player on the pitch as Liverpool won 3-1. The 27-year-old’s driving runs and desire to get into Benfica’s penalty box added an extra dimension to The Reds’ midfield.
It was a performance that has put Keita into contention to start on Sunday. But you’d expect that that won’t be in place of Henderson.
Thiago at risk of missing out
Instead of Hendo, Thiago Alcantara might be most at risk of dropping out of the eleven. Like most of the Liverpool team, the Spaniard played well during the first-half in Lisbon.
However, as the second-half got underway Liverpool became incredibly sloppy in possesion. Thiago was perhaps more culpable than a lot of his teammates and was withdrawn by Klopp after an hour.
It’s likely that this was a pre-planned change with Sunday in mind and the need to protect Thiago’s workload. But Keita’s display for the rest of the game may just have altered the manager’s thinking.
Let’s wait and see what Klopp decides. Either way, Liverpool have a strong looking midfield unit heading into the game.
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