Liverpool can go top of the Premier League table on Saturday lunchtime as they take on Crystal Palace.
With Arsenal undertaking a tough looking trip to Aston Villa later in the day, Liverpool have the chance to make an early weekend statement at Selhurst Park. With rotation once again needed though, here’s the XI we think Jurgen Klopp will pick.
Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher did a good job on Wednesday. Keeping Liverpool’s first away clean sheet in 11 matches, the Irishman eased some of the fears of his performances against Fulham last weekend.
However, Klopp confirmed this morning that Alisson Becker has returned to full training. As a result, a decision has to made. For us, we think the game will come slightly too early for Ali, with Kelleher asked to go again.
Although rotation will be in the manager’s mind, Liverpool actually have over a week until their next meaningful game. An XI will be needed to be put out on Thursday against Union Saint-Gilloise but it should be a mix of youngsters and those who can’t get a game.
As a result, we think Klopp will keep three of his back four the same here. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk should go again, with Kostas Tsimikas returning at left-back.
Midfield
In midfield, Klopp has already pretty much confirmed that Liverpool will be without Alexis Mac Allister for tomorrow’s game.
Not to worry though, because Wataru Endo is playing well and has shown enough to warrant another start here.
For the other two slots, it’s instructive to look at how the boss used his players on Wednesday. A full 90 minutes for Dominik Szoboszlai would indicate that Liverpool will be without his ‘world-class’ talents at Selhurst, while a 4-minute cameo for Ryan Gravenberch would suggest the opposite.
Along with Gravenberch, Curtis Jones wasn’t given too long against the Blades, so we think the Scouser will return for this one.
Attack
Klopp’s balancing act is perhaps the most difficult to get right with the forward positions.
Nevertheless, we know that Mohamed Salah will get the start, that’s an easy one. Of course, Mo plays pretty much every game, but the Egyptian’s early withdrawal at Bramall Lane means he’s nailed-on to go again.
We also think that Darwin Nunez will get the go-ahead having been lively from the bench on Wednesday.
Pundit Steve Nicol has called for the Uruguayan to get a consistent run of games and it’s likely that Darwin will get the chance to underline why tomorrow.
Finally, although he hasn’t been great recently, we’d expect Klopp to keep faith in Luis Diaz on the left. We need to start seeing a bit more from Lucho, but for now he should still be in the side.
Liverpool’s predicted XI vs Crystal Palace: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Endo, Jones, Gravenberch; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
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