Liverpool must win tomorrow evening after regaining some pride in the second half against Arsenal last Sunday
The Reds’ top-four push has unraveled, with no wins in the last four Premier League games and only five in all competitions. However, with both Tottenham and Newcastle losing yesterday, Liverpool has a slight advantage. They must capitalize.
It won’t be easy under the lights at Elland Road against a side fighting for survival. Jurgen Klopp, on the other hand, has nearly a full complement at his disposal as he attempts to close the gap. Here’s the lineup we believe he’ll use to accomplish that.
Defence
Alisson Becker, as usual, will be in goal for Liverpool tomorrow. The Brazilian is a strong contender for the Golden Glove award and will look to keep another clean sheet in Yorkshire.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will look to build on his strong performance against Arsenal. Meanwhile, Andy Robertson will be hoping for a less contentious performance than last week.
With Ibrahima Konate missing a couple of days of training this week, Klopp must make a decision at center-back. However, given his current importance to Liverpool, we believe the Frenchman will return to partner Virgil van Dijk.
Midfield
Curtis Jones has given Liverpool’s midfield a new look in the last two games. Although the 22-year-old has played well in draws against Chelsea and Arsenal, we believe he will be rested for this one.
Instead, with Thiago Alcantara now fit and ready, the older man only needs to get started. We saw how quickly the Spain international can make a difference against the Gunners. He’s ‘unbelievable,’ according to Paul Merson. It’s great to see him back.
Meanwhile, we see no compelling reason not to bring Fabinho and Jordan Henderson back into the game.
Attack
Liverpool’s attack has been erratic recently. Last week, they scored two goals against Arsenal, but they should have scored at least twice as many. As a result, we believe Klopp will shake things up a little here.
When we say slightly, we mean by replacing Diogo Jota with Roberto Firmino. However, with that minor change, the composition of the Reds’ attack is drastically altered.
With Firmino’s arrival, Cody Gakpo should return to the wide role he excelled in at PSV Eindhoven. It will be interesting to see how he and Bobby play together, as they are both technically gifted. Besides, the Brazilian deserves a start after scoring a goal in a cameo appearance at Anfield last week.
We’d be tempted to bring Mohamed Salah out for this one if there wasn’t a suitable understudy. His wastefulness against Arsenal was unacceptable, and this must be communicated. But, given their current situation and the lack of a suitable replacement, Klopp has no reason to rest his top scorer. Mo strikes again.
Liverpool’s predicted starting XI vs. Leeds: Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Gakpo; Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson;
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