Liverpool will expect to grab three points when they welcome Red Bull Salzburg to Anfield on Wednesday night, so could we see a more attacking set-up from Jurgen Klopp?
With all due respect to Genk, Salzburg will get their first real test when they visit Merseyside on Wednesday.
The Austrian outfit score plenty of goals – 40 in nine league games this season to be exact – but they also rarely keep clean sheets, preserving the shutout just three times in those games, against what could fairly be called weak opposition.
For that reason, we believe Klopp may stray away from his usual workhorse midfield, looking to capitalise on a team who are not used to defending against the type of quality the European champions possess. The XI below has three changes from Saturday’s win.
The back four pretty much picks itself, but after Paul Joyce confirmed Joel Matip will miss out, we expect Joe Gomez to be the man to fill that gap.
In midfield, Fabinho has become practically un-droppable this season, starting all but one league fixture, as well as the match in Naples.
Things may change after that though, and tonight seems like the perfect time to throw Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into the mix. The pair have both suffered with various injuries over the last 18 months, but if they aren’t able to fill in for skipper Jordan Henderson and the ever-reliable Georginio Wijnaldum against a side from the Austrian Bundesliga, then they never will be.
While they may not afford the Reds the type of defensive protection the likes of Henderson, Wijnaldum and James Milner would, they may just have a field day against a group of defenders used to playing sides like Hartberg and Swarovski Tirol, not the kings of Europe.
Given how Origi completely transformed the game at Bramall Lane from the left wing, Klopp could reward the Belgian here with a start. However, that cameo may also tempt the boss to see him simply as a super-sub, and stick with his usual front three.
Mohamed Salah will surely keep his place again with Xherdan Shaqiri still not fit enough to give the Egyptian a rest, while benching Sadio Mane against his former club would be criminal, as who doesn’t love a goal against their old team?
