Liverpool vs Arsenal double: It's gonna be a wild ride.

Well, we didn't perform well vs Arsenal this year. And now we have to face them twice, one in the EFL Cup and one in the Premier League. This is the week where our depth will be tested quite a fair bit. However when the league restarted earlier this month, we have shown we have a point to prove. We may be dicey with the win over Leeds. However we dominated Chelsea despite them fielding Kai Havertz and even Timo Werner. We also comfortably dispatched Lincoln with a heavy 7-2 mauling. But granted, Arsenal have had harder matches in the EFL cup, facing Leicester before facing us. That said, the advantage is we have both matches played in Anfield. That said, to play Arsenal twice is really trying, because we have all the hard crap.

That said, as long as we win Arsenal in the PL legged match then we should have a solid foundation running. And now here are the lineups I am predicting for both, noting we have to do one after another.

BPL: Tuesday 3am GMT+8

The backline picks itself up. However 2 formations Klopp can employ, either a 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1. However the main front should come to no surprise. Just the matter who will be employed in the midfield. Thiago is an interesting option because he can play anywhere on the center midfield, whether attacking or defensive.

If it is a 4231, this would be my lineup: With Minamino as a Number 9 before SFM.

If Henderson cannot start on this match, Keita would be my 2nd option over him at either of these formations.

EFL tie: 5th October 2:15am GMT +8

The depth that we have now thanks to the additions of Jota and Tsimikas mean our B squad is nearly good enough to take on an experienced squad. If you can remember the last time we face Arsenal in the EFL cup, and Everton in the FA Cup, we were using an entire string of youngsters with some exceptions.

As far as the back goes, our backline consists of Koumetio and Van Den Berg. Rhys Williams and Nat Philips can also be an option too. And by no means, our B squad isn't experienced, the youngsters actually are quite experienced and would know how to play some of the bigger squads. Jones turnover so far has been respectable, recording 2 goals against Lincoln. 2 Goals for Mini plus another during the Community Shield, Brewster performing well in Pre-season... they can punch above their weight. Brewster really should try to fight for his place, don't be sold, and then be used in the cups because an out and out striker would be lethal in front.

 Of course all these players especially the midfield and the front, since a lot of them can play in different places so they can be shifted around. But at least for the midfield the idea is 1 of them has to be experienced enough to captain the EFL squad like Milner, Wijnaldum and Curtis Jones and even Origi who captained the squad after Van Dijk left for Fabinho.

We'll see how it works for Klopp because we have a lot of gifted talent at our disposal against Arsenal.

Kicking off 2020-2021 Season: Leeds and Chelsea blitzes. Lincoln to come and starting XI predictions: Pls start Karius and Jota!!

Been a awhile since I posted this one! Now we just kicked off the season last weekend on the 12/13th September with a match with Leeds. My oh my, this game was crazy, Leeds was proving a worthy adversary thanks to the number of signings they did, including Rodrigo. However Liverpool wasn't deterred, even with 3 goals conceded, Mohamed Salah kept his cool in the 2 penalties he was involved and got a hat trick on his very first game. The defense wasn't that particularly good and back then we were starting to get increasingly worried for the lack of signings.

Enter Thiago, Thiago time it was.

Our scouser side snapped up with the UCL winner Thiago from Bayern which was huge. Now even if he didn't have that much training, and he did concede a penalty vs Chelsea, but he really demonstrated on what he was able to do. 73-75 passes, I dunno the exact figure, but it was more than any player by Chelsea, and that's in 45 minutes, not a full 90. That alone shows what the missing metronome Liverpool really needed.

In addition to Thiago, we also signed in Kostantinos Tsimikas from the 19/20 Greek Champions Olympiakos. And another signing we didn't expect that was done quickly, was Diogo Jota from Wolverhampton Wanderers. I completely forgot how good he was, and we got that deal snapped up fast, as part of a swap with our youngster Ki-Jana Hoever plus topping up the difference. With that said, we still need another CB, whether or not Fabinho can still deputise at Center Back.

That said, this Thursday's Carabao Cup tie against Lincoln will be a good match to try different lineups and get whoever else that didn't play against Chelsea or Leeds match fit. So some changes is definitely a must and there are some surprise inclusions in my starting lineup prediction that you may feel.

BACK FIVE:
GK: Loris Karius
RB: Neco Williams
CB: Joe Gomez and Billy Koumetio
LB: Kostas Tsimikas

Midfield and Front for 4231

CM: Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara
AM: Takumi Minamino
LW: Xherdan Shaqiri
ST: Rhian Brewster
RW: Diogo Jota

Midfield and Front for 433

CDM: Marko Grujic
CM: Curtis Jones, Thiago Alcantara
LW: Diogo Jota
ST: Rhian Brewster
RW: Harvey Elliott

Subs: Adrian, Sepp Van Berg, James Milner, Nathaniel Philips, Marko Grujic, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Takumi Minamino, Divock Origi

The 4231 kinda picked itself out, it's an easier prediction to make. And due to the lack of defenders, the back is pretty much decided. But before anyone slates me for picking Karius, in all honesty, he is not a bad player, and let these matches serve as a way to regain match fitness. And as long he dons a Liverpool shirt he still is one of us.

And do note, Jota has been proven that he can go anywhere in front because he can utilise either feet for striking.  I always liked the 4231 formation so it provided an extra man in the attack. Thiago is ideal as the most advanced midfielder and he needs to get fitter, so maybe first half or 2nd half again appearance. Joe Gomez since he missed the Chelsea match, getting some minutes in will be crucial too.

So that is my Starting XI Predictions. Let's see if I get this one right.