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.
No comments:
Post a Comment