The good news, at least, is that captain virgil van dijk is returning for this one, and that the skipper will take over alongside ibrahima konate for me. With no games until january 21 after this evening, jurgen klopp must be as strong as possible, which brings us right to the goalkeeping situation. Pep lijnders has already confirmed that caoimhin kelleher will start the game, and although giving him these cup minutes two years ago as an excuse to discourage him from exploring his options later this season, i see no reason why liverpool should not be selecting alisson becker as the world’s best goalkeeper now that trent alexander-arnold is out, with joe gomez continuing to deputize for andy robertson and kostas tsimikas on the left. Alexis mac allister starts at the no.6 in midfield, with curtis jones and harvey elliott further forward. Both players were outstanding in the previous round against west ham, so this is another opportunity for them to shine. I’m shunting luis diaz out to the right and giving darwin nunez the opportunity to gallop down the left with his usual headstrong menace, diogo jota. Cody gakpo can wait in the wings if required.
The league cup may not be as good as the fa cup, but liverpool’s next game is more important than that. The reds now have just two games against fulham to win the wembley trophy in 2022. What then is jurgen klopp’s plan for tonight’s semi-final first leg at anfield? The liverpool manager hasn’t got much choice in personnel, although there is still a lot of room in terms of how he plans his team. Caoimhin kelleher will be the target. So much is known about it. And virgil van dijk must return as centre-back, and i’d like ibrahima konate to accompany him. Joe gomez can continue at left-back, and conor bradley deserves to start at right-back. With alexis mac allister at number six and curtis jones at his left, it’s up to the right to decide who should start. And i’d go for harvey elliott. Arsenal’s second half shows that luis diaz can play on the right and darwin nunez can play down the left. And diogo jota could be the next big thing as the central striker.
My team (4-3-3): Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez; Mac Allister, Elliott, Jones; Diaz, Jota, Nunez
Liverpool can take nothing for granted in their semi-final match against fulham after middlesbrough took a 1-0 lead in the first leg against chelsea last night. Given jurgen klopp’s injury list, there isn’t much scope for him to change. Conor bradley replaces trent alexander-arnold at right-back, but joe gomez is called to go back on the opposing flank. In the meantime, league cup goalkeeper caoimhin kelleher returns to the field. After a long absence, virgil van dijk captains the team at centre-back and is partnered by jarell quansah. Given the reds’ injury woes and the frenchman’s own career, ibrahima konate can be bundled up in cotton wool on the bench instead after shining against arsenal on sunday. Ryan gravenberch replaces cody gakpo, who struggled against the gunners, in midfield. As a result, curtis jones switches flanks, while alexis mac allister takes the top spot at number six. Diogo jota starts for the first time since injury and can play on the left. As a result, luis diaz switches to the right after seeing the emirates’ eye. Darwin nunez can have another go down the middle by switching to jota, while gakpo and harvey elliott are the attacking options reserve.
