Jürgen Klopp has the majority of his Liverpool team against Manchester City already decided, but he’ll have to determine the risk on one of his big calls.
The majority of the Liverpool team that takes to the field against Manchester City will take care of itself. We know, for example, that Caoimhín Kelleher will be in goal, and Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté will start at center-back if the latter is fit and available.
Alexis Mac Allister, Darwin Núñez and Luis Díaz are among those who are near-certain to be in the starting line-up as well, with each of them having played a big part over the last few weeks. Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, should be nailed on. He looked sharp enough midweek to go straight into the team — and if there is ever a game to rush him back for, it is this one.
There should only really be two decisions to make for Jürgen Klopp. If Konaté is not fit, the decision between Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley at full-back might be made by itself. The other big call, assuming Salah can start, is Dominik Szoboszlai vs Harvey Elliott.
Which player should Klopp pick in the middle of the pitch? Two of our Liverpool.com writers have had their say, and you can add yours in the comments section below the article.
“Dominik Szoboszlai gets the nod” – Matt Addison
Firstly, I love Harvey Elliott. He has been sensational in the last few weeks and he has played a lot of football. But he has also excelled when coming off the bench this season — and I want Klopp to have that weapon to turn to.
For that reason — and also because of how good Szoboszlai can be at his best — I’d go with the Hungarian from the start. An hour of Szoboszlai and then half an hour of Elliott when Manchester City’s players are a bit more tired would be ideal.
Manchester City’s midfield is going to be physical and it is going to take a lot of physicality to stop the likes of Rodri and co. Elliott can do that, of course, but Szoboszlai is more suited to that kind of contest.
There is another option: to go with both, and move Mac Allister back to number six and have Szoboszlai and Elliott on either side. But that would be very bold and pretty harsh on Wataru Endō. I can’t see that, but it’s good to have the options.
“Dropping Harvey Elliott would be harsh” – James Findlater
If it was anyone other than City, I’d absolutely be advocating for Szoboszlai to start. The intensity required against Pep Guardiola’s side though does leave me a little concerned about the Hungarian’s fitness.
Having him back is a huge boost, but considering he’s already suffered a recurrence of that hamstring problem once this year, I’d be very wary of throwing him in from the start. There’s still a lot of football to be played this season, and Liverpool will need Szoboszlai if the quadruple is to happen.
In any case, it would be very harsh to drop Elliott. A hat-trick of assists against Sparta Prague last night shows he’s in good form, and having the option of Szoboszlai from the bench could be just as exciting as the other way around.
It’s a close call, and I won’t be at all disappointed if Szoboszlai gets the nod from the start. Risk perhaps outweighs reward for me though, so I’d just side with Elliott.
