Liverpool head to Madrid to take on Spanish giants Real in their fourth Group B game of the Champions League on Tuesday night with qualification still firmly in their own hands. Ben Twelves discusses the team selection options available to Brendan Rodgers.
Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool continued their struggling start to the season on Saturday suffering a dreadful defeat at Newcastle United, and the challenge doesn’t get any easier on Tuesday night as the Reds head to Spain to take on Real Madrid in the toughest fixture they’ll face in years.
It could be a case of just keeping the score-line respectable in the Spanish capital as thoughts of picking up any form of result border on insanity, but it’s a chance for the Reds to play freely knowing that the conclusion of the fixture changes nothing where progressing to the next stage is concerned.
The first meeting at Anfield close to two weeks ago was a complete football lesson – only after an even first 20 minute spell had passed without a goal – and the Reds know what to expect when they meet on Tuesday. However, despite knowing full well what they’re coming up against, it seems almost impossible to stop Carlo Ancelotti’s dream team who would qualify for the knockout stage with a victory.
One positive going into the tie is that no matter what the result is on the night, qualification remains firmly in Liverpool’s own hands, so Brendan Rodgers has an interesting team selection dilemma ahead of him for a game that isn’t necessarily as important as first thought.
The Team
Rodgers has two potential choices ahead of the match, which is typically followed by the toughest domestic fixture the Reds will face this season.
The Liverpool manager could play a changed team, resting key players for the weekend fixture against Chelsea, or the Reds boss could select a first choice team, giving them the experience and another chance to produce a more promising display in hope it sparks the team into life.
Whichever option the Ulsterman decides to go with, it must finally see a move away from the rigid 4-2-3-1 that is crippling the team and contributing heavily to the abject displays currently on show.
No new names have been added to the injury list, meaning Jose Enrique, Jon Flanagan, Mamadou Sakho and Suso all remain unavailable for selection, with an improving Daniel Sturridge unlikely to be ready for action as Rodgers has confirmed the whole squad have travelled for the trip.
The back line that is supposed to form the Liverpool defence could remain unchanged, with only Javier Manquillo a likely candidate to come into the team in place of Glen Johnson, who continues to produce unimpressive displays at right back.
Kolo Toure dropped back to the bench after a solid game against Swansea City last week, despite it being the ideal opportunity to remind Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren they need to be performing in order to keep their shirts, meaning a potential return to the XI seems unlikely for the Ivorian.
In midfield, Steven Gerrard is set to captain the team in the Spanish capital and he could be joined by any of Joe Allen, Jordan Henderson and Emre Can who will all be hopeful of a starting place.
The disjointed Reds attack continues to frustrate but with Sturridge unlikely to play despite travelling and other options underperforming, there’s not too much that can change – other than either supplying Mario Balotelli with a strike partner or a change of system that sees Liverpool operate without the Italian.
The Line Up
With Mignolet in goal, Manquillo should come back into the side at right back after two games on the bench, with Toure coming into the starting XI alongside Skrtel and in place of Lovren, who continues his woeful start to life since arriving on Merseyside, alongside Alberto Moreno at left back.
Rodgers must change the midfield shape and play a compact centre, and doing so should see Liverpool play with Gerrard, Can, Henderson and Coutinho in a diamond shape, with Raheem Sterling supporting Balotelli in attack.
If the Liverpool boss chooses to change the style, he could do so while throwing a curve ball at the Spanish side in the process by starting the game with the high-energy system that finished the match in the last meeting.
That would see Sterling as a central figure in attack, with Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho, in place of Lazar Markovic finished the match at Anfield, making up a flexible, unpredictable and dynamic three man forward line.
Deploying the first option and a diamond midfield should see Liverpool line-up like so:
However, the second option of using the 4-3-3 shape that played the second half of the 3-0 defeat at Anfield should see Liverpool start like this:
With Rodgers bizarrely choosing to persist with the rigid 4-2-3-1 formation so far this campaign, I expect Liverpool to frustratingly line up like this in the Bernabeu:
It’s a game that not even the staunchest Red will be expecting a result from, but that factor could work in Liverpool’s favour with the job still all to do in the final two games of the group to come.
The Reds should play with no fear in an attempt to find a solid performance, and if an almost impossible result was to come as part of a brave display in Madrid, it could be just the lift the squad needs to turn the disappointing season so far around.
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petikan dari Liverpool FC, This is Anfield, Teamtalk
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