Liverpool: This is the back four we want to see against Southampton
By David Gate
Center Back: Joel Matip
Get ready for some center back shuffling. It is painfully obvious to us all that Klopp does not yet know his best partnership in the heart of the defense. Clearly van Dijk will be the main guy but he has not been 100% match fit and is taking a while to adjust.
Therefore Klopp is trying to find the right guy to play next to him to help that process along. Joel Matip got the initial go ahead to start alongside the Dutchman. However a woeful game against West Brom in the FA Cup prompted the manager to call on Lovren for the game against Spurs. A much criticized outing from the Croatian puts Klopp back at square one.
It seems strange to me that the manager will not try Ragnar Klavan who put in a nice run of games during the holiday period. Van Dijk’s arrival has relegated him to the clear fourth choice. Though there is a strong argument to say the Estonian has been Liverpool’s most consistent central defender this season.
In theory the best partnership should be Matip/van Dijk. I think Klopp will persist with that combo and hope that it shows some sign of improvement in the next few weeks. Though as we all know too well Liverpool are always only a game away from a defensive error-fest.