5 Reasons Liverpool need to worry about West Brom
By David Gate
No.5: Center Back Questions
We know Virgil van Dijk is going to start but there are real questions about who plays next to him in this game. Joel Matip is out for the season and Dejan Lovren has owned the position since; forming a good partnership with the Dutchman.
However, Lovren left last week’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth with an injury. He has trained this week and his injury is not expected to keep him out for long. There are questions about whether he will be ready for Saturday.
Ragnar Klavan will be the man to step in if Lovren is not fit to go. The Estonian replaced the Croatian last Saturday and can come in to do a job. While he has been a consistent performer for the Reds when called upon he has only recently recovered from an injury himself.
The option is Joe Gomez but the defender has not played since injuring his ankle on England duty last month. Also Klopp has not been very willing to try Gomez and center back this season. That is something we see more of in 2018/19.
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Whoever plays next to van Dijk will have to be ready to handle the physical presence of Salomon Rondon and the clever movement of Jay Rodriguez.