Liverpool: Klopp can make a surprise with his AS Roma lineup
By David Gate
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has limited options tonight against AS Roma in the Champions League semi-final but there is one surprise he can make.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp does not have much room to play with tonight. Injuries have drastically limited the number of trusted first team players who can take the field against AS Roma in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final.
In defense Joel Matip is out for the season making Dejan Lovren the only realistic option for Klopp to pair with Virgil van Dijk. The full back pairing of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson have been outstanding in 2018 but injuries to Joe Gomez, who didn’t make the trip, and Alberto Moreno mean there is not even a decision for the manager with the back four.
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In midfield the options are even thinner. Klopp has three fit midfielders for three places. Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum will start. And most likely, will finish this game. The midfield is the barest of bare bones.
The forward group is the healthiest of the bunch with only Sadio Mane carrying a knock. However the Senegalese forward is expected to be ready for tonight’s game. He will partner Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah in attack.
The team picks itself. So does that make it predictable? Not necessarily. There is one way that Klopp can mix it up to create a layer of unpredictability for Roma.
The forward three have set up with Mane on the left, Salah and the right and Firmino at center forward. However I think we could see that formation shuffled, if not for the whole game then for spells throughout the 90 minutes.
Salah can move centrally with Mane shifting to the right, where he was so effective in his first season at the club. Firmino would then drift to the left. This is a tactical tweak we have seen on occasion this year, most notably in the second half of the second leg of the quarter-final against Man City.
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If Liverpool are entering the last ten minutes of this tie still with a 3+ goal lead then we will see Ings and Solanke on for two of the forwards. The Reds have to get a result at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.