Liverpool is in poor form going into the Manchester United game.
Liverpool has a paltry one goal and only seven shots on goal over their last 270 match minutes in the Premier League. A statistical fact not lost on Jurgen Klopp and the hapless Reds of late; and one they will need to address come Sunday when they host Man United at Anfield come Sunday.
Klopp has no real headache in his team selection for this vitally important tie. Without a proper center back first team selection he will be relying on the continued competence of Fabinho and either Rhys Williams or Nat Philips since Joel Matip is again sidelined with injury.
The team sheet shapes up like this: Allison Becker will start in goal, and we can expect Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold to be in their usual starting spots at fullback.
TAA will be under a fair bit of scrutiny here as his form since injury in the Man City tie last autumn has been less than ww have come to expect from the young right back. Indeed, his last start in the loss to Southampton was the worst of his career in a Reds shirt.
Klopp will be pushing Trent to bring back the form that for a good portion of the past two years has seen him ranked in the best full-back tandem in the world.
His quality and fitness, and his crossing prowess has been a glaring no show in this past month since the Palace tie in London, in mid December.
This gets us to the crux of the matter from a defensive standpoint with the obvious issues at centerback. Fabinho, a defensive holding midfielder, has played smartly, with confidence and consistency for the most part, throughout the autumn and early winter.
He will start with Rhys Williams in central defense, once again putting the young defender in the spotlight against a United offensive line playing well and in form. Nat Philips, Milner, and Henderson will be reserve options along with Neco Williams in defense.
In midfield, the gaffer has more options to play with but choosing the correct combo here will be a large determining factor in winning the midfield battles which have eluded the Reds for the past month.
We could see Jordan Henderson, with Thiago and Wijnaldum get the nod, but are just as likely to see a combo of Wijnaldum, Thiago and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who is fit and in form again.
Thiago is the key for forward minded attacking success out of the Reds midfield. Liverpool will need a special kind of performance from the crafty Spaniard if they intend to have any kind of midfield thrust going forward.
The forward line of Sadio Mane, Bobby ‘si senor’ Firmino and Mo Salah are a lock on this team sheet. Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi will be waiting in the wings if their finishing form or their shooting boots fail in the first 60 minutes.
James Milner and Ox along with Curtis Jones will also be looking to contribute in the middle park if needed.
This is shaping up to be a season defining tie at Anfield, with the next nine league fixtures coming every three days subsequently, and they will have played the top six sides in the table in that season determining period.