Reinstating Fabinho into the Liverpool midfield
Training images of Fabinho had emerged on Liverpool’s official website last night. This confirmed Jurgen Klopp’s earlier suggestions that Fabinho and Alisson would be available for Thursday’s clash against Chelsea.
The Brazilian midfielder hasn’t been able to play in his natural number six role since the injury Virgil van Dijk picked up against Everton in October 2020. Fabinho has done incredibly well as a stand-in central defender, but maybe it’s time he switches to the role he’s more comfortable in.
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Muscular injuries have kept the 27-year-old out for six of the seven latest Liverpool Premier League games, but having him back in the side against Chelsea is a massive boost.
Although there is some uncertainty over his capability of starting the game at Anfield, I’ve got this sneaky suspicion that Jurgen will be tempted to use their best defensive midfielder against a top-six side.
Using Fabinho in midfield gives the likes of Thiago, Curtis Jones, or even Gini Wijnaldum an extra bit of freedom to roam into the front end of the pitch, without being overly worried about their defensive responsibilities.
Having Nat Phillips in the side gives the manager the liberty to take the risk of continuing with the same centre-back pairing as used in the previous game against Sheffield United.