Liverpool are ready to take the next step on their journey to a hopeful haul of trophies in a few months. Following an abbreviated match week, it's time for Liverpool to face Sheffield United on Thursday at Anfield.
Liverpool sit two points clear at the top of the Premier League while their opponents sit at the opposite side of the spectrum, 20th, having only secured 15 points all season long.
The Reds should be huge favorites in this game despite the plethora of injuries they still are dealing with. Wataru Endo was a late addition to the injury list after Jurgen Klopp said he picked up a knock during the Brighton win on Sunday.
However, Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch could both be deployed as a huge clash with Manchester United still looms on Sunday.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see how many changes Klopp does make for this one, Let's see how Liverpool could start in this one.
Goalkeeper: Caoimhin Kelleher
Defenders: Conor Bradley, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Andy Robertson
Midfielders: Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister
Forwards: Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo
Probable Subs: Curtis Jones, Bobby Clark, Jarell Quansah, Luis Diaz, Jayden Danns, Dominik Szoboszlai
With such a loaded fixture list and another marquee game coming up on Sunday, I think Klopp could take the pragmatic approach and field a much changed XI like the one above. There is still plenty of talent and firepower in this lineup to take care of the lowly Blades.
I don't want to see Virgil van Dijk or Luis Diaz play at all in this game if it can be avoided as this would give them a full week of resting before Manchester United.
I would not expect Salah to go the full 90 in this one either. Ideally, some goals will be scored early to put the game to bed and he can come off around the 60-70 minute mark. This has the makings of a "Klopp's Kids" kind of game as we have not seen the youngsters really feature in the last few Reds' matches.
It would be nice to see Gravenberch, who returned for a few minutes on Sunday, push himself and go 75+ minutes in this one. He needs to stretch those legs and regain some match fitness.
Curtis Jones seeing 20-25 minutes would be ideal as he continues to make his return from long-term injury. In the end, there are a variety of Starting XI's Liverpool could roll out on Thursday that should be enough to roll past Sheffield United.