18 May 2016

Confirmed Liverpool XI: Cruel snub for 'brilliant' attacker; £59m-duo benched; Surprise as Origi returns early

No alarms, and no surprises. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has named a widely expected starting lineup for tonight's Europa League final with Sevilla.

FULL TEAM: Mignolet, Clyne, Toure, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Milner, Lallana, Firmino, Coutinho, Sturridge.

SUBS: Ward, Benteke, Henderson, Lucas, Allen, Origi, Skrtel.

SEVILLA
: Soria; Mariano, Rami, Carrico, Escudero; Krychowiak, N'Zonzi; Coke, Banega, Vitolo; Gameiro.

* No room for any of the club's young players, with the likes of Brannagan, and Ojo missing out on bench duty.

* Jordon Ibe^ is left out of the match-day squad. That'll be disappointing for him, but with Origi making a surprise early return, it's hardly surprising Ibe is the one to make way.

* It looks like Milner will be playing in central midfield, which is (IMO) a waste of his creativity. Who knows, though - perhaps Lallana will step and make the difference? With only two goals in the last fourteen games, he needs to make some kind of specific creative impact.

* Ward makes the bench ahead of Bogdan, which is a minor surprise considering he's been out been injured for the last couple of weeks. Probable formation:

-------------- Mignolet
Clyne ---- Lovren - Toure ---- Moreno
--------- Milner -- Can
Lallana ----- Firmino ---- Coutinho
------------ Sturridge

According to Reds legend Graeme Souness, Sevilla are 'average', and Liverpool will win the game 'big time'. He told Sky Sports:

"Liverpool will win it, and win with a bit of style. They'll have too much for Sevilla. I just think Liverpool will have far too much for them [and] I think there is only one winner."

Typical overconfidence (and disrespect) for the opposing team. Hopefully, the players won't go into the game with the same attitude.

^ April 2016: Described by Klopp as 'brilliant'

* Benteke: Cost £32m. Henderson: £27m-rated. Combined = £59m.

Author: Jaimie K


0 Comments:

Post a Comment