26 Aug 2016

Liverpool XI vs. Spurs: Klopp confirms triple injury blow. Surprise starter? Drop £26m star?

After last week's debacle at Burnley, Liverpool face a tough trip to Spurs on Saturday, and with the international break immediately after, it's vital that the Reds get a positive result at White Hart Lane.

Pre-match news:

* Klopp on Can: “There’s nothing serious but it’s the ankle where he had problems in the past. It shouldn’t be too long but maybe too long for Tottenham".

* Klopp on Origi: “It’s nothing serious, but if you have cramp, you need to have a look at it too. So it’s not for sure that he will be available.”

* Klopp on Coutinho: “The muscle was a little stiff. He felt something [against Burnley]. We left him out of training. It is not a situation to take any risk".

* Lucas, Sakho, Karius, and Gomez remain on the sidelines.

* Klopp on Spurs: "They are a pressing team, a high-pressure team, so we need to know about this. They don't give away a lot of spaces but there are spaces, of course".

* Pochettino's pre-match view: "Sometimes people don’t realise how important last season was. We improved a lot and learned a lot; now we will be tougher than last season when we try to challenge again.”

* Jan Molby's view: "I've seen Spurs this season, and I think that this is the best time to play them. They're just having to restructure the team a little bit, and the rhythm of last season isn't quite there yet".

* Predicting a 1-1 draw, Mark Lawrenson mused: "The way the Reds are set up, I think they are going to win quite a few games easily but, when teams score against them first, it is going to be difficult for them".

Liverpool generally tend to turn up for the bigger games, so it won't surprise me in the slightest if the Reds end up winning this game. Probable Klopp lineup:

-------------- Mignolet
Clyne ----- Matip -- Lovren ---- Milner
------ Lallana - Hendo - Wijnaldum
------- Mane - Sturridge - Firmino

Team I'd like to see:

------------- Mignolet
Milner --- Matip - Klavan - Clyne
------------- Stewart
------------------ Hendo
Mane ------ Firmino -- Wijnaldum
---------- Sturridge

* Milner excels on the right, especially right midfield, so just play him at right-back. He'll get forward, but won't have to constantly cut in on his right foot and slow down attacks.

* Clyne has played on the left several times for Liverpool, and performed well.

* This team needs a dedicated DM, and with Can seemingly out of the picture, that means playing Stewart. He may be inexperienced, but he'll only improve with games, and so far, he's performed well in the role. I'd rather see aces in their places than have Wijnaldum or Hendo shoehorned into the role.

* Wijnaldum excelled in a more advanced role last season, so play him there for Liverpool, and give him the best change of making a game-changing impact.

* Play Sturridge through the middle. That's his best role, and central should be his starting position, not out wide. If it's not working, bring on Lallana, and move Firmino into the centre-forward role.

With 6 wins and 3 draws in the last 10 away games, Liverpool have a fantastic record at White Hart Lane, and with an average 2.3 goals per game, there's a strong probability of goals during the game. Can the Reds win the game?


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