Home » Match Centre » MATCH REPORT » Strongest Liverpool Lineup To Face Sunderland: Allen And Lucas In The Midfield Pivot

Strongest Liverpool Lineup To Face Sunderland: Allen And Lucas In The Midfield Pivot

Photo of author

By Dakir Thanveer

Predicted Liverpool Lineup vs Sunderland

After a frustrating loss against Leicester, Liverpool will be looking to bounce back when they face Sunderland at Anfield on Saturday. Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi has returned to full fitness and Klopp has confirmed that the three of them could feature against Sunderland. The return of these three players will be a great boost for Liverpool. Klopp has also confirmed that Martin Skrtel has suffered another injury and he might be out for more than two weeks. Liverpool really underperformed against Leicester and Klopp might be tended to make changes against Sunderland.

Will Klopp give the youngsters a chance? Will Klopp start any of the returning players? Here is Liverpool’s predicted line-up to face Sunderland:-

Goalkeeper – Simon Mignolet

If Liverpool had any positives against Leicester, Mignolet is surely one of them. Mignolet was Liverpool’s best player against Leicester. The Belgian has received lot of stick recently, but against Leicester, he looked better. But still he was shaky at times. He will be looking to build his confidence against his old side.

Defenders – Nathaniel Clyne, Steven Caulker, Dejan Lovren, Brad Smith

Nathaniel Clyne was another player who did not look bad against the Foxes on Tuesday. Clyne has been always consistent and is a reliable defender. He is expected to continue in Liverpool’s defense. Mamadou Sakho returned from injury last month and he still has not been able to hit his full form. He is shaky at times and gives the ball easily. Steven Caulker on the other hand, looked good against West Ham in the FA Cup and he might get a chance against Sunderland. Dejan Lovren has been impressive since Klopp’s arrival and he might be Liverpool’s best defender at the moment, but he too is shaky at times. Lovren is expected to continue in Liverpool’s starting line-up. Alberto Moreno has had a dip in form recently. He looked great after the arrival of Klopp, but now he looks poor. He has been making defensive errors recently. Brad Smith on the other hand, is waiting for his chance. Jon Flanagan has also returned from injury and he is also looking for his chance.

Midfielders – Lucas Leiva, Joe Allen, Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana

lucas-w-allen

Liverpool’s midfield as a whole was poor against Leicester and Klopp might make some changes here. Emre Can has been solid at times but he has also been rusty. He keeps the ball for too long and sometimes gives away the ball easily. Klopp might be forced to drop Emre Can and bring Joe Allen to the team. Joe Allen has looked impressive recently and looks high on confidence. He is expected to get his chance against Sunderland. Lucas Leiva should partner Allen in the midfield pivot. Jordan Henderson is also expected to continue in Liverpool’s starting line-up. James Milner was played as an attacking player in Liverpool’s recent games. Though he is a versatile player, he lacks the attacking thrust to be an attacking player. Klopp might be also forced to drop Milner and bring in one of his returning starts. And we expect it to be Philippe Coutinho. The return of the Brazilian will be a great boost for Liverpool. Adam Lallana was the hero for Liverpool against Norwich two weeks ago but was ineffective against Leicester. His work rate will be important and that will help him keep his spot in the team.

Striker – Roberto Firmino

Firmino won Liverpool’s ‘Player of The Month’ for January and that will be a huge confidence booster for him. He has looked great as the striker for Liverpool and was able to score four goals last month from that position. He is expected to continue as Liverpool’s striker. If everything goes well we will see Daniel Sturridge come on as a substitute.