After facing a narrow 2-1 defeat to the Italian giants AS Roma, the Merseyside club, Liverpool will now be travelling back to England to face the La Liga champions FC Barcelona at the Wembley. The Reds had a mixed tour so far as they faced a 1-0 and 2-1 defeat at the hands the Chelsea and AS Roma respectively, while they had a positive result against AC Milan.
Klopp was already without some stellar names like Mamadou Sakho, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, but the injuries to Marko Grujic, Alberto Moreno, Loris Karius, Divock Origi and youngster Ovie Ejaria have worsened the situation.
Barcelona, on the other hand, defeated the Scottish side Celtic in their first game of the tour by a comfortable scoreline of 3-1, and most recently, they bagged a 4-2 win over the English Champions Leicester City.
Barcelona’s manager Luis Enrique is yet to welcome many of his Euro 2016 stars, besides the, he has the services of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, the former Liverpool striker, and Javier Mascherano.
The most recent meeting between the two sides is an encounter in the 2007 Champions League, where the Reds won the first leg by 2-1 at Camp Nou and lost the second one by 1-0 at the Anfield.
This is a special game for Luis Suarez as he will be meeting his old teammates in England yet again, and so, here is the predicted lineup for Liverpool, that could face Barcelona with full throttle:
Goalkeeper: Alex Manninger-
The Austrian shot-stopper gave a positive display in his debut game for the Reds, i.e, against Roma as he was able to deny a couple of opportunities for the Italians. Overall, it was a safe and secure display by the 39-year-old, and could feature yet again against Barcelona.
Defence: Clyne; Lovren; Klavan; Milner-
Liverpool’s number one, Nathaniel Clyne was absolutely brilliant against Roma last time out and combined really well with Sadio Mane on the wings. This is no secret that the player is Liverpool’s top possession and could play a vital role in the upcoming campaign, but before that, the manager might use him against the Catalonians.
With the absence of Sakho and Matip, the obvious centre back pairing for the manager would be of Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan. Both the centre backs were poor in the marking system against Roma, hence, the manager needs to work on that.
On the left side, the manager might again use the Englishman, James Milner, who gave a wonderful display from the same spot against Roma.
Holding Midfielders: Emre Can, Jordan Henderson-
The German midfielder Emre Can played his first game of the pre-season against Roma, but didn’t really had a positive impact. He still needs to work on his match fitness and a game against Barcelona could really help his cause.
In the central area, the manager might have used the new arrival Marko Grujic, but with Wijnaldum yet to make any significant impact in the central area, the manager might use Jordan Henderson against the Catalan side.
Attacking Trio: Mane; Firmino; Coutinho-
The new signing Sadio Mane has not been able to show his full calibre till date, but a game against the team like Barcelona could be a great platform for a quick head start.
On the other wing, the manager used the young Sheyi Ojo, who grabbed the goal, but in this game, Klopp might opt Coutinho as he needs the Brazilian fully match fit before the season starts. With Flanks already served, Liverpool will place the Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino as an attacking midfielder.
Striker: Daniel Sturridge-
The Englishman was the sharpest attacking threat in the game against Roma and is on the path of improvement. He surely is a great prospect, but he really needs to work on his fitness.
