Liverpool is in top form now and are high on confidence. Liverpool have thrashed Chelsea, Manchester City and Southampton at their respective home grounds and all football fans have only two words to describe it – ‘Klopp Effect’.
Liverpool’s good form could go on because their fixtures in December are comparatively easy. This week they face Newcastle at St. James Park. Newcastle are not in a good form now and their manager, Steve McClaren, is under huge pressure. If he faces another heavy defeat against Liverpool then he might get sacked next week.
Liverpool have their key players back and they have the luxury of rotating them. Even though they have easy fixtures in December, it is a busy month. Who will start for Liverpool against Newcastle on Sunday. Here’s our predicted line-up.
Goalkeeper – Simon Mignolet
Mignolet has been receiving a lot of stick from the fans. Rumours said that Klopp is looking for a new keeper to replace Mignolet, but Klopp himself said that Mignolet is one of the smartest goalkeepers he has ever had. Klopp said that he is happy with his current keepers.
This might be a strategic move to help Mignolet regain his confidence and get the best out of him or maybe Klopp really thinks Mignolet is the man for the job or maybe Klopp thinks he is good enough to be Liverpool’s back up keeper. Anyways, Mignolet will remain as Liverpool’s number one against Newcastle. It is unknown if Klopp will replace Mignolet in January.
Defenders – Nathaniel Clyne, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren, Alberto Moreno
Even though Clyne said earlier this week that he does not need rest and all he wanted is trophies, he was rested by Klopp against Southampton on Wednesday. Liverpool will have a fresh Clyne back in their starting line-up on Sunday. Martin Skrtel has been in a good form recently and he was dominant in the air against Southampton. Dejan Lovren, on the other hand, has also been impressive. He was also solid against Southampton, amidst the boos he got from the Saints fans.
Kolo Toure is Liverpool’s only senior center back option at the moment. We expect Skrtel and Lovren to continue as centre backs because they are solid together and they should be let to take their momentum forward. Alberto Moreno is one of the most improved Liverpool players after Klopp’s arrival. His confidence and form is high at the moment. Though he is not that good at defending, he has improved a lot. His bullet shot took a slight nick off Origi on Wednesday. The goal was awarded to Origi, which helped the Belgian to score a Hat-trick. Moreno did amazingly to find Jordon Ibe which paved for Liverpool’s fifth goal. We will see the confident Moreno continue as Liverpool’s left back against Newcastle.
Midfielders – Lucas Leiva, Jordan Henderson, Jordon Ibe, Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho
Liverpool were without Lucas Leiva last week against Swansea. He was out due to suspension. Lucas returned to Liverpool’s starting eleven against Southampton and he was named as Liverpool’s captain for the match. Lucas Leiva has been in good form since Klopp’s arrival and he is a key player for Liverpool. Lucas will play as Liverpool’s defensive midfielder on Sunday. Last week we saw the return of Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson. He came on as a sub against Swansea and he did the same against Southampton. If Henderson starts for Liverpool against Newcastle, it will be his first start under Klopp.
Jordon Ibe is another player who has been in top form since Klopp’s arrival. Klopp has given him more playing time and he is looking great. Ibe did not start for Liverpool against Southampton on Thursday. However, he came on as a sub and his beautiful through pass paved way for Origi’s second goal. He also scored a well taken half volley goal. We expect Ibe to start against the struggling Magpies.
Roberto Firmino, who has been in good form recently, looked very tired against Swansea last week and he desperately needed rest. He was rested by Klopp on Thursday and we expect the Brazilian to return to Liverpool’s starting line-up against Newcastle. Philippe Coutinho suffered a slight hamstring injury against Manchester City two weeks ago. He returned to training last week, but he was not able to get his full fitness back and he missed the games against Bordeaux, Swansea and Southampton. We expect the in-form Brazilian to return to Liverpool’s start eleven on Sunday.
Striker – Christian Benteke
Daniel Sturridge marked up his first start under Klopp with a brace against the Saints. However, Klopp won’t overload him by starting him against Newcastle. The fans want to see Sturridge and Benteke play together, but for now we will see Klopp rotating the two strikers. We expect Christian Benteke to start for Liverpool on Sunday. Liverpool’s other Belgian striker, Divock Origi, scored a Hat-trick against Southampton on Thursday and that will be a great confidence booster for the youngster. However, we do not expect Origi to feature for Liverpool on Sunday, but he will probably start against FC Sion in the Europa League.
