Arthur benched, Milner starts: Confirmed Liverpool starting lineup against Napoli

Confirmed Liverpool lineup against Napoli in opening UEFA Champions League fixture

Liverpool will face Napoli today at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium in their opening group stage game in this season’s UEFA Champions League. The line-up is pretty similar to the one which played Everton at Goodison Park but with a few tweaks.

After a disappointing draw at Everton, it was thought by some fans that Arthur Melo could start the game. Surprisingly, gaffer Jurgen Klopp rather opted for the services of James Milner. Fabio Carvalho and Darwin Nunez sit out for Milly and Roberto Firmino. Andrew Robertson also features in the XI, coming back in for Kostas Tsimikas.

New signing Arthur is sitting on the bench for this game and is expected to feature after a point as well. The wingers remain the same, and the bench also sees Thiago Alcantara and Diogo Jota, both of whom are returning from injury layoffs.

Surprising to see James Milner start, instead of a younger Arthur Melo as Liverpool had other options. Perhaps, the duo of Thiago and Arthur haven’t trained enough to garner a starting spot in today’s lineup.

It is good to see Bobby Firmino back in the lineup. Nunez played instead of him last game, even with the Brazilian in top form. It will be a good game to watch, as Liverpool are going through a tough run of games and a win here could really swing momentum in our favour.

More Liverpool News:

• Steven Gerrard talks about the Douglas Luiz situation amid Liverpool links
• Rio Ferdinand identifies Fabinho as the reason for Newcastle’s opening goal against Liverpool
• Arthur Melo and Liverpool. How will this transfer turn out?

The Reds and Napoli were drawn in the same group in the 2019/20 season as well. We lost to the Serie A side in Naples by a 1-0 scoreline and drew 1-1 at Anfield.