Rhys Williams is set for another start while Roberto Firmino should replace Diogo Jota when Liverpool face off against Manchester United on Thursday.
Liverpool will be aiming to bolster their chances of securing a top four finish in the 2020/21 Premier League when they lock horns with arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
Heading into the game, Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has not been dealt with any fresh injury blows. However, the Reds will still be missing a number of players as Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson all remain sidelined along with January signings Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies while James Milner and Naby Keita are also unlikely to be available.
The absence of Kabak for the last game against Southampton forced Klopp to field an inexperienced central defensive partnership of Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams, who managed to secure a clean sheet. Ahead of the trip to Old Trafford, the German hinted that going in the same centre-back pairing against Manchester United in his pre-match press conference.
“We train from time to time and you cannot just put a boy on the pitch if he’s not in the shape for that in that moment – you have to find another solution. You don’t line a player up, especially not a young one, and hope it will work out. But in the moment when boys show up in training, when they have a momentum in training, these kind of things, then is a good moment for that. Rhys, for example, is now in a really good moment and that helps obviously,” he said.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson are guaranteed starters as the full-backs for Liverpool while Alisson Becker is also a shoo-in between the sticks. With Williams set for another start at the heart of the Liverpool defence, it allows Klopp to continue using Fabinho in his preferred role in the middle of the park, which can be critical for the Reds against Manchester United.
The remaining two slots in the centre of the park ought to be taken up by the workhorse Georginio Wijnaldum and Spanish pass maestro Thiago Alcantara, who will be high on confidence after scoring his first goal for Liverpool in the win against Southampton over the weekend.
Moving into the attacking third of the pitch, Sadio Mane, who was on target against the Saints and Mohamed Salah, who set the Senegalese speedster up for the goal, are certain starters. Through the middle, though, Roberto Firmino ought to replace Diogo Jota, with the Portuguese going through a bit of a dull patch of late.
Liverpool Predicted XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Williams, Robertson; Thiago, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
