Jurgen Klopp is likely to rest some of his key players when Liverpool take on West Bromwich Albion, with the UEFA Champions League semifinals up ahead.
Liverpool will take a trip to the Hawthorns as they face off against bottom dwellers West Bromwich Albion on Saturday in the Premier League.
The Reds currently sit in the third place in the table, four points behind Manchester United and will be hoping to close down the gap with a win against the Baggies. However, with the all important semifinal fixture against AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League coming up during the week, manager Jurgen Klopp could decide to leave out some of his stars from the starting XI on Saturday.
Loris Karius has been in solid form between the sticks for the Merseysiders in recent weeks and is a guaranteed starter against the Midlands club.
In defence, Liverpool have been handed a boost by the return of Joe Gomez and Dejan Lovren to full fitness, the manager has confirmed. However, Nathaniel Clyne remains sidelined and Joel Matip is out for the season.
“Joe is back in full training, Dejan had only a little bit longer recovery but he trained yesterday as well. Nobody else I think, that’s it,” said Jurgen Klopp at his pre-match press conference.
Despite Gomez’s return, Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to line up as the right-back, while Alberto Moreno could be in line for a rare start on the opposite flank with Andrew Robertson dropping out. At the heart of the defence, Virgil van Dijk is likely to partner up with Ragnar Klavan, with Lovren unlikely to be risked ahead of the Roma game.
Emre Can and Adam Lallana continue to remain sidelined for Liverpool and the manager expressed doubts over the possibility of the duo returning to full fitness before the end of the season.
“There is no real news about Adam and Emre; they are in a good way [but] we will see what that means at the end. Everything is possible that they will be part of the squad again this season, or not,” Klopp said.
Captain Jordan Henderson was brilliant in the Reds’ last game against Bournemouth last weekend and should find himself starting at the base of the midfield once again. He is likely to be partnered by former Newcastle United man Georginio Wijnaldum on one side and veteran midfielder James Milner on the other, meaning Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is likely to be benched.
In attack, there is a likelihood that Klopp will ring in wholesale changes, just like he did in the Merseyside derby against Everton, before Liverpool’s second leg quarterfinal tie against Manchester City, meaning leading goalscorer Mohamed Salah is likely to be benched, along with Roberto Firmino.
That would see young Englishman Dominic Solanke lead the line for the Reds, flanked by Danny Ings on the right-hand side and Sadio Mane out on the left. Both Solanke and Ings are yet to score a goal this season and Saturday’s fixture against the bottom side will provide them with a good opportunity to break their duck.
