Whilst it’s far too early to say this game will decide the title there are games in every season that are absolutely pivotal and this is undoubtedly one of those. A win here would not only put a bit of daylight between us we’d be putting them in same position they were in last season when they were forced to play catch up, we all saw how they struggled with the pressure of playing with the sword of Damocles over their heads every week so we need to do the same again. They did wipe the floor with us last time we were there but our players were still half p1ssed from our title winning celebrations. We will need to bring our A game though to get anything out of this game. This is the team i’d go with -
Alisson
Trent Matip. Gomez. Robbo
Hendo. Wijnaldum
Thiago
Mo. Sadio Jota
I know Matip and Thiago haven’t played in a while but they are both experienced pro’s who have played in CL finals etc, Im just concerned that the likes of De Bruyne, Sterling etc might have a bit much for the likes of Phillips and Williams etc.
Man City away is our toughest game of the season. Thiago hasn't returned to team training yet so can't see him being involved. Matip has been training since the weekend and I'm pretty sure he could have played against Atalanta but Klopp wrapped him up in cotton wool for this game. Klopp will want to disrupt their play from the back and deny Rodri time on the ball so I think he'll bring Firmino back in.
In the post lockdown battering against them we completely failed to stop De Bruyne and he destroyed us. Our midfield was off the pace that day and also for the start of this season but have looked back on it in the past game and half. They'll need to dominant that space if we're going to stop City.
If we start Jota we'll win this...being a new addition he's unpredictable for the opposition and will make them tactically uncertain. Will be interesting to see if matip comes back in, or whether one of the youngsters will be given a chance...
With other teams kicking at our heels this one is a must win...looking forward to it
For me this will go a very long way mentally towards deciding the season and getting in the heads of our closest challengers. In sport putting down markers that psychologically effect your opponents is paramount towards success. Last season the majority of teams were mentally beaten before a ball was even kicked. Klopp knows all about this and will be determined in a way that only he knows how to motivate the lads to the result we all want. Not going to try and predict the team. I’ll leave that to JK given that he is slightly more qualified than me
Let’s go and stuff this bunch of entitled cheating fkrs in a way that will hurt them for a long time !!
COYR
YNWA
Net Spend Over The Last 5 Years (10 years are in brackets) LFC £255m (£467m) Everton £38m (£287m) Arsenal £645m6 (£925m) Spurs £510m (£541m) Chelsea £788m (£1007m) Man City £307m (£1012m) Man United £702m (£1249m)
Like the aggressive line up though I would have preferred to see Shaq in there who I think is in better form than Bobby. Hope Jota is up front and Bobby number 10 and not the other way round, Jota’s ability to run in behind is a huge weapon for us. Come on you reds!