After a disappointing draw against Bournemouth, Liverpool hits the road on Saturday when they face Stoke City.
Liverpool still sits in third in the BPL table with seven games to go in the race for a top-4 spot.
Simon Mignolet has only registered one clean sheet in 2017, but a lot of that isn’t his fault. The oft criticized keeper is cemented in the No. 1 spot for the rest of the season, but the Reds defense still is far from where it needs to be.
Joel Matip was forced to be a substitute against Bournemouth after suffering a back injury against Everton. He should be back in the starting line-up for Stoke and that is good news for the Reds. If they are going to solidify their defense in the final weeks, it will need to be with their regular starters of Clyne, Matip, Lovren and Milner.
Gini Wijnaldum had a major gaffe that set up Bournemouth’s first goal, but made up for it with an assist later in the game. With Adam Lallana out and Jordan Henderson still coming back from injury, the midfield should remain the same against Stoke City with Wijnaldum alongside Lucas and Can.
Liverpool will be without Sadio Mane for the rest of the season.
Fans then held their breath when Philippe Coutinho went straight down the tunnel after being removed on Wednesday. But it appears as though Coutinho is fine and is in good form, as is Divock Origi, who has scored two in two.
Roberto Firmino had a poor game against Bournemouth and could be replaced by Daniel Sturridge in the line-up, but that seems unlikely right now.
GK – Simon Mignolet
RB- Nathaniel Clyne CB- Joel Matip CB- Dejan Lovren LB- James Milner
MF – Gini Wijnaldum MF – Lucas Leiva MF – Emre Can
RW – Roberto Firmino FW- Divock Origi LW – Philippe Coutinho
As always, feel free to post your own Liverpool starting XI in the comments section below. Speak your mind on the formations and line-ups that are already presented here for your discussion.