It all comes down to this for Liverpool. Beat Middlesbrough on Sunday at Anfield, and they will play Champions League Football next year.
The Reds rose to the occasion last week at West Ham, and should have the same attacking mindset on Sunday.
It has taken all year, but the defense finally seems to be meshing for Liverpool. They have three-straight clean sheets and a fourth in a row would be massive to close the season.
Liverpool tinkered with their formation last weekend, playing a diamond in the midfield instead of their normal three. They dropped Philippe Coutinho back into a No. 8 role and it worked wonders. Moving Adam Lallana into a more attacking role behind two center forwards also worked out well. The same four midfielders should keep their places in this key fixtures.
Daniel Sturridge showed his quality last Sunday, scoring the game-winner and setting up another goal. It was a reminder of what he can do when he is healthy, which unfortunately isn’t very often.
Roberto Firmino will be a late fitness test and could get a start over Origi at the other forward spot, but after last week, Jurgen Klopp should stick with the line-up.
GK – Simon Mignolet
RB – Nathaniel Clyne CB – Joel Matip CB – Dejan Lovren LB – James Milner
MF – Georginio Wijnaldum CDM – Emre Can MF – Philippe Coutinho
CAM – Adam Lallana
FW – Divock Origi FW – Daniel Sturridge
As always, feel free to comment below with your predicted line-up for Sunday’s match and/or your thoughts about this line-up presented for discussion.