Sunday marks just the second ever meeting between Liverpool FC and Shrewsbury Town. The first meeting, also an FA Cup 4th round tie, came way back in 1996, and it was won on the road by the Merseyside club. The rematch will see the Reds as huge favorites, and understandably so.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will heavily rotate his squad for this one, but it will still be more than enough to get past an away match against these minnows. The German does have some fitness concerns though. James Milner (muscular issue) and Xherdan Shaqiri (calf injury) are progressing, but this match will come too soon for them to feature.
In regards to Sadio Mane, who likely wouldn’t feature here anyway, we still don’t know how severe the tweak to his hamstring (which forced him to leave Thursday’s win over Wolves) is at this point.
“We don’t know exactly [what the injury is], it’s the muscle. He felt something in the hamstring. We don’t know yet, obviously, we have to wait. We will see,” Klopp said Friday.
Midfielder Adam Lallana missed the Wolverhampton win due to a virus while Nathaniel Clyne remains a long term injury absentee.
Liverpool FC at Shrewsbury Town FYIs
January 26, 5 pm, New Meadow
Liverpool starting XI prediction: go to this link
Key stats/facts: If Liverpool win, it will mark their first appearance in the FA Cup fifth round since 2014-15; way back when Donald Trump was just a game show host and 1980s C-list celebrity.
Referee: Andre Marriner Assistant Referees: Dan Cook & Stuart Burt Fourth Official: Oliver Langford
Prediction: Liverpool 3, Shrewsbury Town 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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