The Champions League is back baby, and Liverpool FC will host AC Milan on Wednesday night in what is the UCL opener for both sides.
Liverpool should run out a similar team to Sunday’s win at Leeds, as they try to get a valuable win, and grab three points from the jump. Now that we know the latest team news, let’s take a look at the potential first team in this one.
Goalkeeper
Alisson had his third clean sheet of the season on Sunday.
He didn’t have much to do in the game, but he had a huge save on Rodrigo early that could have changed the entire match. The Brazilian has had a strong start to the season and hopefully that continues Wednesday.
Defense
With a busy month ahead, featuring seven games in 21 days, the Reds will need some rotation in the back. But it is unlikely those changes come Wednesday.
Liverpool want to get off to a good start in the Champions League and will come out with a strong line-up. Trent Alexander-Arnold has started off the season extremely well at right back, and added an assist Sunday.
Andy Robertson has played a lot of games, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Kostas Tsimikas in one of the upcoming games. But with a PL tie with Crystal Palace and a Carabao Cup tie with Norwich coming up, it is likely to occur in one of those two matches instead.
Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are the established first-choice center backs for the Reds. They keep their places.
Midfield
Fabinho is a nailed on starter in big games in the midfield, and is set to start in the No. 6 role. Jordan Henderson didn’t start Sunday, but came on after Harvey Elliott’s injury and played 30 minutes. He is set to start at one of the other midfield spots.
The last spot is between Thiago, Curtis Jones and Naby Keita. Keita may get the nod here. He seems to be ahead of Jones in the pecking order, and it could be a chance to give Thiago a bit of a break.
Attack
The picks up front are pretty straight forward it seems. With Takumi Minamino and Roberto Firmino out, it is likely Diogo Jota, Sadio Mane and Mo Salah get the starts up top. Divock Origi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are options off the bench.
Predicted Liverpool Line-up vs AC Milan (4-3-3): Alisson, Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Diogo Jota, Mo Salah.