Ok- I have a couple of games off starting threads, and it becomes an absolute shit show. I'm back- the win's are coming back too.
given the injuries and the fact that we simply can't afford to lose .... if it were me, I'd get a bit creative to get the most experience currently possible on the pitch. Ali Fab* Rhys Matip Robbo Hendo Jones Gini Mo Bobby Mane * has played RB for Brazil a few times and likes it
Where is Shaqiri? All of our other injuries, we either saw it happen, or we hear about what happened. Shaqiri just doesn’t get named to the bench and then disappears for weeks with no explanation. There’s is no doubt he would be getting starts if he was available. He’s never available when needed.
A Tuesday to Sunday turnaround is not bad at all. So I think Klopp tries to field his strongest team here, and then picks the same players for Wolves. If we can beat Ajax, we can send the U23's to Denmark to face Midgetland, and then it is Fulham after that. By the time we face Spurs hopefully we have Trent and Thiago back and can field a really strong team. The team for Ajax could look like this: Alisson Neco Matip Fabinho Robertson Henderson Jones Jota Firmino Mane Salah I would give Gini a rest because he has played a ridiculous amount of games already this season. Matip and Henderson can really help Neco through the game, and playing all 4 guys up front should put fear into the Ajax defense.
There is still a significant dilemma on how best to approach tomorrow night’s encounter. Do Liverpool go full strength and get the group wrapped up early? Or do they bank on getting a point and prioritise the weekend’s Premier League match against Wolves? These are questions that Klopp and his backroom staff will have to weigh up when picking his starting line-up to face Ajax. Whichever way you look at it, it’s imperative that they avoid defeat and secure progression to the knockout stages. One scenario which clubs in the past have often wanted to achieve when progressing to the next round is securing top spot in their group. In theory, this should earn you an “easier” tie in the round of 16, but we all know that it’s not as simple as that. Take Liverpool’s past two seasons as examples. In 2018/19, they finished second behind Paris Saint-Germain, and famously went on to win the competition. And then last season, top spot was secured but were then beaten by Atlético Madrid in the first knockout phase. https://www.liverpool.com/liverpool-fc-news/features/liverpool-champions-league-ajax-team-19370785
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is asked whether a win on Tuesday would help him to shuffle his squad for future matches: "I don't look at that perspective," he says. We deal with the situation as it is. Three points would be great and it would help us massively. "It's an important game against a really good team and that's how we want to approach it. I don't have enough players to do that. We played two days ago. The fittest players I have will be on the pitch because I don't have enough players. "In these intense periods the players spend more time with them [medical staff and masseurs] than with me on the pitch because we can't train a lot. It's a busy time for them [staff] and for all of us for sure."
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp rounds off his news conference with an update on the injury front as he is asked about the Virgil van Dijk's progress. "Considering the current circumstances, he is doing really well. His knee doesn't look good to be honest. It doesn't look like a knee should. [But] it looks good for a knee that has had surgery. He is doing well." On Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri: "They are all getting closer but not close enough for tomorrow I think. With Naby we have to check still. "Trent looks quite good. Nobody gave me green light for tonight so he will not train with the team. "He has been outside doing his rehab stuff, that looks really good. But from my experience and what I saw today, it will not be that long with Trent."
I think focusing on finishing off the CL group by winning tomorrow is priority. We're basically always rolling the dice on injuries from here on out, regardless of who plays. The boys need a win after 2 rough games. That will help them the most going into Sunday, which is a decent space between games by this season's shitty standards.
Yeah, and we need a comfortable win after 2 rough games. The gods of Injuries and VAR haven’t been kind to us
From that perspective: Alisson Williams ... Williams ... Matip ... Tsimikos Jones ... Henderson Salah ... Minamino ... Jota Origi Bench: Adrian, Fabinho, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Firmino, Mane ....... Others
Allison Neco Fabinho Matip Robbo Hendo Jones Gini Salah Bobby Jota Get a lead and make use of all 5 subs.