CM) James Milner
With no room for Lucas, Can or Allen in the squad, we’ve gone for a 4-2-3-1 formation. This will allow Milner and Henderson to occupy slightly deeper roles, where they will be looking to show off their passing abilities in full.
CM) Jordan Henderson
The captain is no stranger to being moved around the Liverpool midfield. It will though be interesting to see how he and Milner adjust to not having someone covering behind them, should this indeed prove to be our line-up.
RW) Jordon Ibe
Arguably the stand-out performer in our pre-season campaign thus far. His goal against the Malaysia XI last time out was a joy to behold. If he can continue that sort of form then it’ll be hard to deny him a start against Stoke.
AM) Adam Lallana
Another player who did his reputation and standing among the Liverpool fans no harm at all in the Far East. A good performance here could make him very hard to drop for the start of the season, despite Firmino’s presence.
LW) Philippe Coutinho
It’ll be good to see the Brazilian back with his senior teammates, a couple of months on from his last appearance in the side – not counting a run out for the Under-21s against Porto last week. Let’s hope he can build on last year.
ST) Danny Ings
It will likely be either Ings or Origi leading the line, rather than both. If that does prove to be the case, we’d like to see the Burnley man given the nod, who based on the games so far is far more likely to feature against Stoke.
Our thoughts on the five substitutes on the next page…
