Have we got enough to defeat the Premier League table-toppers…?
Really, the entire team has to be on top, top form if we’re to pick up a successful result in the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea on Tuesday evening, but we reckon these five stars will need to especially on their games…
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1) Simon Mignolet
The Belgian has kept consecutive clean-sheets, and his performance against Aston Villa on Saturday saw him singled out for praise by the manager – who’s aware of the criticism thrown Mignolet’s way throughout the campaign. Chelsea though are excellent from set-pieces, and have physically powerful players to cause problems in our area, so we’ll need the 26-year-old to command his box expertly. Shot-stopping has never been a problem for Mignolet, but he’ll need to take charge and be confident when dealing with deliveries into the box.
2) Martin Skrtel
In our current 3-4-3 formation, Skrtel plays at the heart of a back-three, meaning he’ll be directly charged with stopping world-class Diego Costa form bagging. The Spaniard scored against us at Anfield back in November, and got the better of Skrtel on the day – but the Slovakian has seriously upped his level in recent weeks, and will be eagerly anticipating the battle.
3) Lazar Markovic
The young Serbian has excelled as a right wing-back during our past two matches, and he’s expected to start in this position again on Tuesday. Although we value him for his surging runs and dribbles, he’ll need to be careful versus Chelsea, as he’ll be directly up against Eden Hazard – probably the best left winger in the country. Markovic has proved recently though that he’s more than capable of providing both offensively and defensively.
4) Coutinho
With Raheem Sterling still a little rusty after his mid-season break, and Adam Lallana unlikely to start because of the injury he picked up on New Year’s Day versus Leicester, the Brazilian magician will be charged with opening up the excellent Blues defence. Coutinho will have rapid Sterling as an option in behind, and it could be this combination which makes us chances. The 22-year-old has been excellent recently, and he has the ability to carve open even the best defences in Europe. The key will be Coutinho finding the pockets of space between Chelsea’s defence and midfield.
5) Lucas
Lucas will have to battle with the outstanding Nemanja Matic in the centre of the park. The Serbian powerhouse is arguably the best anchoring midfielder in the top flight, but our Brazilian is maybe the most underrated. Matic will look to assert his physical dominance over our midfield, and he’ll likely do so unless Lucas wins their individual duel. Jordan Henderson will provide our side with legs and pressing, but Lucas will help maintain possession and dictate tempo – if possible.
