Liverpool fans should prepare themselves for a mixed starting XI against Sunderland today, if these comments from Jurgen Klopp are anything to go by…
The manager was speaking yesterday ahead of the Black Cats’ visit to Anfield, and suggested that with Adam Lallana injured and the squad suffering from a few niggles, he might shuffle his pack.
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“Now I feel bad that Lallana can’t play,” Klopp told the Echo.
“Adam Lallana as everybody knows well is an important player for us but it is not about just him.
“Even the games against Man United and Southampton they were completely different. You cannot compare them. That is no reason for us (not to score).
“We don’t know if we can bring the same formation (against Sunderland). We have got a few guys who are struggling a little bit. We have to make a few late decisions.”
These quotes indicate to us that Daniel Sturridge will get a start, with the striker coming on at St. Mary’s last weekend and proving that he probably should have been introduced a little earlier.
If we’re right, Coutinho could drop back into the midfield three in Lallana’s usual spot, with the forward coming into the frontline alongside Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane.
Sunderland are still in the relegation zone but are on the back of consecutive wins and we’re playing them at their best moment of the season. They’ll be rigidly defensive and it’ll up to Klopp’s Reds to break them down as best as possible.