Andoni Iraola has made five changes to the Liverpool starting XI for tonight’s Champions League clash against Fenerbahce, with the head coach not afraid to drop some big names to the substitutes’ bench.
There’s a signficant reshuffle in attack as Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak are all taken out of the line-up, with Dominik Szoboszlai, Rio Ngumoha and Victor Munoz coming in to start.
The Reds have no recognised centre-forward in their starting XI, so it looks likely that Bradley Barcola will move infield to lead the line.
Liverpool will have ‘exciting line-up’ v Fenerbahce
When the team news was announced 75 minutes before kick-off, two Liverpool Echo reporters covering the game in Istanbul gave their immediate takes to some eye-catching selections by Iraola.
Paul Gorst wrote on the live matchday blog: ‘No recognised striker for Liverpool, so my hunch is it is Bradley Barcola who will lead the line tonight. It’s an exciting line-up, though. Munoz, Ngumoha, Szoboszlai all in there alongside Barcola.’
Ian Doyle focused on Trey Nyoni keeping his place alongside Alexis Mac Allister, saying: ‘Nyoni starts a third successive game, which is a big call. Not on form, but in terms of fitness for a youngster.’
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Some eye-catching changes by Iraola
A relentless fixture list and a quick turnaround from the defeat to Arsenal on Sunday has no doubt been a factor in Iraola making so many changes, but it’s by no means a weak starting XI for Liverpool.
The full-back combination of Joe Gomez and Kostas Tsimikas may seem surprising, but both are experienced campaigners who won’t wilt in the intense atmosphere of the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium.
The decision to persist with Nyoni is a tremendous show of faith in the teenager, whose recent performances suggest that he might’ve kept his place even if Ryan Gravenberch hadn’t been missing through injury.
The heavy rotation in the forward line is quite interesting, and at least Liverpool can point to having huge strength in depth off the bench is required. If it is Barcola who starts at centre-forward, a lot of eyes will be on him to see how he fares in that unfamiliar role.
Iraola hasn’t been afraid to roll the dice, which is an ideal trait for a head coach to have. He’s made some big calls tonight, and hopefully those will pay off and our 100% record in the Champions League will be preserved going into matchday five later this month.