Goalkeeper/Defence
Simon Mignolet – His almost guaranteed start is part of the reason for the line-up and selection against Real. Does not look comfortable and is very, very weak in the air. The likes of Pepe will terrorize Mignolet from the no doubt numerous set pieces the home side will be awarded, and the Belgian truly needs to make his area his own in this game.
Javier Manquillo – Hopefully the experiment with Johnson is now over as, despite not being too bad against Newcastle, Manquillo offers far more defensively to warrant inclusion in what is likely to be a much tougher examination of the back-line than it underwent at Newcastle. The temptation is to go for experience up against what are some of the best attackers in the world but Javier has looked largely more mature than some of his older counterparts and retains the starting berth on merit alone.
Martin Skrtel – A tough-tackling and organizing performance at the Bernabeu would go some way to cementing his place as the first choice centre back and a goal from a set play wouldn’t be too bad.
Dejan Lovren – On paper, the former Southampton defender looks well suited to the big European nights: confident, vocal and comfortable in possession but much like Sakho he has wilted somewhat at Anfield since his arrival. A Hyypia/Carragher-like display would do just the trick, in terms of boosting his failed confidence.
Alberto Moreno – While it’s tempting to go with an alternative after a below-par couple of displays from the Spanish full-back, he has shown enough this season already to deserve to play himself back to the lofty heights of early season.
I wish LFC victory over REAL but there level performance is too low. Though, we lose SUAREX to Barca but that is not the reason why we are back to our root.
LFC Is behind the bench. I always got angry at their game, especially, when lose or draw with a profile team.