OPINION
Liverpool concluded a successful pre-season campaign on Tuesday evening with a 3-1 win over Serie A outfit Torino at Anfield, and the victory will have given Jurgen Klopp a better idea of his starting team for the Reds’ season opener against West Ham on Sunday.
The German’s main concern will be in defence, with Joe Gomez having to sit out with a minor injury as academy player Nat Philips filled in alongside Virgil van Dijk from the start.
With Dejan Lovren only having just returned from holidays and Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip not fit, Klopp will be relying on Gomez to recover in time to start at Anfield against the Hammers.
In all other areas of the pitch Liverpool are looking strong, with Alisson set to start in goal after his world-record move from Roma.
Up front, the boss has his preferred front three all raring to go, with Xherdan Shaqiri and Adam Lallana waiting in the wings as support.
It is in midfield however where Klopp has the most options to work with, and there is one hard decision that he must make ahead of the game against West Ham: Fabinho must not start.
The Brazilian arrived at the club for a huge fee of £43million this summer, and despite the temptation to start him immediately, that would be a mistake from Klopp.
The 24-year-old has looked well off the pace in pre-season, and Klopp has even admitted himself that the versatile midfielder is struggling a bit.
In contrast, Georginio Wijnaldum looked at his very best in the win over Torino, and he should be handed a start alongside Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson on Sunday.
There is plenty of time for Fabinho to work his way into the season, and Klopp must now make the big decision to disappoint fans and make him wait for his competitive debut for the club.
