OPINION
Liverpool suffered a surprise defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday night, a result which condemns them to their second successive loss.
Raul Jimenez initially put the home side ahead at the Molineux after he capitalised on a mistake made by James Milner, but Divock Origi’s equaliser was not enough due to Ruben Neves’ superb individual effort in the second half.
Jurgen Klopp will no doubt be wanting to make amends this Saturday with a win at the Amex against Brighton, and in order to have the best chance of victory, he will need to make seven changes to the side that lost a few days ago.
The first change must come in goal, with Alisson replacing second choice Simon Mignolet in between the sticks.
Three changes must be made to the defence – the first one coming in the shape of Rafael Camacho at right-back. Despite Camacho coping relatively well on Monday, Trent Alexander-Arnold must return to take up his preferred role on the right.
In the centre of defence – due to Dejan Lovren suffering an injury to his hamstring and not being able to play on Saturday according to the Mirror – Fabinho must keep his place due to there not being any other options to call upon in this position.
Mainstay Virgil Van Dijk – who has made 27 appearances in all competitions this season – must return to the starting XI not only because of the injury to Lovren, but because of the overall quality he brings to the position.
£40k-a-week defender Alberto Moreno must be axed at left-back – he was definitely not at his best on Monday – in order to be replaced by Andy Robertson, who has arguably been one of Liverpool’s most consistent performers this season.
Xherdan Shaqiri must retain his place in the midfield as the Reds do not need to think about operating so defensively against the likes of Brighton, with James Milner and Naby Keita also keeping their spots.
Curtis Jones performed rather well on Monday, but there is no doubt that the next three changes should come in the shapes of Klopp’s fearsome attacking trio of Mo Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, who have the ability to cause havoc with the Seagulls defence.
If Klopp makes the right calls regarding the starting XI on Saturday, then his side would rip Brighton to shreds.
