OPINION
It was a slight surprise to see Liverpool playmaker Adam Lallana start on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday and even more of a shock that he didn’t even make it onto the pitch.
The 34-cap England international has enjoyed something of a renaissance over the past month, producing impactful performances in wins over Burnley and Fulham recently.
Yet he was ignored against Spurs. To be fair, manager Jurgen Klopp tends to go with more functional midfielders like Jordan Henderson and James Milner in big games like this one. However, with Lallana having made progress recently you would have thought that he would’ve gotten on the pitch at least.
Having said that, Klopp must bring the 30-year-old back into the starting line up against Southampton on Friday. Lallana will surely relish taking on his former side at St Mary’s Stadium, especially considering how angry about his exit they still are.
Mostly, though, he would be a good choice from a tactical point of view. Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side will likely sit back and look to play on the counter, especially after their survival hopes were given a big boost by last weekend’s results.
Liverpool have struggled to cut through defensive-minded sides at times this season and, were Klopp to persist with the trio of Henderson, Milner and Georginio Wijnaldum who fell flat on Sunday, that would likely continue on the South Coast.
Starting Lallana, however, would alleviate that problem. He excels against these sorts of teams and the extra motivation of returning to his old club would likely see the Englishman produce a big performance.
Nothing is certain, of course, but you have to think that plumping for the former Saint on Friday is a better choice than than picking the three workhorses who commandeer big games for the Reds.
