OPINION
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp would be wise to shuffle his deck for Tuesday’s crunch Champions League trip to Red Bull Salzburg.
Indeed, the German should make three changes for the game, following on from Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Bournemouth. The Reds are amidst a hectic fixture list, and Klopp needs to manage his squad carefully.
With that said, Dejan Lovren, James Milner and Roberto Firmino should all drop out, with Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sadio Mane and Divock Origi all set to replace them.
Those three alterations would likely be enough for Klopp’s team to demolish a good, but not great, Salzburg side and secure passage to the next round of the Champions League.
Alisson only got a one-match suspension for his red card against Brighton & Hove Albion, and so he returned to the team in the win over the Cherries. The Brazilian will almost certainly keep his place here.
Alexander-Arnold must replace Lovren for this one, with Joe Gomez sliding across to centre half, as he did when the Croatian went off injured on Saturday. Meanwhile, Andrew Robertson is the main man and should retain his spot at left back on Tuesday.
As mentioned, Gomez needs to be played at centre back, despite Lovren travelling to Austria. As ever, Virgil van Dijk must take the reins alongside him at the centre of the defence.
Jordan Henderson produced a masterclass on Saturday, as did Naby Keita. Both men can expect to get a start, as can Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in central midfield against Salzburg.
Firmino hasn’t been at his best of late, whereas Origi stole the show in last week’s Merseyside derby. The Belgian must start up top alongside Mane and Mohamed Salah.
