After a comeback win against Stoke City last week, Liverpool travel to Hawthorns to play West Bromwich Albion next. The Reds haven’t had a positive outcome in that venue for long, and with the season approaching the closure, Liverpool cannot afford to lose any points if they aim to participate in Champions League next year.
Defence
Simon Mignolet will take his position under the bar. The Belgian shot stopper didn’t start the season as their first-choice and is definitely not the most reliable in the league. He has conceded 28 goals in the 22 games he has played so far, and if not for Loris Karius’ scary form, Mignolet would still be on the bench. Liverpool’s grand plans of remodelling next season includes a goalkeeper as a top priority.
The Reds played with a three-man defence last game and we expect the boss to stick with it this time too, given the congested defending Tony Pulis is likely to set up. The back three of Dejan Lovren, Ragnar Klavan and Joel Matip should continue to take their places this time too.
Liverpool haven’t won at Hawthorns since October 2011, and given the blunt attack, West Bromwich have, Klopp would plan an all-out attack. Albion are lethal from set-pieces and the three at the back will have a crucial job at their hands.
However, the problem with this is Liverpool, unlike Chelsea, don’t have proper wing-backs to get the job done. While Nathaniel Clyne could do his job pretty well on the left flank, the other flank remains a big problem. Trent Alexander-Arnold started in that position but was taken off early in the second half. Klopp has to stick with him.
Midfield
With Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana, both out with injuries, Klopp will have problems in accommodating the central midfield effectively. The German had deployed Emre Can, Wijnaldum and James Milner in the middle and while it proved well defensively, on the creative front they looked ineffective.
All three of them are primarily box-to-box midfielders and sooner or later, the team is bound to run out of ideas in the face of compact defending.
Attack
The introduction of Phillippe Coutinho was like a breath of fresh air in the last game against Stoke City. The Brazilian took his time though but netted a timely equaliser just at the stroke of the final quarter of the game.
Coutinho will start behind his compatriot Roberto Firmino. The Brazilian has scored 10 goals and assisted nine times this season and his movements in the attacking third are bound to cause problems for West Bromwich Albion.
