Things are going swimmingly for Liverpool on a domestic front, minus the coronavirus threat which is threatening to disrupt the Premier League season and thus their title charge.
In Europe it’s a different story though, as they have a big task on their hands ahead of their Champions League round-of-16 second leg against Atletico Madrid.
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Liverpool lost in the first leg at the Wanda Metropolitano
They must overturn a 1-0 deficit at Anfield on Wednesday night against a Diego Simeone side renowned for their excellent defence and organisation.
However, Liverpool know exactly how to turn around a Champions League tie, having claimed an improbable win in the semi-finals against Barcelona on their way to winning it last season.
So this has all the makings to be another famous Anfield night…
Liverpool team news
The big news from a Liverpool perspective is club captain Jordan Henderson is available having recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in the first leg.
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Henderson has been Liverpool’s best player so his availability is a huge boost
Adrian Durham says Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson deserves to win Player of the Year this season
Andy Robertson is also expected to make a return – the left-back sitting out Liverpool’s win over Bournemouth at the weekend with a minor knock.
Goalkeeper Alisson Becker is still out with a hip injury and is likely to miss the Reds’ Premier League clash against Everton on Monday. Xherdan Shaqiri is also out.
As for Atletico, they welcome back ex-Spurs man Kieran Trippier as well as Joao Felix and Hector Herrera. The trio missed the first leg due to injury.
Meanwhile, Thomas Lemar was forced off midway through the first leg with a thigh issue but the winger has travelled with the squad.
Former Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata will undergo a late fitness test to recover from a muscular problem, according to Simeone.
And this is how Liverpool should line up for the Champions League clash, according to talkSPORT.com.
Henderson must come back to Liverpool’s line up
With Henderson now fit to play he must come straight into the starting XI. Any Liverpool fan would agree the team has looked noticeably worse since he’s been out.
However, the England international should come back in the defensive midfield role as Fabinho has looked very out of sorts since returning from injury in January.
The Brazilian has been flat-footed, particularly against Bournemouth, and teams have been finding more joy with him in Liverpool’s midfield. Henderson has played a large chunk of the season in Fabinho’s position so is more than capable of doing a job there.
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Henderson filled in for Fabinho in defensive midfield from November to January
Alongside Henderson you need players full of energy as Liverpool look to hunt down their opponents. Georginio Wijnaldum, who scored a brace in that memorable win against Barcelona, and James Milner, who performed well at the weekend, are the ideal players for this scenario.
Robertson is also available so we’ve put him in his usual left-back slot, alongside Liverpool’s other strongest defenders in Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
As mentioned, Alisson is injured so second-choice keeper Adrian will have to start in goal. The Spaniard made a bad mistake in the Reds’ FA Cup exit at Chelsea which led to a goal last week but looked better at the weekend so should be ready for Atletico.
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Adrian has the opportunity to make himself a hero
Up front, who else? It has to be Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. They were neutralised well in the first leg but will surely be a different animal with over 50,000 Kopites cheering them on.
If goals are difficult to come by, Klopp should definitely consider throwing on Divock Origi in the final half an hour. The Belgian has a knack for scoring in big games, including two in the win over Barca and a goal to seal Liverpool’s win over Tottenham in last season’s final.
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