Two left backs on the bench. Two right backs on the pitch. I do hope there is a famous Pochettino master plan at work here....... COYS
Hopefully not both on the right like they were against APOEL... Neither of them are match fit, which isn't what you want Salah going up against. If anything the lack of Dier in the pivot is what worries me...unless we're going four at the back and Toby is in the pivot.
Poch is once again taking the piss. In a funny way. Might not be quite as funny come FT and we've lost but...can anyone recall the last time they looked at our team sheet before a game and wasn't left scratching their head from that point until kick off? Massively concerned about Trippier at LWB. Three might be a charm but the first two experiments went disastrously wrong. No holding MF? Very confused at that given the only thing Pool are good at is attacking in numbers and at pace. Poch has gone a bit Ossie with that line up. On the plus side, out bench is looking mighty strong. Just a shame we won't be seeing any of it until the usual 75th minute change I can see this game producing 6+ goals tbh.
Dele must be playing deeper than normal I reckon. Assuming that Dier and Sissoko aren't injured though, this looks to me like the selection of a manager who wants to find out where his team's limits are, and achieve something exceptional with it asap.
I am hoping that Jan is at left back, with Aurier in front of Trippier at right back. Two CBs. Son ahead of Jan. One can only hope.
We might be playing a 4-4-1-1 with Jan at LB, Trippier RB and Aurier further up with Son LW and Winks/Eriksen as the MF then Alli behind Kane. I say 'might' because these days throwing a can of alphabet soup across my table yields more clarity than Poch's match day squads.
No Wanyama, Dembele, Dier or even Sissoko in midfield is a big risk IMHO. Fingers and toes crossed that it pays off. We are back in the no midfield only defence and strikers days.
Wijnaldum is out injured - excellent news. Their midfield trio of Can, Henderson & Milner is the dictionary definition of 'pedestrian'. They'll struggle to get the ball to their attackers if we can control the midfield. IF.
As someone mentioned, maybe Aurier is going to play down the left to combat Salah's pace? Just cant understand why Dier has been benched. The midfield is very creative with Winks, Dele and Eriksen but the way Liverpool press and break theres no defensive nous there really. One good think i suppose is their awful defence trying to repel Kane,Son, Dele and Eriksen.
Not having a lot of luck with injuries and now illness atm. So not a line up of choice but a pragmatic one.
