‘Slightly surprised’, ‘Keep them guessing’ – Journalists react to Liverpool team news v Forest
The Liverpool starting line-up for this afternoon’s clash against Nottingham Forest has prompted plenty of reaction from some prominent journalists.
Jurgen Klopp has made four changes from the midweek win over Southampton, with Alexis Mac Allister among those recalled, while Darwin Nunez, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo are all back in the matchday squad among the substitutes.
Writing in the Liverpool Echo’s live matchday blog, Theo Squires suggested (14:08): Squires: “You’d imagine it is [Joe] Gomez at defensive midfield with [Conor] Bradley right-back and [Harvey] Elliott right-wing, as it was against Southampton.
“But it could easily be Gomez right-back, Elliott midfield with Mac Allister deeper, and Bradley on the right flank. Keep them guessing!”
His colleague Paul Gorst acknowledged surprise over one particular selection, saying (14:05): “I am slightly surprised Klopp has gone for Gomez over Endo this afternoon in the defensive midfield position.
“It’s hardly one Gomez has real experience with having played it for one game, at home to a Championship side on Wednesday, but I thought he performed well after he had got to grips with it in the first half.
“Still, though, Endo has been excellent for the Reds but I guess they are just being cautious after that ankle injury at Wembley. It was only six days ago, after all. And Manchester City are up next in the Premier League.”
It’ll only be once the match begins that we find out for sure what the positional make-up of Liverpool’s starting XI will be, but we’d venture to suggest that – like Squires initially said – we’ll probably see Bradley remaining at right-back, with Gomez in the number 6 role and Elliott on the right-hand side of attack.
Endo’s return to the matchday squad does pose a question as to whether he could’ve started at the base of midfield, but like Gorst pointed out, Klopp could be playing the long game with the 31-year-old when considering the fixtures which are coming up.
The starting XI still has a somewhat experimental feel to it amid the glut of injuries at Anfield, but at least the returns of the Japan captain, along with Nunez and Szoboszlai, offer greater strength and experience off the bench if needed.
There could also be cameos for Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas at some stage after their goalscoring exploits in midweek, with both among the substitutes today.
As ever, we have full faith in Klopp to pick the best XI available to him to hopefully get the job done this afternoon and open up a four-point lead on Manchester City overnight.
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