The Premier League returns to your television screens this weekend, after an international break. Proper football is back and let’s hope Liverpool are back. The struggling reds travel down to London to face Crystal Palace in a tricky-looking encounter.
It seems like I’m saying this every week now… but Liverpool haven’t got going at all yet. They have actually lost their last three games in all competitions. Albeit a couple of them against the likes of Real Madrid and Chelsea. It’s still not good enough as far as Liverpool fans are concerned.
In a peculiar way, finishing so high up in the table last season is haunting Liverpool a bit now. Obviously the return of Champions League football is tremendous for the whole club. But the expectations may have been set too high for the side to maintain this season.
Brendan Rodgers is very much a man under pressure now, unfortunately. The Northern Irishman’s job is looking even trickier now that star striker, Daniel Sturridge has been ruled out for potentially a further six weeks. The club’s second top scorer last season has now been injured since late August and Liverpool have really struggled with his absence. Sturridge looked like he was going to return for the Palace trip on Sunday, before hurting his thigh in Tuesday’s training session.
Sturridge faces new injury setback
(LiverpoolFC.com)
Without Sturridge, Liverpool have really struggled in the goalscoring department. Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli (the remaining strikers) are yet to score in the league this season. That’s grim viewing for Liverpool fans, but it’s the sad truth.
The one striker formations have evidently not worked for the reds this season. But Rodgers seems determined and stubborn in the way he is sticking with them. I fear it’s going to be Balotelli on his own again at Selhurst Park. Fabio Borini deserves a shot with him, or even play Raheem Sterling as a second-striker, so his pace can have a huge impact. That’s the one I’d like to see. I’ve been crying out for it for months. Rickie Lambert arguably deserves a shot, too. Anyone so that there’s two up top and a diamond.
Jordan Henderson picked up a minor hamstring injury on international duty according to Roy Hodgson. He didn’t really say the extent of the injury, so I’m really not sure he’ll be ready for Sunday’s match. Emre Can really impressed against Chelsea last time out. Can deserves to retain his place in the starting eleven. I’m sure most Liverpool fans would agree.
Joe Allen would be in my eleven, if Henderson wasn’t fit. Allen has been one of our more consistent performers in this tough season. Steven Gerrard will definitely be starting and would slot into my diamond as the deepest point of it. Gerrard, after retiring from international football, has had a two week rest period, so he’ll be as fresh as he can be.
Alberto Moreno will be my choice as left-back. Moreno, like Allen, has been one of our best players this season. Palace have got a relatively quick attack, so Moreno may have to be more conservative when going forward.
Javi Manquillo would be in my team instead of Glen Johnson. Last season, Johnson was dominated by the pacey Yannick Bolasie. The Palace winger is likely to start again, and Brendan Rodgers should really tell Manquillo to do a job on him. Manquillo is better defensively than Johnson, in my opinion. I fear that if Johnson starts, it could prove to be a long afternoon.
Dejan Lovren has to be dropped, for me. The Croatian has made far too many mistakes to maintain his place in the starting eleven. It could do him some good to let him know about the competition that surrounds him. Presuming Sakho isn’t fit, I’d go with Toure and Skrtel as the back two. Toure is the guy I want starting, preferably with Skrtel, but I wouldn’t be too bothered if it was Lovren with him.
Rodgers has to utilise his substitutes more. Adam Lallana and Lazar Markovic were bought for around £45 million and both didn’t come on against Chelsea when Liverpool needed an equalizer. Markovic could be a very good impact sub with his blistering pace against tired legs. Adam Lallana is a very good player and has really impressed me since he’s joined. Arguably, the Englishman deserves a place in the starting eleven, but Coutinho does too. So it looks like it could be those two fighting for a place in the side. In the diamond I’d play, Coutinho would be at the tip of it.
I hope and pray Liverpool can get something from this game. I think it’ll be very hard as Crystal Palace always manage to get themselves up for the ‘bigger’ sides. I’m going for a 3-2 Liverpool win, with Raheem Sterling to score. A typical nervy Liverpool game, but I’d bite your hand off for it now.
The side I’d go with –
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Bobby Vincent
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