Balotelli, Lallana and Toure in Contention for Man United Trip
After dropping tamely out of the Champions League on Tuesday night, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will be looking for his side to bounce back in a big way when they face off against bitter rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend.
Both sides have been severely hampered by injuries this season, though the Reds certainly look worse for wear as they crane their neck up the table to see Louis van Gaal’s side sitting rather comfortably in third place. Although they’ll each be missing a number of high profile players on Sunday, the Anfield outfit have been given a bit of a boost in the fitness stakes with the news that Mario Balotelli, Kolo Toure and Adam Lallana will all be in contention for a spot in the match-day squad.
Despite being charged by the Football Association over his now infamous Super Mario post on Instagram, Rodgers has confirmed that Balotelli will be given every chance to feature for the Reds on Sunday. “He’s only just back into training, so it’s something we’ll assess. He’s been out for a little while now, but in the last couple of days he’s looked good in training” the Northern Irishman said in his pre-match press conference. “We’ll give him every chance to see if he can come into the squad.”
Along with the Italian striker, experienced defender Kolo Toure could also make his way back into the starting eleven after missing out on the defeat to FC Basel midweek with a groin strain. Adam Lallana, who was on the bench on Tuesday night after fracturing ribs in the win over Leicester City, will also be given a chance to prove his fitness. “He took a nasty injury in the game against Leicester and I didn’t mention it because I wanted to protect the player and make sure he wasn’t targeted in games” explained Rodgers. “He’s obviously had some work done since he’s been here and watching him in training, he’s been fine. He’s been available, but not fully fit. He looks much, much better now.”
Sakho is also back. I want to see this team against United.
Due to tiredness and injuries this is how the team should line up in the next game…
GK: Mignolet
RB: Manquillo
RCB: Toure
LCB: Sakho
LB: Moreno
CDM: Can
CDM: Hendo
RAM: Lallana
CAM: Philly
LAM: Mario
ST: Markovic
Planned Subs, Sterling 45 minutes, Gerrard 45 minutes,
I don’t see Borini doing a better job then Markovic and Markovic will be at the club long term thus he starts. Also for a short time in the last game he showed how good he can be.
I think Man U will go into the game with 3 at the back so in that case we need to play with 1 ST only because that means they will have 3 CB’s marking 1 player. This will give us an extra player player in the middle of the pitch to close down. Also United have a large pitch that means the play will be spread out, which means the 1 ST needs to have the pace to run in behind.
Mario has played well as a winger in the past lets see if he can do it again. Also the reason why he is on the pitch in that position is because if United play with 4 at the back then we can switch the team to 41212 without needing to Sub any one. That way we can maintain a tactical advantage.
I’d love to see Sakho come back in, but I have a bad feeling he’s going to be shipped out. In my opinion he’s about the best central defender we have right now, but I can’t see Rodgers throwing him in at Old Trafford after spending almost 2 months out….then again, stranger things have happened.
All for Markovic getting the nod in the starting eleven, but I’d rather see Sterling and him on the flanks and Mario up top if it is three at the back; rather we exploit the wings with some pace and trickery.
Yeah it is a shame what is happening to Sakho, he does a lot for the club off the pitch as well he deserves a leading role and should become the next Cara (Vice Captain) Just like we see Hendo becoming the next Gerrard.
And yeah you right there is no way BR will start with Sakho, but the team I laid out is the team I would like to see we all know that he is going back to the old team to try and gain reliability.
I think Mario on the wing could really win over the fans because in that position he would do a lot of running back to help the full back and the fans love hard work.
And we all think of Mario as slow but according to FIFA speed tests he recorded as faster top speed then DS so I am not sure if he really is slow or if that is just his game.
I am also a fan of having a front 3 and a midfield 3 where the players in each set of 3 rotate positions to change how the team works, I think this is what BR is building towards and why the DM he bought was Can (a box 2 box DM).