On the other hand, the way CL games are refereed is very different. There is far more less room for roughing up opposition players. Wirtz, if fit, should be able to play in this without a problem.
1 Like
Yeah but hes been training
Well, MacAllister certainly knows how to write a headline doesn;t he? 
Kinda thrown Andoni under a bus there.
From what Andoni said in the press conference we might even get to see Barcola from the start. Says heās ready. Itās against the likes of Mdrid that Iām so glad we brought in Araujo, who will be up for this one.
1 Like
This will be good for Iraolaās own development. As far as I know, he has never managed in the CL, or any European competition for that matter. If thatās right, then his first game is against the snidiest coach Iāve seen. I donāt look forward to it, but I will watch to see how we handle it.
All the tricks and gamesmanship will be there. Hopefully Iraola and his Liverpool team can rise above, and get the result.
1 Like
If Barcola is fit, I think he and Munozās pace would trouble AtlĆ©ticoās back line and would pair well with Wirtz and Isak.
I know heās āin form,ā but Munoz has looked good as well, and Isak just had a brace. Wirtz looked most effective in Champions League play last year and I think he would look even better with two pacey wingers.
The other alternative is not to start Barcola. But if heās fit, I donāt see how you can keep your 120M winger on the bench.
Cody will have plenty of opportunities to play going forward with the run of matches coming up.
Iāll be missing this one as I will be starting work at 04:00 on Thursday morning.
I look forward to reading this thread!
Flip sides to this that having Barcolaās pace off the bench when the game has 35 mins to go could be vital against what will hopefully be intense for the Athletico players and they start tiring.
Gakpo brings some physicalit on top of the aforementioned fact he is the in form player and playing on a simialr wavelength to Isak. Maybe dropping Wirtz and retaining Gakpo is the way to go, but Iād then add Gravenberch over Barcola to start in terms of the team that started against Ipswich.
Iād go;
Alisson
Araujo Jacquet Virgil Kerkez
Gravenberch Macca
Munoz Szobozlai Gakpo
Isak
2 Likes
There goes the start Gakpo shout 
Arenāt you a bit old for a paper round ?
7 Likes
Donāt think he played any mins after coming back from world cup.
And also of all people, replace Gakpo against a pretty strong opponent? What would be your rationale? If I have to absolutely put Barcola in, it would be Wirtz out and Gakpo behind Isak based on current form.
Edit: in any case, seems like Gakpo missed training, so he might start after all unless Iraola feels he wants to blood him in slowly.
1 Like
1 Like
Gakpo is carrying a slight knock.
Wonāt be risked.
Barcola starts on the left, Munoz right.
Anyone thinking Wirtz will be benched over next few weeks is mistaken. The idea is to work him into the patterns and get the other players to tune to his specific talents. Iraola likes what Wirtz can do.
MacAllister will rotate in midfield. If Camara signs in January, Macca is potentially off to Madrid. Definitely gone in the summer.
A cat that sounded remarkably like Joe Wilkinson told me all that.
4 Likes
Can you get that cat to tell me what the lottery numbers are?
Upcoming not the last ones!
1 Like