He is exciting, but I’m not sure if Jürgen’s going to put him out there so soon. I’m guessing he will be involved, but not necessarily as a starter. Might see the tried-and-tested Jota, Firmino, and Minamino/Oxlade-Chamberlain combination instead…
Let’s hope it helps to lift his game!
Wasn’t sure if he was muslim or not, but was sure I remember reading after we won the P/L that he was listed as 1 of a number of players that was teetotal along with Mo, Hendo and Milner
I don’t like playing aginst these. Most of the time they were a very tough opponent.
We are in a serie of two consecutive league losses vs. Leicester. And both league games we dominated them, played better for 70% of the time and still thanks to a defensive mistakes we lost.
I still remember that draw /1-1/ when at the end of the season we finished 2nd one point behind $ity, that was a huge moment which stopped us at the time /we could extend our league lead to 7 points, instead it was 5 and later we lost at City and lost the title/.
Even in our great season when we broke most of the records we needed a 93rd minute penalty to win a game which was once again totally dominated by Liverpool.
And our league form has not been very solid lately, last 5 matches - draw vs. Spurs, loss vs. Leicester, draw vs. Chelsea, win vs. Brentford and win vs. Palace. I’d say that our only assured display was vs. Brentford at home.
We need to stay focused and our fullbacks /especially Trent/ should be very careful with that runs from behind from their fast wingers - Lookman, Barnes. The midfield must not fall asleep, because Leicester’s main strength is the speed of their counter attacking football.
Gues it will be something like that:
Alisson; TAA - VvD - Matip - Robertson; Fabinho - Henderson - Jones; Salah - Firmino - Jota;
Jones was poor vs. Cardif, but was good when we needed him before the pause. Keita was fantastic for Guinea at ACON, but mediocre vs. the blue birds and in my opinion it is 50/50 between Naby and Curtis.
Tiago is not ready to start, but Burnley is a possibility to see him play 60-65 minutes. And it is hugely important to be careful with Mo, he played almost 500 minutes in 4 matches of the elmination and 3 extra group games.
At least we will have options from the bench - Tiago, AOC, Diaz, Elliott, Gomez.
Still expect a very diffcult game after their awful display in their FA Cup game and Leicester will have a point to prove at Anfield.
I’m sure that Jürgen and his team will know the personnel,formation and tactics to see us through this game.COYR YNWA
At least he has te make some (difficult)choices instead of counting heads who is fit or at the AFCON. We have a full squad with the exception of Mané, it’s been a while.
Klopp calling for a special atmosphere:
“It will be a proper football game and it’s at Anfield – we should not forget that. We should try and create a special atmosphere.
“If we as a club, as a team, with our supporters, want to reach the maximum for us (this season), we better start creating atmospheres on the highest level and Thursday night is a good night to do that.”
Necessary and rather embarrassing that he has to do it. Bar the Leicester quarterfinal, Anfield’s atmoshere has been non-existent this season. Really irritating to hear opponents chanting shit while half asleep home fans sit silent and apathetic as if they are in a theatre or something.
Klopp shouldn’t have to say that. It says a lot about the Anfield crowd I’m afraid.
He often says that.
Debates about the amotsphere pop up near enough every season.
Unless there is something tangible on the line the amotsphere can be flat - depending on how we’re playing (e.g. Cardiff game, when we improved in the second half so did the atmosphere). If we do claw back the gap that City have built the average atmosphere will improve as properly challenging for the league feels more like a hope and than a reality atm, but with a reduced gap that will change. In other comps our best atmospheres have been the CL games against Milan and Spanish Burnley because they were tight games and it really felt like something was on the line. Same with the Leicester game in the quarter finals. The Arse semi fell flat because the game was limp and we all knew we had a second leg to walk all over them - if the second leg had been the Anfield one that atmosphere would have been electric.
Obviously there’re other factors, older fans lacking the energy of younger ones, a lot of our games being Sunday 12 oclock kick offs, opposition teams sucming the life out of the game with negative as fuck tactics, etc.
Honestly the atmosphere will improve as the season goes on - always does. The deeper we get in the CL the more excited fans will be for those matches. Same with the FA Cup. Same with the PL - if we do claw back the gap to City Anfield will be rocking through spring/summer.
Yes, it’s been weirdly flat this season. I’m sure JK and the players have noticed and it’s why he’s mentioned it today. Sometimes you can’t always tell from watching on the TV but I’ve been a few times this season and it’s taken some event that’s riled everyone to get the atmosphere going. Arsenal in the league it was Arteta, Villa it was Stuart Attwell, Leicester it was their fans being twats. Other games have just remained flat throughout. This is the first season for a long time that I’ve noticed the visiting fans. Usually it’s just United or Newcastle who make a lot of noise but this season every set of fans have been clearly audible.
The big difference this season has been the Kop. The rest of the ground takes its cue from them and it’s been so quiet. A lot of the chants you now hear start in the AR end or even Main Stand. I don’t know what the problem is but I think JK’s excessive use of the fist pumps, even to celebrate relatively routine victories, is designed to try to get the atmosphere back to how it was pre-lockdown.
I can only remember one 12pm Sunday kick off
It struck me how flat the atmosphere was against Cardiff. Yet, this was a cup game crowd, so supposedly younger and more vocal, like at that Leicester game. Strange.
One was League cup and one was FA Cup, potentially different sets of fans. I’m not local so I rarely enrolled into the cup scheme for League or European games. Though I do think sometimes it’s what’s resting on it.
Yeah it could be some form of post-lockdown syndrome.
Sometimes the mood of the crowd comes with the artic conditions they are immersed in…
It was freezing during the Cardiff game… hard to get the blood pumping sometimes, with hands rammed deep into pockets and cubes of ice inside your boots… but I agree the atmosphere could have been better
Cardiff was 12pm on a sunday morning, no more needs to be said.
A lot of the complaints about the atmosphere don’t take into account the time and the importance of the game.
Is this a library? chanted the Cardiff fans.
No lads, it’s just midday and you’re only Cardiff.
So, could be this:
Trent Matip vDijk Robertson
Henderson Fabinho Jones
Chamberlain Firmino Jota
Or maybe even Mo from the start and Ox off the bench to provide fresh legs for the final 20-30mins.
Hopefully Hendo’s back is fine and he doesn’t miss the game.
I love it when he gives it to the opposition fans.