Tonight marks Liverpool’s return to Champions League action, with the Reds facing Ajax in their fifth group game of the competition. Currently, Jurgen Klopp’s side sit top of Group D with 9 points, with the Dutch side joint-second with Atalanta on 7 points.
The game is a must-win for the Reds, with another three points securing them for qualification to the knockout stages, whereas a loss or draw to Ajax would blow the group wide open leaving a place in the knockout stages open to anyone. With a big month of football ahead, I would imagine that Klopp will go all out tonight to leave the final game against FC Midtjylland a chance to rest some of the big players and give some youngsters a chance.
So, with all that being said, just how will the Reds lineup tonight against an Ajax side that is unbeaten since October?
Can Liverpool beat Ajax?
Yes
No
Formation: 4-3-3
Sticking with the status quo, Brazilian shot-stopper Alisson will of course start in goal – with him being the Reds’ No.1 since joining the club from AS Roma in 2018. This season the 28-year-old has averaged 3 saves a game in the Champions League, keeping 3 clean sheets from 4 games, not a bad run of form given the struggles the club has had this season with defensive injuries. With all that being said, expect to see Alisson between the sticks at Anfield tonight.
With the injury to James Milner, Neco Williams will likely start at right-back for the Reds. The youngster has struggled recently having given away a penalty against Brighton on Saturday but luckily for the Welsh international, it wasn’t converted. A central defensive pairing of Joel Matip and Fabinho will likely start – the Cameroonian was rested against Brighton likely due to the importance of tonight’s game, with Brazilian Fabinho the best-equipped partner alongside him. Scotsman Andy Robertson will complete the defence at left-back, this season has seen him play 17 games for the Reds and he will no doubt feature due to the importance of the game.
In midfield, we will see the return of Jordan Henderson to the starting XI. The captain has been absent since the international break at the start of November after picking up an injury with England, which has seen the 30-year-old sidelined over the past few games. He will be joined by Gini Wijnaldum and Curtis Jones to complete the three – Dutchman Wijnaldum has been pivotal to the Reds over recent years and Curtis Jones is slowly and surely creeping his way into the Liverpool starting XI, with Klopp a big fan of the youngster, having made 9 appearances for the Reds so far this season and impressing in the 3-0 away win to Leicester in the league.
A front three of Sadio Mané, Diogo Jota, and Mo Salah will complete the XI. Both Mané and Salah have been big players for the Reds since joining the club and dominated the league last season with 37 goals between them. Portuguese forward Jota has been in fine form for the club this season, having scored 4 goals in 4 games in the Champions League this campaign and I think he will start up top over Roberto Firmino. The Brazilian has struggled for form at the start of November but proved how important he is to the side with his man of the match display against Leicester City. However, I still think that Jota will start ahead of him tonight and I expect a big display from the front three at Anfield.
What do you think Liverpool fans, how will we lineup against Ajax tonight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below…