Huddersfield v Liverpool FC 5.30 Saturday BT Sport

[Conrad]

So....a big chance to win 3 points while Chelsea hopefully drop some earlier in the day

 

Any update on VVD/Salah?

We need both fit and firing for this one.

 

Mix it up a bit on wednesday, go full strength for this. It won't be straightforward.

 

assuming Milner out, in which case Henderson/Keita/Wijnaldum in midfield

[Earl Hafler]

I’d be comfortable with resting both for this, though preference for Virgil if he’s 100%.

 

Change the midfield, start Shaqiri somewhere in the front six

[Sir Tokyo Sexwale]

Jimmy's out - probably for the Red Star game too and possibly the following weekend

[Bogman]

Jimmy's out - probably for the Red Star game too and possibly the following weekend

Mily Jimmy?

[Dan]

Mane has a suspected broken thumb.

[Gethin]

Mily Jimmy?

 

 

Saville....

[Bogman]

Mane has a suspected broken thumb.

Will that effect his goal celebration?

[McBain]

Milner, Mo and Virgil all in in contention according to the Maddock in the Mirror

[Earl Hafler]

Saville....

One L in Savile, two Ls in hell

[Swipe]

Keita seems to have picked up an injury now.

 

https://twitter.com/makadjiamadou/status/1052202784974618624?s=21

Echo piece.

 

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/liverpool-handed-another-injury-scare-15288344

[Hightown Phil]

Alisson, Trent, Gomez, VVD, Moreno, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Lallana, Shaqiri, Sturridge, Firmino. 

 

Do that and we'll have a lovely time. 

[Alonso]

Why not Robertson?

[Hightown Phil]

Cos he's played 14 full games already this season and if we start him every week we'll break him.

[Begbie]

Given we've got injured players to replace let's not bother resting any first teamers at the same time

[Hightown Phil]

How far do you take that though? Irrelevant of injuries, do we really care who's playing left back against Huddersfield, or Cardiff or Red Star? 

 

Better to rest them when you don't need them, than not have them when you do. 

Edited October 16, 2018 by Hightown Phil

[Alonso]

Suppose so but he’s such a liability. Sod it put in Lewis!!

[Begbie]

If he needs resting I'd do it vs Red Star, focus on the league. I don't want us taking risks in the league when we could also be missing VVD, Keita, Milner, Mane and Mo

 

The drop off from Robbo to Moreno is big...and we're not blowing teams away like last year so more risk that a Moreno c**k up will cost us

[Hassony]

Mignolet

Trent Lovren Gomez Moreno

Matip

Alisson Hendo

Gini Sturridge Markovic

[Hightown Phil]

If he needs resting I'd do it vs Red Star, focus on the league. I don't want us taking risks in the league when we could also be missing VVD, Keita, Milner, Mane and Mo

 

The drop off from Robbo to Moreno is big...and we're not blowing teams away like last year so more risk that a Moreno c**k up will cost us

.

Two of those players have been declared fit to play, two of them probably could play if we needed them to. If we don't beat Red Star we are basically out of the Champions League - it's the most important of the next three. If Moreno costs us against Huddersfield, the problem won't be Moreno, it'll be us not being able to score 2 goals against one of the worst sides that's ever played Premier League football.

Edited October 16, 2018 by Hightown Phil

[Begbie]

I haven't seen that players have been declared fit, but still wouldn't support playing Moreno

 

I disagree that Red Star is the most important, I'd say it's the least. And if Moreno costs us against Huddersfield it's totally down to him not being good enough and a risk we have to accept whenever we play him. Hopefully the rest of the team can bail us out but I'd prefer not to make the job harder

[Hightown Phil]

If we fail to beat Red Star we're almost certainly in the Europe League after Christmas which is more games, embarrassing, and sees us knocked down a peg or two in perception. We haven't had back to back Champions League knockout campaigns since 08/09.

 

My point about Moreno 'costing us' is that he really shouldn't be 'costing us' even if he scores an own goal and gets sent off cos we should still be good enough to win. The most likely scenario if he plays is that you don't even notice him which is basically what he was doing last season before he got injured. We're really good, they're really bad, we can afford to change one of our first choice back four. 

[Begbie]

Nahh, we've still got another chance to qualify if we don't beat Red Star. And I'd prefer to risk that game than in an away fixture after the internationals

 

And yes, we should be beating Huddersfield even if we play Moreno, but given our stuttering form and other changes from our first choice side I don't want to weaken us further. Take players off early if they need a break if we're winning comfortably

[Hightown Phil]

Stuttering form?!

[Begbie]

I thought you might pick up on that but cba'd to change it

 

We're not playing at fluidly as last season, I'd be more nervous about us winning a game after going behind that last season when our attack was fully firing

[Hightown Phil]

I think it's a bit harsh to say that kind of thing off the back of one the hardest runs of fixtures in living memory. In the space of two and a half weeks we played five games against four teams who wouldn't look out of place in the Champions League semi finals. I think people are being a bit too reactive to the not winning in four games thing when the reality is none of the results were awful, and only one of the performances could be described as being anything broadly close to bad. We've got a chance to keep our players fresh here, and we should. We should probably be looking at giving Gomez, van Dijk and Robertson two of the next three games off. If we keep playing Robertson he'll almost certainly end up getting injured and then instead of choosing when you play Moreno, you play him when you're forced to. Rather he plays against Huddersfield than Manchester United.