Beren Cross
Robin Koch’s head injury opens up doors to a lot of possibilities for Leeds United in Liverpool on Wednesday night in the Premier League.
Any regular reader of this feature will know Adam Forshaw has been my man in the deep role for the last few weeks, so hopefully, Marcelo Bielsa finally sticks him back in there at Anfield.
That opens up the slot alongside Mateusz Klich in the middle of the pitch. Rodrigo and Stuart Dallas seem like the best options, but Junior Firpo’s decent return and a need for something new in the centre makes up my mind.
United have to try something different with their run of results and finally, with Firpo back, there is the opportunity to move Dallas into a role he played so well last season.
Furthermore, Rodrigo was good in the final third on Sunday. His link-up play with Klich was useful and with Raphinha also coming back in for me, he should continue at the tip of the attack.
I am aware of the risks of playing a very attack-minded Firpo at left-back when he has arguably the world’s best right-sided forward coming in the other direction.
However, if you play Dallas there you lose his reliability in the middle and must resort to a Rodrigo-Klich axis which can be porous.
I have focused a lot on that purple patch Leeds had in the first half of the second half on Sunday. Raphinha, Rodrigo and Dan James on the left really worked nicely.
It’s a shame to move him out so recently after a hat-trick at West Ham United, but Jack Harrison makes way on the left for James in my side. Losing his work rate and diligence on the left may be a mistake, but Raphinha is too good to leave on the bench.
Joe Gelhardt was very good from the sidelines again, but Rodrigo did enough to keep that striker slot, for me.
Beren’s XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Firpo; Forshaw; Raphinha, Dallas, Klich, James; Rodrigo.
Joe Donnohue
There have been calls this week for Marcelo Bielsa to start the same XI which began the second half against Manchester United, versus Liverpool on Wednesday night.
While the second half was a great deal more encouraging, there are a few tweaks I would make , one of which involves Joe Gelhardt.
Liverpool are an entirely different proposition to Man United. They have better personnel, are arguably better coached and consistent at both ends of the pitch.
It's easy to see Gelhardt potentially being swallowed up by the towering presence of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate at Anfield, and there's little use in that.
Rodrigo's link-up with Mateusz Klich is well-established and the pair combined well against Man United. Klich took the most shots of any player on the pitch with seven, which suggests Rodrigo operated as an effective foil, occupying centre-halves to afford Klich room to shoot.
Gelhardt, I feel, remains an impact player from the bench, where he can use his bustling centre-forward style to rough up opponents with 45 or 60 minutes already in their legs.
Raphinha in from the start is a no-brainer. He drives the team forward and his display at Elland Road on the weekend was enough to suggest he's managed to put one-and-a-half disappointing outings behind him.
Marcelo Bielsa seemed to suggest Adam Forshaw would start the game as his defensive midfielder in the absence of Robin Koch and Kalvin Phillips, while keeping Pascal Struijk at centre-back is the sensible choice after his first-half tinkering at the weekend didn't quite pay off.
Moving Stuart Dallas into the number eight position also offers a steady hand with plenty of mobility and a two-way presence.
Meanwhile, Junior Firpo created more chances than any other player against Man United, as well as completing more passes into the penalty area than any of his teammates.
These marginal gains could prove the difference between a one-goal defeat and an improbable point at Anfield, if we're feeling optimistic, and ignoring the fact he'll likely be up against Mohamed Salah.
Joe's XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Firpo; Forshaw; Raphinha, Dallas, Klich, James; Rodrigo.
