Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool were able to show their quality 3-2 victory against an on-form Tottenham team. That win should boost the squad’s morale as they enter a tough stretch of games that begins this weekend with a match against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup.
Alan Pardew’s squad is also coming into the game with some momentum, barring a loss against Everton, they have beaten both Tottenham and Southampton last month.
Goalkeeper
Simon Mignolet conceded 2 goals but he also started the movement that led to the first goal. He has really turned his season around after his struggles earlier in the year. He will have to be on his toes against Palace, they scored three goals against Southampton, who have the Premier League’s stingiest defense.
Center Backs
Emre Can once again showed his positional flexibility by eventually moving to the middle of the field after Dejan Lovren came on. Rodgers coud play Can in midfield more especially after the injuries to both Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva.
Martin Skrtel will have to lead the defense against the physicality of the Palace strikers. Mamadou Sakho has looked unsure of himself the past two matches, but he is still the best choice to man the left center back position.
Right Midfield
Since Jordan Ibe is cup-tied, Lazar Markovic is likely to return to patrol the right side of the field. He is coming off a good performance in the Tottenham match, where we scored the first goal.
He should be able to beat Palace left back, Joel Ward, easily, but he will need to remember to also keep track of whoever starts in the left wing for Palace, either Yannick Bolasie or, Wilfried Zaha.
Center Midfield
Jordan Henderson was not at his best against Tottenham but he performed with his usual hard work great passing.
He will need to work together with whoever partners him in the middle of the pitch to stifle the threat of Mile Jedinak, who co-leads the team with 5 goals. With both Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva out injured, Joe Allen looks like a shoo-in to start.
Left Midfield
Alberto Moreno has looked better ever since Sturridge came back since he is playing with more freedom. He should relish the opportunity to go up against former Liverpool player, Martin Kelly since Kelly is much slower than Moreno is.
However, he will also need to keep track of Jason Puncheon since he has scored 3 goals while also providing 4 assists.
Forwards
With the health of Raheem Sterling still in question, Rodgers has to pick between Adam Lallana, Mario Balotelli or Fabio Borini to fill in the one of the two roles behind the striker. Lallana is the player most suited to the role, but Rodgers could also decide to see what a partnership between Balotelli and Sturridge could do.
While Daniel Sturridge did not score, his mere presence on the field allowed his teammates to have more space to operate.
While Philippe Coutinho was not his usual active self against the Spurs, he is still the team’s main creative force. All three should be able to break through the Palace defense since they have one of the weaker back fours in the Premier League.
(3-4-3)
Via –Lineup Builder
