Now that the summer is over, it is time for Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool to focus on the beginning of the Premier League season. The Reds will start the season away from Anfield, they will take the field at Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium on Sunday. After a lackluster end to last season, the team will be looking to start the season with a victory after going undefeated for the entire summer.
Goalkeeper
The summer was a quiet one for Simon Mignolet, he was hardly tested at all in most of the matches he played in. Despite that, the Belgian is still Liverpool’s best goalkeeper for now but he will be hoping for a good start to the season with a clean sheet.
Right-Back
Since there is no other player to choose from, Nathaniel Clyne will definitely start the match this weekend. The former Southampton defender did not have the best pre-season but he should eventually find his footing in his new club.
Center-Backs
Despite the fact that Mamadou Sakho should be the one partnering Martin Skrtel on Sunday, Dejan Lovren will likely be the one on the team sheet. Still, Skrtel and Lovren should be enough to keep the Stoke City attack at bay, both are tough, intelligent and capable passers.
Left-Back
As a result of his impressive pre-season, Joe Gomez may be the player Rodgers decides to use. He possesses a confidence that Alberto Moreno sorely lacks and his energy will be useful since he will line-up alongside the rather slow Lovren. It is worrying that the team will be counting on such a young player but his current form should be taken advantage of.
Midfield
Unless Rodgers wants to put Emre Can in the defensive midfield role right from the beginning of the season, the midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Lucas Leiva and James Milner is the one that will likely start. This is an incredibly hard working combination of players who will be able to press the opponents effectively for an entire match. Henderson and Milner performed very well during the summer tour and Lucas is the perfect player to protect the defense.
Right Wing
After performing very well during the summer matches, both Jordon Ibe and Adam Lallana deserve to start, however, Rodgers can only pick one for this Sunday. Since he is the more traditional winger of the two, Ibe may be the one Rodgers chooses. He has been among the team’s best players in most of their international matches and Rodgers should capitalize on his fantastic form.
Forward
Christian Benteke will probably start the match but he may not be completely ready to play 90 minutes, given that he only played a single game all summer. Nonetheless, the powerful Belgian will definitely be looking to start the season with a bang by grabbing a goal in his first league match with his new team.
Left Wing
Philippe Coutinho is Liverpool’s best player and he will definitely be among the eleven players taking the field on Sunday. After missing most of the summer tour, the creative midfielder will be looking to build on the fantastic season he had last year with a good performance.
(4-3-3)
Via – Lineup Builder
