Liverpool line-ups for Atalanta as Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez benched
Paul Gorst - Big guns come back in
The final seven games are upon Jurgen Klopp and if there is any hope to extend that to nine with a place in the semis, tonight’s team must be strong.
Some mitigation has come to close to excuse-making of late for the reasons behind Liverpool’s stuttering run of form but Klopp has few real injury concerns now, so it’s time to go full pelt for the final five weeks.
Alisson Becker returns to European action in goal and there’s a first start since February for Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back. Ibrahima Konate can start his upturn in form this evening in Bergamo alongside Virgil van Dijk and there’s a start for Andy Robertson. That, on paper, is the Reds’ strongest back five.
In midfield, Wataru Endo starts with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai further forward. The Hungarian in particular has been off the boil somewhat but a start here is backing for him to try and regain that early season form at the ideal time.
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Diogo Jota replaces Darwin Nunez in my frontline. The Uruguay striker could be huge off the bench if Liverpool are need of a goal or two and with three needed across the 90 minutes, that could be likely.
My team: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Diaz.
Ian Doyle - Gakpo gets the not in attack
If not quite mission impossible then certainly mission improbable for Liverpool tonight.
And it’s going to take something special for the Reds to overturn their Europa League quarter-final deficit against Atalanta in Italy.
What, then,
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