It does not get more essential to snag three points in the Champions League than a game like this. In front of a crowd of entirely Liverpool fans, with Belgrade fans barred from making the trip due to UEFA sanctions, it's a chance for Liverpool to write the wrong of the 1-0 defeat away to Napoli and put themselves in great position to advance forward in the continental tournament.
Team News:
In his presser, Jurgen Klopp made things very clear as to who is available and who is not. James Milner and Sadio Mane are both in training and in contention to get a start with the side. On the other hand, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita are both confirmed misses for the CL tie.
Sadio Mane is the key injury story of the squad. The Senegal national suffered what has been called a broken thumb that required surgery and made him miss out on the weekend. Mane will contend to be involved with the side for this mid-week clash. It would be a nice boost for the Reds to have Mane return, but Xherdan Shaqiri, Adam Lallana, and Daniel Sturridge will all remain shouts to start as well. The question will be whether or not Klopp wants to throw him right back in the starting eleven, or keep him out. In terms of other players fit, James Milner is suffering no lingering injury effects and is a strong probability to get a start here.
In terms of fresher concerns, eyes are on Jordan Henderson, who was subbed off on the weekend at halftime for precautionary measures. Following the match Klopp said, "Hopefully it's nothing" in regards to the captain's knock. He wanted to continue on in the match, but it was decided for Gini Wijnaldum to come on at halftime instead of leaving him in. It seems to be slightly more than nothing as the captain will be held out of this midweek bout. The injury to Henderson, a lack of fitness for Keita, and general potential for rotation means we get a Champions League start for Fabinho seems highly likely as he comes off his Premier League debut as a second half sub against Huddersfield.
Red Star Belgrade are have suffered a bit, too, with injury concerns, and are set to be without at least two key men. Credit goes to the Liverpool Echo for their work in compiling injury news. Marko Marin is a former German winger with spells at Borussia Monchenglad and Werder Bremen, but is best known for his time at Chelsea. He is ruled out of the trip back to England. Also out is the first-choice left back Milan Rodic and also in defense vice-captain Vujadin Savic is being ruled as doubt with a possibility to miss. Jonathan Cafu, on loan from Bordeaux, made a sub appearance against FK Rad, but has also been ruled out. Finally, Filip Stojkovic, the club's right back and captain against FK Rad, was taken off in the first half, but simply as a precaution and should be fit and ready to go midweek.
Projected Liverpool Line-Up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Projected Belgrade Line-Up: Borjan; Stojkovic, Degenek, Babic, Gobeljic; Jovicic, Krsticic; Ben, Causic, Simic; Boakye
Previewing the Match:
I can imagine that Red Star Belgrade may be a bit of a mystery side for Liverpool fans, or simply fans in general who focus more on a top league in Europe. In Serbia, they are giants. They remain top of the Superliga table with 34 points out of 12 games, seven points clear of second place. However, in the Champions League, against the world's finest, they have a point, but are getting outplayed. Both matches thus far in the group have seen them lose the possession battle by at least a 73/27 split. Despite holding Napoli to a 0-0, their right back, Filip Stojkovic, saw 52 touches (second highest on the team that night) and attempted just 27 passes for a 40.7% success rate. Despite losing the possession battle, though, the pride themselves on being a more well-organized unit -- in that match the two center backs, Milos Degenek and Vujadin Savic, a doubt with fitness concerns, combined for 22 clearances and 6 interceptions -- focused on defensive solidity, despite their 6-1 defeat at PSG's hands amidst a match-throwing scandal. They do have a bit of fire power in attack: Ben is a solid central striker or winger and Richmond Boakye is a hot target around Europe with reported interest last season from Antonio Conte and Chelsea. They pose interesting threats, but the key will be to not allow them to hit on the counter through the skillful Boakye who possesses solid finishing and hold-up skills.
The key I'm looking at with Liverpool is the pressure Liverpool's attackers on the midfield and defense. Liverpool will surely make sure they see plenty of the ball in the match, but what about the (at least) quarter of the game without it? Belgrade are strong in terms of organization, but we've seen them on plenty of occasions fall asleep, especially in channels between the center backs. It's how Red Bull Salzburg took a 2-0 lead over them in the qualifying rounds. If they are to attack heavily, they are going to need to find the net, then continue applying pressure to avoid being caught out and allow any sort of comeback. For that, I think the players on the wing will be important in closing down the Belgrade full backs and forcing constant clearances when the have the ball into the Liverpool defense. Not allowing the Serbian side any foothold in the match would have to be key for a victory in front of the Anfield crowd. That said, chances may come in bounties, but getting past Milan Borjan, the Canadian national keeper, in net is going to be a bit tougher. He has kept Belgrade in matches and really been a great aid for them.
In terms of defending, Belgrade do not have the firepower of a PSG or even Napoli, but they are still a solid side. Generally running a 4-2-3-1, they can play a handful of players at the central striker role, but Boakye is really the man to watch. His finishing is top quality and I appreciate his positioning as a central striker as well. He can drop deeper in the pitch which allows players like Marin and Ben to trouble the defense as well. Really though, the Liverpool defense is staring at a side that has done different things against different opponents, but generally I would consider them more reactive than causing reactions. Against PSG while getting pinned back, attacking-midfielder Goran Causic dropped generally much deeper. Their full backs both differ in terms of who gets forward further. Generally, though, I think Liverpool has an understanding of the sorts of attacking motions they may go through. The keys to the defending will be three-fold: one, can your attack pin back all three of their central midfielders? Two, how often are Belgrade's full backs looking to overlap, or are they generally hanging back? Three, who starts on either wing? Marin's miss is going to be key in affected the side's set-up and with more limited attacking firepower, perhaps we could see even less attacking intent from a side Carlo Ancelotti called, after squaring off with them, "professionals at time-wasting and diving."
Final Thoughts:
I don't wish to mince words, but also don't want to be too harsh. That said, Liverpool really should be comfortably dominating this game. Belgrade are a solid side with the tendency to defend well, but missing multiple first team players is going to hurt their cause. With Mane, Firmino, and Salah all set to start, I'm looking for this to be a match where things come together for the Reds.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 3: Red Star Belgrade 0:
This should be a clean sheet, Richmond Boakye and Ben are solid but not enough to trouble the outstanding Liverpool defense, and a clinical evening should be on the cards.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
Team News:
In his presser, Jurgen Klopp made things very clear as to who is available and who is not. James Milner and Sadio Mane are both in training and in contention to get a start with the side. On the other hand, Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita are both confirmed misses for the CL tie.
Sadio Mane is the key injury story of the squad. The Senegal national suffered what has been called a broken thumb that required surgery and made him miss out on the weekend. Mane will contend to be involved with the side for this mid-week clash. It would be a nice boost for the Reds to have Mane return, but Xherdan Shaqiri, Adam Lallana, and Daniel Sturridge will all remain shouts to start as well. The question will be whether or not Klopp wants to throw him right back in the starting eleven, or keep him out. In terms of other players fit, James Milner is suffering no lingering injury effects and is a strong probability to get a start here.
In terms of fresher concerns, eyes are on Jordan Henderson, who was subbed off on the weekend at halftime for precautionary measures. Following the match Klopp said, "Hopefully it's nothing" in regards to the captain's knock. He wanted to continue on in the match, but it was decided for Gini Wijnaldum to come on at halftime instead of leaving him in. It seems to be slightly more than nothing as the captain will be held out of this midweek bout. The injury to Henderson, a lack of fitness for Keita, and general potential for rotation means we get a Champions League start for Fabinho seems highly likely as he comes off his Premier League debut as a second half sub against Huddersfield.
Red Star Belgrade are have suffered a bit, too, with injury concerns, and are set to be without at least two key men. Credit goes to the Liverpool Echo for their work in compiling injury news. Marko Marin is a former German winger with spells at Borussia Monchenglad and Werder Bremen, but is best known for his time at Chelsea. He is ruled out of the trip back to England. Also out is the first-choice left back Milan Rodic and also in defense vice-captain Vujadin Savic is being ruled as doubt with a possibility to miss. Jonathan Cafu, on loan from Bordeaux, made a sub appearance against FK Rad, but has also been ruled out. Finally, Filip Stojkovic, the club's right back and captain against FK Rad, was taken off in the first half, but simply as a precaution and should be fit and ready to go midweek.
Projected Liverpool Line-Up: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Fabinho, Milner, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
Projected Belgrade Line-Up: Borjan; Stojkovic, Degenek, Babic, Gobeljic; Jovicic, Krsticic; Ben, Causic, Simic; Boakye
Previewing the Match:
I can imagine that Red Star Belgrade may be a bit of a mystery side for Liverpool fans, or simply fans in general who focus more on a top league in Europe. In Serbia, they are giants. They remain top of the Superliga table with 34 points out of 12 games, seven points clear of second place. However, in the Champions League, against the world's finest, they have a point, but are getting outplayed. Both matches thus far in the group have seen them lose the possession battle by at least a 73/27 split. Despite holding Napoli to a 0-0, their right back, Filip Stojkovic, saw 52 touches (second highest on the team that night) and attempted just 27 passes for a 40.7% success rate. Despite losing the possession battle, though, the pride themselves on being a more well-organized unit -- in that match the two center backs, Milos Degenek and Vujadin Savic, a doubt with fitness concerns, combined for 22 clearances and 6 interceptions -- focused on defensive solidity, despite their 6-1 defeat at PSG's hands amidst a match-throwing scandal. They do have a bit of fire power in attack: Ben is a solid central striker or winger and Richmond Boakye is a hot target around Europe with reported interest last season from Antonio Conte and Chelsea. They pose interesting threats, but the key will be to not allow them to hit on the counter through the skillful Boakye who possesses solid finishing and hold-up skills.
The key I'm looking at with Liverpool is the pressure Liverpool's attackers on the midfield and defense. Liverpool will surely make sure they see plenty of the ball in the match, but what about the (at least) quarter of the game without it? Belgrade are strong in terms of organization, but we've seen them on plenty of occasions fall asleep, especially in channels between the center backs. It's how Red Bull Salzburg took a 2-0 lead over them in the qualifying rounds. If they are to attack heavily, they are going to need to find the net, then continue applying pressure to avoid being caught out and allow any sort of comeback. For that, I think the players on the wing will be important in closing down the Belgrade full backs and forcing constant clearances when the have the ball into the Liverpool defense. Not allowing the Serbian side any foothold in the match would have to be key for a victory in front of the Anfield crowd. That said, chances may come in bounties, but getting past Milan Borjan, the Canadian national keeper, in net is going to be a bit tougher. He has kept Belgrade in matches and really been a great aid for them.
In terms of defending, Belgrade do not have the firepower of a PSG or even Napoli, but they are still a solid side. Generally running a 4-2-3-1, they can play a handful of players at the central striker role, but Boakye is really the man to watch. His finishing is top quality and I appreciate his positioning as a central striker as well. He can drop deeper in the pitch which allows players like Marin and Ben to trouble the defense as well. Really though, the Liverpool defense is staring at a side that has done different things against different opponents, but generally I would consider them more reactive than causing reactions. Against PSG while getting pinned back, attacking-midfielder Goran Causic dropped generally much deeper. Their full backs both differ in terms of who gets forward further. Generally, though, I think Liverpool has an understanding of the sorts of attacking motions they may go through. The keys to the defending will be three-fold: one, can your attack pin back all three of their central midfielders? Two, how often are Belgrade's full backs looking to overlap, or are they generally hanging back? Three, who starts on either wing? Marin's miss is going to be key in affected the side's set-up and with more limited attacking firepower, perhaps we could see even less attacking intent from a side Carlo Ancelotti called, after squaring off with them, "professionals at time-wasting and diving."
Final Thoughts:
I don't wish to mince words, but also don't want to be too harsh. That said, Liverpool really should be comfortably dominating this game. Belgrade are a solid side with the tendency to defend well, but missing multiple first team players is going to hurt their cause. With Mane, Firmino, and Salah all set to start, I'm looking for this to be a match where things come together for the Reds.
Score Prediction: Liverpool 3: Red Star Belgrade 0:
This should be a clean sheet, Richmond Boakye and Ben are solid but not enough to trouble the outstanding Liverpool defense, and a clinical evening should be on the cards.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for more LFC coverage, including live Tweets during the matches, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Michigan basketball coverage!
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