Liverpool lineups vs Wolves: Gakpo’s full or sub appearances – and how many changes? – Liverpool FC

[ad_1]

Cody Jacobo is set to make his Liverpool debut as the Reds begin their FA Cup defense with a third-round tie against Wolverhampton on Saturday, and Jurgen Klopp faces some difficult decisions in choosing his team.

Having joined the club ahead of the January transfer window, Gakpo was unable to feature in the defeat at Brentford earlier this week, with the transfer formalities still not completed.

But with the necessary paperwork completed on Tuesday, the Dutchman has been able to train with his new team-mates in recent days and is set to make his debut for the club this weekend.

Klopp may have previously identified this match as a chance to give some of his fringe players minutes, but given Liverpool’s poor form, and the fact that they have a week between matches, he says he will put together a strong side against Wolves and is showing signs of his presence. The improvement is under the leadership of Julen Lopetegui.

Here, we take a look at two possible ways the Reds could line up.

Team news

From Jurgen Klopp’s pre-match press conference on Friday, we know the following:

Liverpool squad against wolves

With Van Dijk facing a prolonged period on the sidelines, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez will be called upon to step up in the coming weeks.

Having had five days to prepare for this game, and with another week until the next Reds game against Brighton, Klopp looks set to name something close to a full-strength squad.

Gakpo will likely make his debut off the bench, having only started training at the AXA Training Center several days ago.

If so, Liverpool could form as follows:

If this is the team Klopp decides to join, this will be the Reds XI:

Allison. Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Thiago; Salah, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Nunez

However, given the way Klopp spoke about Jakob’s first few days in training in his pre-match press conference, there was certainly a chance of dropping the winger from the start.

Klopp may also be tempted to give Thiago a rest, as the Spaniard has started all of Liverpool’s matches since resuming his season in December.

Here’s an alternative way Liverpool could line up:

Matip and Robertson were in defense, so Curtis Jones got an opportunity instead of Thiago Gakpo from the start.

This would make XI look like this:

Allison. Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Konate, Robertson; Fabinho, Henderson, Jones; Wrong, Jacbo, Nunez

While Klopp may have been tempted to ring in changes, he will now know this is a game Liverpool simply cannot afford to lose.

Realistically, the FA Cup is now certainly their best chance at silverware this season, and after such a poor showing at Brentford, they are desperate for some momentum.

Let’s hope Gakpo can give the Reds a boost!

[ad_2]