Liverpool vs West Brom Preview
Struggling for form and heavily short on goals, Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool prepare for the visit of Alan Irvine’s West Bromwich Albion today in the English Premier League. After suffering a deflating defeat mid-week at the hands of FC Basel, Rodgers’ Reds will try and hit back against West Brom as they try to get their faltering season back on track. A host of changes might be on the cards as Rodgers will try to re-shuffle the pack in search for some sort of spark from someone.
Liverpool have fallen well short of the level of football they played last season. A stuttering attack that somehow fails to do its primary job of scoring goals and a leaky defence is a perfect recipe for disaster. Rodgers’ first competitive game after he took control of Liverpool was against West Brom on the opening day 2 seasons ago and what followed was 90 minutes of heart-break for Reds fans as they saw their beloved Reds sink to a 3-0 loss at the hands of West Brom. Rodgers’ spoke about starting back from square one in his presser before today’s fixture and the Northern Irishman couldn’t be more blunt if he tried. With a new group of players, many new faces and an ever-increasing injury list, Rodgers’ will have to do well deal with multiple commitments this time around.
Injuries
Its only fair to say, that Liverpool’s poor form has somehow been down to the number of injuries they’ve had to suffer. Still with a number of first team stars out injured facing up to Alan Irvine’s West Bromwich who won back-to-back games in the Premier League prior to this one. With Joe Allen and Emre Can still out injured, Rodgers might have to continue playing his skipper in midfield despite the playing all but one game in the past 3 weeks for the Reds. English forward Daniel Sturridge fresh after signing a brand new bumper contract that sees him commit his future to the Merseyside club will be hoping to make an appearance after his lengthy injury lay-off. Still far from full fitness, it will be interesting to see if Rodgers risks playing Sturridge against the Baggies this weekend.
Lineups
Liverpool (Possible, 4-2-3-1): Mignolet; Manquillo, Skrtel, Lovren, Moreno; Gerrard, Henderson; Markovic, Lallana, Sterling; Balotelli.
WBA (Possible, 4-4-2): Foster; Wisdom, Dawson, Lescott, Pocognoli; Dorrans, Gardner, Morrison, Brunt; Berahino, Sessegnon.
Key Players
- Jordan Henderson
The 24 year-old midfielder was visibly dejected with the result and the performances mid-week against Basel. In what might just be his first game as Liverpool skipper, Hendo will look to get his team back on track after a dismal start to their campaign. - Adam Lallana
The former Saints skipper has been one of the bright spots in the recent weeks for Liverpool. The two-footed creative midfielder who dances his way around defence and midfield effortlessly has shown that he is not shy of his defensive responsibilities. Soon winning over the hearts of the Anfield faithful, Lallana looks like the player Liverpool spent their summer chasing, - Alberto Moreno
The young Spanish full-back was left out of the Champions League game as Rodgers opted for Jose Enrique at left back. Moreno will be expected to slot straight back into the defence at left back and continue from where he left off. With Andre Wisdom unavailable for this game, the Baggies will have a make-shift right-back to deal with the [ace of Moreno.
Prediction
Liverpool to comeback strongly after a disappointing result in champions league.
Liverpool 2 West Brom 0