Klopp’s defence faces another stern examination, Ødegaard may make full debut against Leeds and Seagulls need goals
Sunday’s shellacking by
Manchester City will have further dented Liverpool’s confidence, especially at the back where Alisson made mistakes, Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered at the hands of Raheem Sterling, and Fabinho gave away a penalty. Using Jordan Henderson as a centre-back has been a useful stop-gap for Jürgen Klopp but with the title slipping away and a key
Champions League tie coming up, the manager will need to decide who can best fit alongside Fabinho. Ozan Kabak has experience in Europe from his time at Galatasaray as a teenager, while Ben Davies is a man with an in-depth knowledge of the English game. Klopp will have wished for a midweek FA Cup match to try at least one of them out, but they are likely to debut against Jamie Vardy, arguably the smartest striker in the
Premier League. It will be a baptism of
fire for either, but how the chosen centre-back does may be crucial for the rest of Liverpool’s season. WU