Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp faces difficult Luis Diaz decision as Liverpool ponder midfield problem

Liverpool are Leicester City’s next Premier League opponents, with Jurgen Klopp facing some selection issues

Liverpool continued their strong finish to the season with a sixth straight victory over Brentford on Saturday night.

Mohamed Salah scored the only goal as the Reds secured a narrow 1-0 victory. Liverpool will now be looking to keep their slim hopes of Champions League qualification alive when they travel to struggling Leicester City next Monday.

And here we look ahead to the changes Jurgen Klopp could make when his team goes into action.

Same thing behind? With over nine days between beating Brentford and visiting the King Power Stadium, it might not be a problem benching tired players for Jurgen Klopp next time around.

Much is therefore unlikely to change in defence, although Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas have rotated down the left flank of late, although the former is clearly the first choice. The same goes for Trent Alexander-Arnold in his new role at right-back. Joe Gomez and James Milner are the more orthodox alternatives as Calvin Ramsay is out for the season.

Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are the preferred centre-back pairing once more, with Joel Matip and Gomez next in line. Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams have each made the bench just once in the Premier League since mid-February.

Alisson Becker continues to be number one between the sticks ahead of Caomhin Kelleher and Adrian.

Midfield headache

There isn’t much scope for huge change in midfield given the growing list of absentees.

Both Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic are out for the season, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hasn’t been involved for eight games, Naby Keita has been absent since being substituted at half-time at Crystal Palace more than two months ago while Arthur Melo still hasn’t played in the Premier League. The latter three will all leave the club in the summer.

With Jordan Henderson not fully fit, Klopp employed just two recognised midfielders against Brentford in Fabinho and Curtis Jones, with Cody Gakpo dropping back to join the engine room.

Henderson, who had a late cameo from the bench at the weekend, should be 100% next Monday, with Milner and Harvey Elliott the only other alternatives.

Diaz dilemma

Arguably the biggest call for Klopp is whether to restore Luis Diaz to the starting line-up having rested him to the bench on Saturday having started successive games following his return after almost six months out.

Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez are other alternatives on the left, and can both also join fit-again Roberto Firmino and Gakpo in competing for a slot down the middle.

Mohamed Salah will hope to continue his strong end to the campaign down the right, with Elliott and Fabio Carvalho the other available attacking options.

Also.. 

Supercomputer predicts how top four will finish with Man Utd and Liverpool locked in classic Premier League battle

MANCHESTER UNITED and Liverpool are locked in a classic battle for the top four as the season nears its end.

The Red Devils were about to qualify for the Champions League with Erik ten Hag.
But back-to-back 1-0 defeats to

Brighton and West Ham saw Liverpool return to action.

Jurgen Klopp’s men have won five games since last month’s 2-2 draw at Arsenal, building up momentum at just the right time of the season.

At FiveThirtyEight, technicians and brainiacs use the data to predict how the rest of the season will play out. And they feel that Liverpool have gone too far in the final weeks of the season.

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The Reds currently trail Man United by just a point, but Ten Hag’s side have what could be a crucial game in hand.

Liverpool’s run-in looks favorable on paper, with away games at struggling Leicester and Southampton coming as their Anfield clash with Aston Villa.

United, meanwhile, host Wolves next time out before a trip to Bournemouth.

Then comes their game in hand, an assignment at Old Trafford with Chelsea, before another home game against Fulham. Ex-Man Utd flop Powell to leave Stoke and club target transfer review

FiveThirtyEight’s prediction sees United win two and draw two of the remaining games to finish with 71 points and Liverpool win two and lose one to finish with 68 points.

Should there be another goal, the Merseysiders would be favored, with Klopp’s side currently at +25 and United at a relatively paltry plus-8.

Elsewhere in the table, the supercomputer helps Manchester City beat Arsenal by four points for the Premier League title.

Brighton are set to finish second in the Europa League ahead of Tottenham – with Spurs set to qualify for the Europa Conference League via Aston Villa.

Ultimately, it helps Nottingham Forest move Leeds United to safety in 17th place – with Sam Allardyce’s men set to be relegated alongside Everton and Southampton.