Liverpool make giant, if not decisive, strides towards a place in the Champions League final with a 5-2 win over Roma that sends out decidedly mixed messages for Fantasy managers.
If it weren’t for the Italians’ eye-opening comeback against Barcelona in the previous round, we’d all be forgiven for thinking that Jurgen Klopp’s side had already done enough to make the second leg something of a formality.
But that was precisely what did for the Spanish giants in the quarter-finals, and Roma are now faced with exactly the same task – claw back a three-goal deficit to make it through on away goals.
Liverpool were 5-0 up and cruising with 10 minutes to go last night, courtesy of two goals each from Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, with Sadio Mane the other name on the scoresheet.
Salah and Firmino also provided a brace of assists each, with the final goal coming from James Milner’s corner.
At that point, even Klopp at his most cautious must have been thinking of who he could rest in the second leg for the potentially crucial Gameweek 37 trip to Chelsea that follows four days later.
Ten minutes and two Roma goals later, European rotation returned to being a luxury he could ill afford, which makes this Saturday lunchtime’s visit of Stoke City the obvious place for teamsheet tinkering.
But the coach has a dilemma.
Liverpool have a potential five matches left to play this season – three in the league, the conclusion of the Roma tie and then, if that is successfully negotiated, the Champions League final itself.
They are also within touching distance of securing their place in the European competition for next season.
Win against Stoke and avoid defeat at Stamford Bridge, and Gameweek 38’s home match with Brighton becomes a dead rubber in which Klopp can rest key players ahead of the European final, although that is a full 13 days later.
Does he stick with a ‘front-loaded’ approach involving getting the season sorted as soon as possible, or twist by prioritising the Champions League semi-final and hoping that a win against Brighton will confirm a top-four finish?
Klopp’s decision will have a major impact on the make-up of Saturday’s side for a match which, on paper, looks like being a routine home win.
Liverpool have no Double Gameweek 37 to attract new Fantasy investment in their stars.
But in Salah (59.8%) and Firmino (39.8%) they have two of the three most owned players in the game.
Some 35,000+ managers have made the Brazilian the third most transferred-out asset heading into Gameweek 36, although that has yet to make a significant dent in his 2.4 million ownership.
The major concern is that Firmino – who played into stoppage time last night – has been rested to the bench in each of the last two league fixtures prior to Champions League duties.
Meanwhile, Salah’s ownership is simmering. Some 8,000+ have sold him on so far ahead of Gameweek 36, while more than 12,000 have brought him in.
Klopp’s decision to withdraw the Egyptian on 75 minutes arguably indicates that Salah should retain his weekend start as Liverpool attempt to lock down their top four place.
Indeed, the idea of significant weekend rotation were also downplayed by Klopp’s comments post-match.
“I’m already in the Stoke game, to be 100 per cent honest…I’m much more interested about the Stoke game in the moment than about the second leg against Roma. That’s a massive game for us, and we need to be ready for that. We’ll try everything to be ready for that.”
That could hint at a strong line-up against the Potters, with perhaps at least two (and maybe all) of the front three on the pitch. Klopp’s press conference, later this week, could and should offer more clues.
However, should Paul Lambert’s side succumb to an early barrage of attacks, Liverpool’s front three, including Salah, will likely give way to be preserved for Wednesday’s return in Rome.
That could be a factor that has us sway towards Harry Kane as a captain. The Spurs striker is bidding to make up ground on Salah in the Golden Boot race when he faces Watford on Monday night. Kane is currently dominating in our captain poll, with over 46% of the vote to the Egyptian’s 25%.
Klopp perhaps has a bigger dilemma in midfield after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (3.1%) picked up a knee injury and was stretchered off before the 20-minute mark last night.
“Oxlade, it’s probably a really bad injury. If we can say that already before the scan, that’s never good news so that means for us it’s a massive blow, of course. We have still a few very important games to go and the squad doesn’t get bigger in the moment, so we obviously need to be creative in the next few games.”
The Liverpool coach has few central midfield options left with which to exercise that creativity, as both Adam Lallana and Emre Can are also injured.
That should improve Milner’s prospects of retaining his start as an out-of-position defender against a Stoke attack that has just two goals in their last four away matches.
The Reds have recorded home shut-outs in three straight league matches, but working out who will play in the backline this weekend also looks tricky.
Klopp fielded Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren and Andrew Robertson last night after resting them for Gameweek 35, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he springs something similar on Saturday, leaving Virgil van Dijk as the most likely starter.
Of course, the recent trend of leaked and accurate Liverpool line-ups via social media may make these teamsheets concerns academic.
Once the Stoke match is done, there is likely to be a mass exodus involving Liverpool assets as managers flock instead to those with double fixtures in Gameweek 37.
The exception, as ever, will be Salah – if Kane starts to claw back his five-goal lead in the Golden Boot race, Klopp seems very unlikely to rest the winger.
A more informed decision can be made on that once the Champions League tie is finally resolved next week.
Based on the evidence of the first leg, that might not be the case until fairly late next Wednesday night.
