Klopp reverts to 4-3-3 as £4.0m defender Phillips starts for Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp has made an immediate return to 4-3-3 for Liverpool’s Gameweek 7 meeting with West Ham United.

The Reds’ boss experimented with Diogo Jota (£6.3m) joining a 4-2-3-1 formation in the Gameweek 6 win over Sheffield United but ran into some supply problems on the right-hand side of the pitch.

Despite netting against the Blades, the former Wolves man drops back to the bench today, allowing Mohamed Salah (£12.4m) to return to the right-hand side of the front-three, joined there by usual suspects Sadio Mané (£12.0m) and Roberto Firmino (£9.3m).

Of particular interest is the fact that Klopp has turned to Nathaniel Phillips (£4.0m) as the solution to his current centre-back problem, pairing him with Joe Gomez (£5.4m).

Virgil van Dijk (£6.3m) and Fabinho (£5.5m) remain long-term absentee while Joel Matip (£5.4m) also misses out. Therefore, Phillips has the potential to string together a run of starts if he can impress tonight.

There had been some pre-match rumours in the press that Andrew Robertson (£7.1m) would feature at centre-back but Klopp’s decision to trust Phillips means he remains at left-back.

Meanwhile, David Moyes has selected Sebastien Haller (£6.1m) to lead the West Ham attack in the absence of Michail Antonio (£6.2m), who is out for at least a month with a hamstring problem.

Jarrod Bowen (£6.3m) and Pablo Fornals (£6.4m) support the attack from advanced midfield, while Vladimir Coufal (£4.5m) and Arthur Masuaku (£4.5m) are the wing-backs in a 3-4-2-1 formation once again.

Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson; Robertson, Gomez, N Phillips, Alexander-Arnold; C Jones, Wijnaldum, J Henderson; Mané, Firmino, Salah.

West Ham United XI (3-4-2-1): Fabianski; Cresswell, Ogbonna, Balbuena; Masuaku, Soucek, Rice, Coufal; Fornals, Haller, Bowen.

LESSONS LEARNED FROM FPL GAMEWEEK 7

• Wolves 2-0 Crystal Palace
• Sheffield United 0-1 Manchester City
• Burnley 0-3 Chelsea
• Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United
• Aston Villa 3-4 Southampton
• Newcastle United 2-1 Everton
• Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal
• Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
• Fulham 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
• Leeds United 1-4 Leicester City