Topic: Sunderland vs Liverpool, 2 January @ 15:00 - The Stadium of Shite

[latortuga]

Traditionally this time of year throws up a bunch of upsets and yet outside of the top 6 playing each other we're yet to see anyone drop points.

In this fixture last year we lost 2-0 away to West Ham in what was one of those typical embarrassing away performances.

Despite all of Sunderland's injuries this looks a tough fixture.

Beach ball anyone?

[Jack Barrels]

Usually do well against this lot on their ground lately. I'd go with Sturridge, Origi and Mane as the front 3, apart from that I think we should keep most of the starters from City. Can't see any changes in the back 4, maybe Ejaria or Stewart gets a look-in in midfield.

0-3.

[riismeister]

It seems many expect only one or two changes in the starting lineup for this one, but I don't think Klopp will do that with only around 44 hours of recovery time. I'd expect 4-5 changes (possibly more). Even without Matip and Coutinho ready we have Trent, Moreno, Lucas, Stewart, Ejaria, Sturridge and Origi all dying to get some playing time.

[Nick110581]

It seems many expect only one or two changes in the starting lineup for this one, but I don't think Klopp will do that with only around 44 hours of recovery time. I'd expect 4-5 changes (possibly more). Even without Matip and Coutinho ready we have Trent, Moreno, Lucas, Stewart, Ejaria, Sturridge and Origi all dying to get some playing time.

We can't take the piss dropping / resting too many

[rawcusk8]

Their injury list is horrendous and i expect us to take full advantage of it. A front 3 of Mane, Studge and Origi should have more than enough for their patched up defence. Dont think we'll risk Hendo so Can, Gini and Lallana would get my vote to start, though Lucas filling in for Hendo is a good enough replacement should Klopp want to make a few more changes. Back 4 picks it's self, get through this and we can make wholesale changes for the cup game..

As always please Redmen just win.

[Caston]

We're gonna smash them. 5-0 I think

[Suareznumber7]

Not sure we can keep asking Milner and clyne to play 90 minutes in that system and I think we'll rest one of them at least. Moreno probably starts. I'd like to see TAA but Clyne seems to be a physical freak so he'll probably just keep going!

I'd like to see both of them rested along with Firmino at least. 

[newterp]

I'd like to see both of them rested along with Firmino at least. 

They will probably be getting a roughly 10 day rest after this game since they won't play in the cup I'm sure. That said they will probably be needed in the efl cup semis.

[Buck Pete]

We can't take the piss dropping / resting too many

We don't drop or rest anyone for Christ sakes unless injury dictates it. Some insane posts cropping up.

Play the second 11 in the FA cup next weekend but first get this fucker won tomorrow. Sunderland will have received the roasting from hell from Davey after yesterday's performance.

[Suareznumber7]

They will probably be getting a roughly 10 day rest after this game since they won't play in the cup I'm sure. That said they will probably be needed in the efl cup semis.

Moreno and Trent AA are perfectly good enough for this game after such a tough match and so little rest.  A little extra break for those two who play every single match could be welcome. 

[gatcliffe]

Don't see point in resting anyone irrelivant of whom we are playing we need three points end of. We don't need a thumping win like some on here predicting a boring 1 0 will be fine and no injuries.

[classycarra]

if you look at the substitutions in the last few matches, i think it paints a reasonable picture of who is most likely to come in and start. i think moreno, origi, sturridge and mane are bound to start.

henderson looks likely to need a break. no need to rest mignolet, and unless enforced we shouldn't be changing klavan and lovren for the sake of it. and since we're either wanting to play our first team, or energetic backups, there's no rationale for playing lucas in midfield - but he'll be a good sub for the second half if we're comfortably in the lead.

the main three i think we should be looking to protect are milner, clyne and lallana. any suggestions that milner should move to midfield seem crazy to me. why move him from an effective position and make him expend more energy. either play him full back or rest him.

so at a guess:
- moreno in for milner
- sturridge in for firmino
- origi in for henderson

possibilities:
- trent alexander for clyne
- ejaria for lallana
- stewart for wijnaldum

[lessthanmatt]

It's actually mental that we're playing this tomorrow, so soon. Fixture list is truly FUCKED.

On the plus side, more football to watch and our opponents are shite

[keano7]

Imagine being a Sunderland defender after being spanked 4-1 by Burnley, physically shattered and then seeing Origi, Sturridge and Mane to defend against. Put the fear of god into them rather than making unnecessary changes!

[Ste08]

No need to make too many changes, got to keep the momentum going. Origi and Sturridge up top intrigues me.  Keep the rest as is. They can rest during the FA Cup week.

[classycarra]

Imagine being a Sunderland defender after being spanked 4-1 by Burnley, physically shattered and then seeing Origi, Sturridge and Mane to defend against. Put the fear of god into them rather than making unnecessary changes!

we need to play with intensity from the start. if we get an early goal or two, they might start to think more about life without moyes as their manager (which surely sounds appealing!) than fighting back

[Crimson_Tank]

These are horrible, we should make a special spectacle of them.

5-1 with Defoe getting there's, Sturridge with a brace, Origi, Klavan, and Mané with ours.

They looked terrible the other day, let's go for the jugular.

As previously stated, don't stop till Moyes is sacked.

[Red_Irishman]

He'll definitely dive head first into this teamwise. There will be 1 or 2 changes max I reckon. Rightly so.

I wonder whether we will be able to roll out a high pressing game for this considering we didn't really play like that against City. Maybe a bit of energy was conserved by being more defensive.

[andy07]

No complacency, they have sold 48k for this and we don't need to give them the slightest sniff of a result in this one.  Their crowd will be turning up in hope, give them any and they will get right behind the team. The Sunderland game at Anfield last season was our protest walk out. Want to see them walking out long before 77 minutes with lots of anti Moyes sentiment.

[John C]

- stewart for wijnaldum

Before he scored and before Henderson became doubtful I reckon he was first on the team sheet for the Sunderland game.

Not just for his effectively unrecognised ever-presence, but because Sunderland need someone to yell, scream and moan at. He won't be arsed.

He's not the type of player that you feel needs a rest imo mate.

[classycarra]

He's not the type of player that you feel needs a rest imo mate.

tend to agree, that's why he's the last option on my list but he has played a lot of minutes recently.

also, i saw him do the unthinkable and give the ball away more than once against city. so he must be tired!

happy for him to be the designated geordie, and milner to be rested. gini is more likely to score to ram it down their throats!

[Lasardine]

Only a day gap in between the matches and it's still been far too long. Excited for matches once again. Please don't let me down Liverpool

[Miltonred]

Klopp and his back room team will have a lot of information on the current fitness and recovery times for all the players, and I am sure they will be considering the long term conditioning as a primary concern.
I expect to see a number of changes but a strong bench in case we need to chase the game late on.

Players I would be concerned about being overplayed.
Mane as he is about to go to ANC and they will have no control over his training and recovery - plus a lot of games.
Lallana. Adam is just back from injury, I wouldn't start him tomorrow.
Firmino, looked pretty shagged already on Saturday, I think he could use a rest.

I think Lucas should replace Henderson in the deep role, start Can and Wijnaldum  - Sturridge, Origi, plus one, who knows maybe Woodburn could get a start.

[Caligula?]

We don't drop or rest anyone for Christ sakes unless injury dictates it. Some insane posts cropping up.

Play the second 11 in the FA cup next weekend but first get this fucker won tomorrow. Sunderland will have received the roasting from hell from Davey after yesterday's performance.

Yeah I agree, it's surprising. Chelsea had their best ever half to a season since... ever? And yet we're still only 6 points behind them with a chance to cut it to 3 tomorrow, even if temporarily. Those calling for Stewart or Ejaria or whomever else will be the first ones on here to vent if we drop silly points to the absolute shower of shite that is Sunderland if we don't play the best possible team we have to choose from. Why rest players on the basis that they could get injured if they're not? Obviously if Henderson isn't involved tomorrow it would be understandable as he picked up a knock last time around, but resting someone for the sake of just resting them I don't get. It's so, so crucial to keep pace with Chelsea and not let them run away with it. Either way, I think Jurgen picks the best side we have available when he takes everything into consideration - injuries, form, mentality, etc.

[JackWard33]

Yeah I agree, it's surprising. Chelsea had their best ever half to a season since... ever? And yet we're still only 6 points behind them with a chance to cut it to 3 tomorrow, even if temporarily. Those calling for Stewart or Ejaria or whomever else will be the first ones on here to vent if we drop silly points to the absolute shower of shite that is Sunderland if we don't play the best possible team we have to choose from. Why rest players on the basis that they could get injured if they're not? Obviously if Henderson isn't involved tomorrow it would be understandable as he picked up a knock last time around, but resting someone for the sake of just resting them I don't get. It's so, so crucial to keep pace with Chelsea and not let them run away with it. Either way, I think Jurgen picks the best side we have available when he takes everything into consideration - injuries, form, mentality, etc.

Picking the second 11 would be odd - but so would picking a team as if fatigue doesn't exist and we didn't play 48 hours ago. It'll be a balance

[classycarra]

Either way, I think Jurgen picks the best side we have available when he takes everything into consideration - injuries, form, mentality, etc.

i think most of us do. and that's why we're speculating about who is going to be fit enough to play and who needs a rest. i don't think people are saying play the second team.

[Jetmir M.]

Yeah I agree, it's surprising. Chelsea had their best ever half to a season since... ever? And yet we're still only 6 points behind them with a chance to cut it to 3 tomorrow, even if temporarily. Those calling for Stewart or Ejaria or whomever else will be the first ones on here to vent if we drop silly points to the absolute shower of shite that is Sunderland if we don't play the best possible team we have to choose from. Why rest players on the basis that they could get injured if they're not? Obviously if Henderson isn't involved tomorrow it would be understandable as he picked up a knock last time around, but resting someone for the sake of just resting them I don't get. It's so, so crucial to keep pace with Chelsea and not let them run away with it. Either way, I think Jurgen picks the best side we have available when he takes everything into consideration - injuries, form, mentality, etc.

Because chances of players picking up a possible injury having worked their bollocks off less than 44 hours prior to kick off are significantly higher mate, they are not robots. Imo we have the luxury of freshening up the team a bit, considering the fact we are playing against, as you put it, the absolute shower of shite that is Sunderland, and that is before taking into account their injury crisis.

I would rather we tried our chances of beating a woeful Sunderland team with a tweaked starting eleven, than risk losing one of our key players due to injury (we already lost Phil during the first game against these cnuts).

I would surprised to see the likes of Lallana, Firmino and Milner start the game, but ultimately us fans know fuck all about the physical condition of our players after the City game, so it is purely guesswork. The boss will have all the necessary info and whoever he picks tomorrow it will be the team that will give us the best chance of winning the game without risking too much injury wise, so on that front I am very relaxed.

Let's fuckin spank these twats, and pile more misery on that clueless cnut of a manager 

[Number 7]

Yeah I agree, it's surprising. Chelsea had their best ever half to a season since... ever? And yet we're still only 6 points behind them with a chance to cut it to 3 tomorrow, even if temporarily. Those calling for Stewart or Ejaria or whomever else will be the first ones on here to vent if we drop silly points to the absolute shower of shite that is Sunderland if we don't play the best possible team we have to choose from. Why rest players on the basis that they could get injured if they're not? Obviously if Henderson isn't involved tomorrow it would be understandable as he picked up a knock last time around, but resting someone for the sake of just resting them I don't get. It's so, so crucial to keep pace with Chelsea and not let them run away with it. Either way, I think Jurgen picks the best side we have available when he takes everything into consideration - injuries, form, mentality, etc.

Considering we don't have a PL game until the 15th after this I think we have to go for it with it as many first team players as possible.

I think we might see Lallana rested but that's about it. Hendo would be enforced.

Someone said earlier that Firmino could play in midfield. If that happened he could play at the tip of a diamond with Origi and Sturridge up top. I doubt it will happen but Firmino is very combative, defensively sound, and could play the Lallana role. Whatever happens it will be intriguing to see the lineup.

[sideshowme]

nice of the PL to give us a bye for the final game of this otherwise tricky week

[FlashGordon]

Considering we don't have a PL game until the 15th after this I think we have to go for it with it as many first team players as possible.

I think we might see Lallana rested but that's about it. Hendo would be enforced.

Someone said earlier that Firmino could play in midfield. If that happened he could play at the tip of a diamond with Origi and Sturridge up top. I doubt it will happen but Firmino is very combative, defensively sound, and could play the Lallana role. Whatever happens it will be intriguing to see the lineup.

It's got nothing to do with how far away the next game is, it's all to do with how recent the previous game was. 44 hours is no time at all for rest and recovery and we can't expect every one to be able to deal with that turnaround.

[Miltonred]

It's got nothing to do with how far away the next game is, it's all to do with how recent the previous game was. 44 hours is no time at all for rest and recovery and we can't expect every one to be able to deal with that turnaround.

True. Plus even is a normal first choice player is at 80%, surely the lads on the bench have something more to offer at 100%? Plus you always can bring players off the bench.
Anyway we will see shortly.

Personally I'd love to see Studge get a start, and bang a few in.

[Gonza]

Here's my guess:

Mignolet
Clyne Lovren Klavan Moreno/Milner
Lucas
Can Lallana
Mane Sturridge Firmino

Hendo is likely out so Lallana will go back to the middle but Lucas will come in for Gini as he had a few misplaced passes last game so maybe fatigue setting in. Milner might need a break as he needs to empty Sterling from his pocket.

Firmino is knackered too but by being on the outside of the front 3 should give him a break and we need his intelligence to give Sturridge opportunities. Origi will come in for Firmino at some point in the game.

Bench: Karius, Milner/Moreno, Stewart, Evaria, TAA, Origi, Woodburn

We may end up with a couple of young faces on the pitch at the end of the game. Hopefully it will be to manage the tired legs to avoid injuries. Also, I won't rule out tactical changes from Klopp if Sunderland are doing well (you never know!).

[Kovai Red]

Don't care about how we play. Just 3 points is enough

[Fiasco]

I'd play Moreno and Alexander-Arnold. Lots of legs and pace on the flanks as Milner and Clyne put in big shifts against City. Sturridge will probably start, as will Origi.

[RogerTheRed]

If Henderson is injured and either Lallana or Can not starting it will be interesting to see who starts in CM. if it is Lucas then I guess he will be staying. If it is Stewart that may mean Lucas is on his way to Italy. He will be a flexible sub if that is the case until he goes.

[thisyearisouryear]

Need to grind another win. Curious to see how Klopp rotates the squad.
January can be very pivotal. Chelsea play Spurs next and then us at the month end. We can totally catch them!

[Hunts Cross]

nice of the PL to give us a bye for the final game of this otherwise tricky week

Feels like tempting fate ...

[88_RED]

Need to grind another win. Curious to see how Klopp rotates the squad.
January can be very pivotal. Chelsea play Spurs next and then us at the month end. We can totally catch them!

Provided someone helps us out and we continue to help ourselves..

[Caligula?]

Regardless of who Klopp puts out later today, we should have enough to get past these. It's not being arrogant or tempting fate, it's just a fact. There's a reason why we're on 43 points and they're on 14 and in the bottom 3. Top it off with all of their injuries and suspensions and anything less than a win here would be criminal. Their best chance of scoring will be through set plays because I feel Moyes will yet again shit the bed and park a bus hoping for a draw or some kind of miraculous win, so if we deal with those and Defoe as well then we shouldn't be too troubled defensively. We just kept one of the best attacking teams in the league from scoring whilst completely nullifying Aguero, so there's no reason we can't handle Sunderland as well. The side that started against City is good enough to put a couple past them, let alone if we bring on and/or start Sturridge and Origi. I think we'd all take any type of win though, ffs I'm still on a high after beating City and we've already got a game in just a few hours.

[Alf]

I've got to agree with Klopp that it's insanity to play 2 games in 3 days. I rolled in at 3am yesterday morning after the City game and out again at 6:30am today to head to Sunderland and I feel knackered.

3 points is the order of the day, I don't care how we do it as long as we do it.