Only issue I see there, mate, is players getting in each other's way. With little space to operate in, I think, we'll need quick, one-touch passing more than great movement. That's not really Coutinho's game if he playing on the left. He can do it, but he doesn't do it naturally the same way Wijnadum does or Lallana does near the box. Honestly, I might drop Coutinho for the bus and keep the three-man midfield. Love Phil, but I don't think he has ever learned the patience to play against the bus. A three-man midfield would also allow us more bodies running into the box to pick up any second balls. I think Lallana and Gini are just about perfect for doing that.
Watching Arsenal this weekend, that's pretty much what they did. Quick, one touch passes side-side, cut-backs from the wing, and midfielders collecting second balls. It's super formulaic and they do it over and over again until the score.
Totally agree with this. I think changing everything up and trying to force all of our attacking players into the team is actively the wrong move, and we've seen in the past that even against "weaker" teams we've often come a cropper trying to do just that. There's no reason we can't bring additional attacking players on as the game goes on, but I agree that the best move is to stick with what we've been building all season and a system that has shown to be incredibly promising for us.
Also agree on Coutinho - it's a tough one, because some of the time in these sorts of park the bus games he'll pop up with an absolute screamer when all else is failing, but other types he'll shoot on sight, hold on to the ball for far too long and the team is unable to build any kind of sustained pressure. You don't really know which version you're going to get, but generally it's the latter, while the former Coutinho tends to show up against the bigger boys.
One of the biggest features of our attacking play this season is that it's been noticeably quicker than it has in ages - clever, quick, one-touch play with excellent movement pulling players out of position. That is the way to break down stubborn teams. The midfield of Gini, Lallana and Henderson has so far shown themselves incredibly suited to that. Just because they have been doing their fair share of defensive work in recent weeks, doesn't mean they're not all very capable attacking players in their own right, but the balance is key. We lose some of that by cramming Mane, Coutinho, Firmino and Sturridge in the same team, in my opinion.