Jurgen Klopp will always insist that Liverpool’s next game is the most important.
In the context of the Reds’ title defense in the Premier League, that line of thinking is likely to be widely shared this weekend.
It’s Manchester City next in Etihad for the champions.
Losing won’t be a catastrophe, but three points offer the tempting prospect of being eight points ahead of the team many expect to challenge Liverpool the most this season.
And Klopp has food for thought as he chooses the team to do the job.
After a formidable win over Atalanta, he has some pick headaches to ease.
Who will definitely play?
Injuries aside, there are a number of Liverpool players guaranteed to be on the starting line-up for the trip to Manchester.
Alisson Becker is one of them, while Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez, and Trent Alexander-Arnold will almost certainly play in defense.
One would expect captain Jordan Henderson to be part of midfield and both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah should take their places in attack.
So who is in doubt?
It may sound bizarre, but Diogo Jota isn’t a guaranteed starter.
The Portuguese striker, who joined a first £ 41million deal from Wolves in September, continued a winning goal against Sheffield United with a hat-trick against Atalanta.
But should Klopp go with his favorite formation of 4-3-3, he would have to leave out Roberto Firmino to include Jota. The Brazilian wasn’t in great shape but he rarely misses such opportunities.
Elsewhere, midfield could be messed up so Curtis Jones and Gini Wijnaldum could both come out of the team and young Rhys Williams could be replaced in defense.
Who could come in?
All eyes are on the team sheet when it falls to see if Firmino actually returns, but he may not be the only one.
Joel Matip was fit enough to take his place on the bench against Atalanta and Klopp should be delighted with the experience of the Cameroonian defender against Williams from Nathaniel Phillips, both of whom have armed themselves well in recent games.
In midfield, Naby Keita and James Milner are both options, but the Reds can hope that Thiago Alcantara, who has not played since an injury in the Merseyside derby, will return.
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The Spaniard’s injury is not severe and he’s returned to train away from the main group at Melwood but Klopp will be hoping to show his fitness this week.
Matip and Thiago’s return to the side would be a big boost as the Reds prepare for another showdown with Pep Guardiola’s men.
Both are expected to play an important role this season. So getting them fit and shooting as soon as possible when the crunch battle looms up will be an important part of Klopp’s agenda.
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