Why are people so obsessed with playing Hendo, Gini and Milner, did they not see what happened when we played that midfield against PSG? Hint we were completely overrun and overpowered in midfield. Milner is simply not an option against pacy and strng midfielders so I'd be playing Fabinho instead of him. My ideal midfield for this would be Fabinho, Gini and Keita/Shaq as we need a solid DM pairing but we also need a link man between midfield and attack. I would also be ok'ish with Hendo, Fabinho and Gini.
Or you know, did you not see what happened when we played that midfield against PSG at home? Hint: they f**king bossed it. Or you know, did you not see what happened when we played that midfield against Napoli at home? Hint: they f**king bossed it again. Two massive games in which they all played really well. The three of them have had some cracking games together and some less good games. Can't deny that they are the 'tried and tested' midfield. The three of them are by far our most experienced combination and it's no surprise Klopp trusted them to do the job in some of our biggest games in recent years.
I'm not saying they are my favored midfield combination in general or for this game in particular, but I'd fully understand if Klopp picks them for the City game. You say 'pacy and strong midfielders'. Are David Silva and Bernardo Silva pacy and strong? Hardly, they're brilliant technically, yes. De Bruyne could probably be labeled 'pacy and strong'. Is Fernandinho pacy? Not really. Milner, for example, might not be pacy, but the lad has got some steel and I'd love him to show Fernandinho up and get one in early on, set the tone of the game.
For the record: my favorite combination for this game would probably be Wijnaldum, Henderson, and Fabinho, but with the latter two being the more advanced ones and Wijnaldum at the base of midfield picking up second balls and receiving the ball from our CB's. Let Fabinho and Henderson loose and let them press the living hell out of the likes of Fernandinho and whoever they line up with in midfield. Both are excellent at winning the ball back and we've seen Fabinho has the quality on the ball to play that final pass too. With Fabinho playing higher we'll also reduce the risk of him making mistakes too close to our own goal.
Think it's going to be a cagey game with none of the teams really going for it from the start. Worst case scenario for City is obviously losing, so they'll want to avoid that at all costs. A draw wouldn't be that bad for them. They are equally capable of going on a winning run like we just did and all it takes for us is to drop points in two games for them to be breathing down our necks again and for us to feel the pressure. Keep them out and hit them in behind, they'll leave plenty of space for us to exploit. No need for us to go gung-ho early on. They are the ones under pressure, they are the ones that have to beat us, they'll inevitably make mistakes with their passing and overall play, it's up to us to make the mistakes count and punish them.
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