5 Selection Dilemmas Liverpool Must Resolve for Champions League Tie vs. Basel
Following a shock late equaliser courtesy of Everton's Phil Jagielka in Saturday's Merseyside derby, Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool enter the second fixture of their Champions League campaign on the back of yet another disappointment.
The Reds have been hugely inconsistent so far and have arguably not played cohesively at all this season, barring a 3-0 victory away to Spurs in August.
Travelling to Swiss champions FC Basel for Wednesday night, Rodgers' side need to gather some momentum in order to kick-start their season, and the Liverpool manager has some key decisions to make ahead of the tie.
Here are five selection dilemmas Liverpool must resolve for their Champions League tie against Basel.
Formations
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Rodgers is widely renowned as a great tactician, and it is the Reds manager's ability to chop and change his setup, depending on the opposition, that often gives his side the upper hand.
This can be seen with the variety of formations at the Ulsterman's disposal, and his tactical layout will be key against Basel on Wednesday night.
So far this season, Rodgers has deployed a diamond-based 4-4-2, a 4-3-3 and a more reserved 4-2-3-1, with varying degrees of success.
Clearly, a lot depends on personnel, and in the absence of Daniel Sturridge, the manager has more often than not plumped for a formation with a lone striker—one experiment, pairing Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini upfront against West Ham United, failed miserably.
The 4-2-3-1 seems to be Rodgers' most preferred setup following the Englishman's injury, and this could continue against Basel, with any of Raheem Sterling, Adam Lallana, Lazar Markovic and Philippe Coutinho providing the advanced midfield options ahead of a base of Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson.
How to Support an Ailing Mario Balotelli
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One glaring difference from the Liverpool of last season and the side of this season so far is a lack of goals, with Rodgers' buccaneering 2013/14 side heading into games confident of outscoring any opponent.
This season this hasn't been helped by an unfortunate injury suffered by star striker Sturridge, whilst away with the England squad on international duty.
The former Chelsea man has now missed the last five Liverpool games, in which the Reds have won just twice.
Sturridge's absence has heaped unwanted pressure on summer signing Balotelli, and the Italian has suffered as a result, with Henry Jackson of This is Anfield writing:
"[Balotelli's] movement and general hunger have lacked the pace and intelligence of the much-missed Daniel Sturridge, and too often his decision-making has been erratic and sloppy.
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Jackson continued by stating that Balotelli "has had 63 shots in his last 20 Premier League games, scoring just once."
Ten of these attempts came in the Merseyside derby draw at home to Everton on Saturday, with Balotelli hitting the target just twice.
Unfortunately, Sturridge has been omitted from the Reds' squad for the Champions League clash, per James Pearce of the Liverpool Echo, having failed "to recover from the thigh strain which has kept him out for the past three weeks."
With previous attempts to wedge Balotelli into a front two with compatriot Borini failing, Rodgers' main dilemma will be how to best provide support for the £16 million man.
Rodgers must persevere with the 24-year-old but find a way to end his profligate run.
Can Steven Gerrard Last Another Full 90?
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Liverpool captain Gerrard hit the headlines this weekend after notching his third goal of the season, with a fine, curled free-kick evading the grasp of Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Cupping his ear in celebration, Gerrard looked desperate to answer the critics so vehement in dismantling his previous performances—namely an absent display against West Ham the previous weekend.
According to the Daily Mirror, in his post-match interview Gerrard was equally as intent on silencing those who questioned his vitality in a Reds shirt:
"I’ll agree with the constructive criticism and I’ve been stifled in a couple of games when people have followed me around and I haven’t been able to shake them off.
But then some people take it too far and say ‘He’s 34, he can’t run and he’s finished’.
I can still compete with the best players around. It’s nice to remind people that although I’m 34, I can still run, I can still play and I can compete with the best players around.
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The reality still remains that, at the age of 34, Gerrard will struggle with the increased demands of the Reds' fixture list this season.
The midfielder's disappointing performance against West Ham came on the back of a demanding Champions League tie with Ludogorets, whereas his emphatic Merseyside comeback followed a week's rest.
Rodgers will need to decide whether his captain can withstand another full 90 minutes of action—although with current injuries to Emre Can and Joe Allen, perhaps the Ulsterman has little choice.
Should Philippe Coutinho Start?
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Brazilian playmaker Coutinho had to settle for a place on the substitutes' bench for Saturday's Merseyside derby after having suffered an injury in midweek, per LiverpoolFC.com.
It could well have been that the young midfielder would have sat out even if fully fit, after a string of disappointing performances so far for the Reds this season.
Coutinho was particularly poor in Liverpool's last Champions League encounter, against Ludogorets, with an anonymous display creating a gulf between the midfield and attack, which saw Rodgers' side struggle to create chances against their lowly Bulgarian opponents.
However, introduced against Everton the 22-year-old gave a glimpse of the player so dazzling throughout Liverpool's pre-season campaign.
In a 31-minute outing, a 93 per cent passing accuracy and two successful take ons, per Squawka, outlined the ability Coutinho has to provide a much-needed grace to the final third.
With Markovic ineffective against the Toffees, expect a fully-fit Coutinho to return to the fold.
Stick with an Unchanged Back Four?
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The defensive line-up of Javier Manquillo, Martin Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Alberto Moreno fielded against Everton on Saturday marked only the second time that the quartet have started together so far this season.
With injury to Skrtel and the slow introductions of new signings Manquillo and Moreno, Rodgers' back line has looked shambolic in its inconsistency throughout this early period.
Question marks have been raised over the ability of fellow summer signing Lovren after a series of mishaps, namely against City and Aston Villa in the Premier League, and the Croat has a lot of work to do in terms of positioning.
However, the absence of French centre-back Mamadou Sakho from the Reds squad for the Merseyside derby—and subsequently from Anfield, per This is Anfield—seems to underline Rodgers' preferred central defensive partnership.
This was compounded by an impressive collective display by the Liverpool defenders against Everton, falling only to Jagielka's stunning long-range equaliser in the closing stages.
If Rodgers is finally content with his defensive setup, this may be a dilemma solved.
Consistency is key to a successful back four.
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