Picking Liverpool's Quickest and Strongest XI According to FIFA 18 Ratings

Brilliant in attack but too often brittle defensively, Liverpool are fun to watch—as long as you're not a supporter of the club.

For their fans, however, watching the Reds this season has developed into a traumatic experience. Any set-piece situation brings about an attack of nerves, while a lead—no matter how big—never truly feels safe.

But, while real-life Liverpool give their followers kittens every time they step out onto a field somewhere, the FIFA 18 version should be fun to use. Ahead of the game's release on Friday, Bleacher Report decided to have a look at Jurgen Klopp's squad in detail.

While each year sees new features added, there are two main traits that FIFA players tend to look for when putting together a team capable of competing: pace and power.

With those attributes in mind, we've selected Liverpool's fastest and strongest XIs from the current squad.

Speed Thrills

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With or without the ball, Liverpool play at pace. If Klopp were to set his custom tactics on his own console, he would no doubt shift his "pressure" and "aggression" defending sliders right towards the top.

For FIFA 18, we've not just checked out the players' pace statistic on their Ultimate Team card but also delved deeper to look at their sprint speed and acceleration numbers (besides the goalkeeping position).

Thanks to the Futhead website for providing the details.

Formation: 4-3-3 (4) Attack

Pos	Name	Acceleration	Sprint speed	Overall
GK	Simon Mignolet	--	55	81
RB	Nathaniel Clyne	82	83	82
CB	Joel Matip	60	73	83
CB	Joe Gomez	74	76	70
LB	Alberto Moreno	87	88	76
CM	Georginio Wijnaldum	79	82	82
CM	Adam Lallana	74	72	83
CM	Oviemuno Ejaria	74	71	66
RW	Mohamed Salah	93	93	83
LW	Sadio Mane	94	92	84
ST	Danny Ings	83	82	77

Goalkeepers aren't renowned for their speed, and anyone who saw Simon Mignolet's challenge on Jamie Vardy that gave away a penalty at Leicester City on Saturday will suggest he was treading treacle as he "raced" off his line.

Yet the Belgian is deemed to be the quickest of Liverpool's four goalkeepers, ahead of Loris Karius,  Danny Ward and forgotten man Adam Bogdan.

Nathaniel Clyne may be injured in real life, but there's no need for gamers to worry about the back problem that has kept him sidelined so far this season. Perhaps surprisingly, he is rated faster than fellow right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold (acceleration: 81; sprint speed: 81), who can feel a little disappointed with his 70 overall rating.

On the opposite flank, Alberto Moreno was the clear winner. The Spaniard—who has fought his way back into the first team under Klopp—may have his defensive issues, but he's flat-out fast on the left.

The centre-back pairing sees Joel Matip partner Joe Gomez. Plenty of Liverpool followers may wish their manager would field the same combination more regularly in real life, too.

Going with a three-man midfield, Georginio Wijnaldum's excellent speed statistics earned the Dutchman a spot. He could have been joined by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, only the pacy deadline-day acquisition is listed as a right midfielder on FIFA 18. The equally rapid Lazar Markovic is also ruled out for the same reason.

So, the midfield places instead go to Ovie Ejaria and Adam Lallana. Both have an overall pace rating of 73, and just the latter has a higher acceleration mark.

The England international has been a popular choice under Klopp but is working his way back from a thigh injury. Ejaria, in contrast, is still a developing prospect in the under-23 squad.

Captain Jordan Henderson (pace: 72) and first-team regular Emre Can (pace: 71) just miss out.

The wingers were obvious. Expect Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah to be popular on FIFA 18's Ultimate Team mode, even if this year's game is, according to Nick Akerman's in-depth review for Bleacher Report, more focused on patience and passing.

However, Danny Ings as our striker is a huge surprise. The luckless forward has endured an injury-hit two seasons on Merseyside, yet the FIFA panel seems to have a long memory and has kept his stats in check.

The former Burnley player has an overall pace rating of 82, meaning he's quicker on the game than Roberto Firmino and Daniel Sturridge. No, really.

Strength In Numbers

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With the introduction of a powered tackle (which is unleashed by holding down the standing tackle button), physicality looks set to play a key role in FIFA 18.

Here, we've picked the strongest XI in Klopp's favoured formation. The one outlier is the goalkeeper, where we've selected our No. 1 between the posts based on the handling statistic instead of strength.

Formation: 4-3-3 (4) Attack

Pos	Name	Strength	Overall
GK	Simon Mignolet	76	81
RB	Nathaniel Clyne	71	82
CB	Dejan Lovren	86	81
CB	Joel Matip	81	83
LB	James Milner	73	80
CM	Jordan Henderson	76	82
CM	Emre Can	84	79
CM	Marko Grujic	78	71
RW	Mohamed Salah	61	83
LW	Sadio Mane	72	84
ST	Roberto Firmino	76	83

Mignolet is once again between the sticks, working behind an all-too-familiar back four from last season.

Clyne was tied with the "Scouse Cafu," Jon Flanagan, but is selected due to his higher overall score. Matip remains at centre-back as well, only this time he's working alongside Dejan Lovren. The Croatian's physical statistics are impressive—plus, on FIFA, you're the only one to blame for his mistakes.

As for left-back, James Milner returns to a position where he played regularly in 2016/17. While Klopp may now view the former England international as a midfield option, FIFA 18 still lists him as a defender.

Henderson leads a midfield trio that also includes Can this time, with the German boasting impressive physical numbers. That'll make him fun to use—plus there's the added bonus of his slick hair. FIFA games are about players' abilities first and foremost, but it helps when they look the part.

The final midfielder is Marko Grujic. The Serb is only rated at 71 overall (which means he's silver on Ultimate Team, by the way) yet ranks high in the physical areas. With two-star trick moves, just don't try to be too fancy with him in the middle of the park. He's a willing workhorse, not a classic thoroughbred.

The front three sees Salah retain his place on the right due to a lack of other options, while Mane unsurprisingly ranks considerably higher for strength than main rival Philippe Coutinho (whom some may just choose to push into central midfield, rather than leave him on the left wing).

Firmino, understandably, comes out on top in this category for Liverpool's striking options. The Brazilian will be happy enough with his physical numbers, although it won't make amends for his pace (acceleration: 77; sprint speed: 77).

Interestingly, a switch to a 4-1-2-1-2 formation—something Klopp used on occasions during the 2016/17 season, including the 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford—would see Ings in again up front.

What these statistics show is Liverpool's squad is made to play rock-and-roll football, both in real life and in the world of FIFA. Now roll on the release date so we can all get playing.