Liverpool vs. Norwich: Predicting the Reds' Starting XI at Anfield

"The ball is round.” “The game lasts for 90 minutes.” Quotes famously uttered by former German maestro Sepp Herberger to remind us of the simplicity of the game and the pitfalls of thinking too far beyond the fundamentals. 

Liverpool cannot afford to take Norwich City too lightly, as victory is not assured.  

That being said, nothing short of three points will do, and Kenny Dalglish must take an aggressive approach at home on Saturday. 

The following lineup and formation reflects that desired approach.

The Formation: 3-5-2

With at least one of the Manchester teams certain to drop points on the weekend, Liverpool has to approach this fixture with top-flight debutants Norwich as an opportunity to make up points on the early league leaders.  

This fairly aggressive formation presents Dalglish the opportunity to put as many attacking players on the field as is feasible, with room for Craig Bellamy and Jordan Henderson and possibly Maxi as subs.

Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina

This has not been the Spanish No. 3’s best start to a season.  Reina has been uncharacteristically shaky in mishandling far more balls than Liverpool fans have become used to seeing from him. 

Thankfully, none of those chances have yet to be turned into opposition scores, but Danny Welbeck was almost gifted the winner in the last match against United when Reina dropped an easy save almost directly in his path. 

Where clean sheets were once Reina's specialty, Liverpool have thus far recorded only two this season, while conceding nine goals.  This may seem respectable, but those nine goals have come against a backdrop of only 40 shots on target, for a 77.5-percent save percentage. 

Compared to the save percentages of both David De Gea (89 percent) and Joe Hart (91 percent), Reina’s performance is brought squarely into light.  True, the Liverpool defense has been unsteady, but a good craftsman never blames his tools.

Still, Alexander Doni will get the nod in the odd friendly against Glasgow Rangers or a Carling Cup fixture, but he won’t supplant Reina in the starting lineup any time soon.

Right Wingback: Martin Kelly

As I wrote last week, the voices calling for Martin Kelly to supplant Glen Johnson at right-back are likely to turn from a din to a roar if Kelly continues to perform as he did against Manchester United. 

He seems to have put behind him his problematic start to the season, after injury and a shaky performance against Wolves.  Johnson is fit again, but for the time being expect Dalglish to continue to go with Kelly.

Right Center-Back: Martin Skrtel

Martin Skrtel was once a very good player for Liverpool, starting every game in defense as recently as last season.  Something happened on the way to the forum, however, and Skrtel has regressed into a tentative, reactive player, prone to defensive lapses.

Skrtel’s failure to track Javier Hernandez on a corner kick last weekend allowed the Mexican striker to steal a point for United after Liverpool seemed poised for victory.  

That said, look for Dalglish to start him at the back, in what should be a safe gamble against a rather impotent Norwich City attack.

Center-Back: Jamie Carragher

After a horrible start to the season, including penalties conceded against both Stoke and Brighton, Carra has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts for Liverpool by solidifying the right center-back position.

He has been occasionally drafted to provide cover for the deficient play on either side of him, but still has managed to not let that be a liability to his own play. The one exception to that has been the penalty against Brighton, caused by a Jay Spearing error. 

Until Sebastián Coates is ready, however, the job will remain Jamie Carragher’s.

Left Center-Back: Daniel Agger

Daniel Agger is fully fit again,and reportedly has been for close to a month.

Look then for the Dane to get the starting nod against Norwich, not to replace Skrtel, but rather to partner him and Carragher as part of a back three.

This allows him to regain a bit of match fitness, while presenting options for Coates off the bench at RCB.

Left Wingback: José Enrique

After Reina, Enrique is probably the most automatic starter in the Liverpool lineup.  Much has been written about him being Liverpool’s best buy this summer, but a very, very, strong argument can be made that he has been Liverpool’s best player thus far this season… period.

Norwich has yet to prove themselves potent on offense, so Enrique should be allowed a bit more offensive freedom to venture forward in support of the attack.  Not that he ever needs much prompting to do so.

Should he continue on present form, the Spaniard will be the starting left-back for club, and potentially for country as well, for many years.

Right-Central Midfield: Dirk Kuyt

The dynamic Dutchman has permanently supplanted Jordan Henderson in the starting lineup… for now.

Kuyt has shown greater initiative than Henderson in going forward in attack, while playing box-to-box defense as necessary. Where Henderson has a penchant to get lost in games, Kuyt has no problem being in the thick of things.

His constant movement—and the quality of that movement—has transformed the Liverpool attack by constantly pulling at the opposing team’s defensive seams.  Look for more of the same at kickoff against the Canaries, with Kuyt possibly swapping positions with Steven Gerrard if necessary.

Center Midfield: Steven Gerrard

Coming off Gerrard's fantastic return to the Liverpool starting lineup, expect Dalglish to continue to play Gerrard back into form.  His leadership and attacking instinct has been sorely missed, and this match gives him a chance to continue developing in-game chemistry with the newer Reds.

Center mid is a bit of a stretch for a player who prefers to go forward in the attack, and a lot of running for a pair of 31-year-old legs.  Admittedly, this is a very unlikely role for Gerrard, but since we’re playing with house money we might as well have a bit of fun with it.

Left-Central Midfield: Stewart Downing

Downing has faded a bit over the course of the last three games or so, and one has to wonder if this is the start of a negative trend or just a bit of a rut the player is going through.  While some have called for Craig Bellamy to replace Downing on the wing, this seems unlikely to happen.

Downing still has the ability to affect the game with his pace and crossing, but for any number of reasons Liverpool has yet to yield the fruits of his efforts. 

Taking nothing away from Norwich, this fixture offers the perfect opportunity for Downing to try and regain his form and a bit of chemistry with the forwards in the process.

Striker: Andy Carroll

Look for the big man to come back into the starting XI as Dalglish tries to get him some time alongside Gerrard and Luis Suárez. 

With Norwich being somewhat prone to defensive lapses, this may prove the ideal fixture to get Carroll into the game and onto the score sheet.

Striker: Luis Suárez

Not a whole lot to say here: Suárez is easily the Reds' most dynamic (if at times enigmatic) player. 

He will hope to regain his scoring touch against Norwich, as he seems to have lost a little bit of sharpness to his play. His composure in front of goal has somewhat deserted him of late, but opportunities for amends should present themselves on Saturday.