To make up for the absence of the defensive duo of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip due to injuries, Jurgen Klopp is forced to play Fabinho as a makeshift centre-back alongside the returning Joe Gomez at the heart of the Liverpool FC backline, when the Premier League champions take the pitch for their opening Champions League game against Ajax.
A rather unusual midfield three in the form of Curtis Jones, James Milner, and Gini Wijnaldum, start against Erik ten Hag’s men at the Johan Cruyff Arena, with the Liverpool FC skipper Jordan Henderson dropping to the bench to make way for Milner, who will take the armband in the absence of the 30-year old English international.
Elsewhere on the pitch, the Firmino-Mane-Salah are the usual suspects for the Reds up front, and despite great form shown by Diogo Jota of late, both for club and country, the new summer signing for the Merseyside giants, features on the bench, as does the Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri.
Liverpool FC academy graduates Rhys Williams and Jake Cain are also amongst the substitutes for tonight’s fixture as Klopp faces the woes of an extremely depleted senior squad owing to recent injury issues to first-team regulars.
Here are how both the teams line up for the upcoming clash:
Ajax FC XI
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our team to face @LFC! ❌❌❌#UCL #ajaliv pic.twitter.com/azm5AxxFIF
— AFC Ajax (@AFCAjax) October 21, 2020
Liverpool FC XI
🔴 TEAM NEWS 🔴
Here’s how we line-up for tonight’s trip to @AFCAjax 👊 #AJALIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 21, 2020
