Bradley Barcola has sampled Anfield as a Liverpool player for the first time
Bradley Barcola has sampled Anfield as a Liverpool player for the first time(Image: Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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Liverpool will play the second of three consecutive home games this afternoon when they host Fulham in the Premier League.
New boss Andoni Iraola will be looking for a third straight win in all competitions after victory at Ipswich Town was followed by a triumph against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Iraola has a few decisions to make regarding team selection for the visit of Anfield old boy Alvaro Arbeloa's Cottagers, who have lost their first three Premier League matches.
Cody Gakpo was forced to sit out the Champions League clash midweek, while new signing Bradley Barcola came off with cramp. Will that effect how Iraola lines up his Reds' starting XI? Our ECHO writers have had their say.
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Ian Doyle
Fulham at home doesn't seen the most difficult assignment Liverpool could face, particularly given the Cottagers have had such a frustrating start to the season.
These, though, are so often the type of games where teams slip up. What, then, is Reds boss Andoni Iraola to do?
There isn't really much need for heavy rotation, which will surely come in wholesale fashion for the League Cup clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Tuesday.
That means Alisson Becker in goal, fan favourite Ronald Araujo continuing at right-back and Milos Kerkez staying at left-back. Skipper Virgil van Dijk can once again be partnered by Jeremy Jacquet in the heart of defence.
No change, too, in midfield, with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai at the base and Florian Wirtz the number 10.
But Victor Munoz can come in on the left flank in attack, with Bradley Barcola again down the right and Alexander Isak the centre forward.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Barcola, Wirtz, Munoz; Isak.
Richard Garnett
Iraola will no doubt be delighted to have won his last two matches after starting his Liverpool managerial tenure with two draws and with Fulham struggling in the early stages of the season, this is an ideal opportunity to make it three wins in a row.
With Alisson in goal, there is a temptation to give Jeremy Jacquet a rest and move the excellent Ronald Araujo into his position, but stability breeds confidence and I'm going to resist that temptation for now and stick with the same back four that started on Wednesday, providing that Milos Kerkez has shook off the cramp issue he had late on in that match.
Alexis Mac Allister has laid down a marker this week by backing up his blunt press conference with a great showing against Atletico, so he retains his spot in the middle alongside the legs of Dominik Szoboszlai. I suspect that there could be a more advanced role for the Argentine coming down the tracks, but that is for another day.
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Bradley Barcola made his first start for Liverpool off the right wing, but I'm switching him to his more favoured left side for this one with Victor Munoz on the right. I can see Barcola getting an hour, so Rio Ngumoha, who impressed in mid-week, can get 30 minutes to showcase his talents.
Florian Wirtz continues behind Alexander Isak, who will be itching to get back on the scoresheet. Perhaps Wirtz will be as well, just like his international teammate Jamal Musiala did for Bayern Munich on Thursday evening.
My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Araujo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Munoz, Wirtz, Barcola; Isak.
Morgan King
I thought long and hard about throwing Cody Gakpo straight back in if he's deemed to have recovered from his adductor twinge, but since that will be dependent on whether or not he's trained on Friday, the safer money is on Iraola biding his time with the Dutchman's return.
Besides, even if Gakpo does train, he may be needed as a central striker on Tuesday if Iraola chooses to rotate against Spurs in the League Cup, and Liverpool have plenty of left-sided wingers to go around who can fill in in the meantime.
Rather than risk aggravating what sounds like a minor injury, I'd start Rio Ngumoha on the left once again and see if he can't replicate his goalscoring performance against the Cottagers at Anfield last season.
Other than that, I'd keep the team the same. Bradley Barcola will put a shift in tracking back against Robinson on the right if the American left-back gets busy on the overlap (as is his wont), and should get opportunities to open his goalscoring account against a porous Fulham defence.
Consistency is king in midfield, too, where Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister put in an improved performance against Atletico Madrid - especially in the second half.
And for all that Fulham have struggled defensively, they've been at the double at the other end twice already in the league this season. That means there's absolutely no reason not to start Ronald Araujo once again, while Milos Kerkez remains preferable to Kostas Tsimikas despite some shaky performances as of late.