Enter: Sturridge
Liverpool have been dealt a hammer blow ahead of their Champions League knockout tie with Bayern Munich as Roberto Firmino has emerged as a doubt for the game due to illness. Neither he nor Dejan Lovren trained today ahead of tomorrow’s match.
The virus is reported to have ’caused havoc’ among the Liverpool squad in the past few weeks, who have struggled with defensive injuries recently.
Big worry for Liverpool with Firmino struggling ahead of tomorrow's game. Illness causing havoc with Klopp's squad in recent weeks. #LFC
— Neil Jones (@neiljonesgoal) February 18, 2019
Virgil Van Dijk will also miss out on the first leg against Bayern, after the defender picked up a suspension for his third yellow card of the competition in their group game against Napoli.
Liverpool are therefore likely to field a central defensive partnership of Joel Matip and Fabinho against Bayern – a far cry from the solid foundation that Van Dijk had formed with Joe Gomez before his injury.
In attack, Firmino’s absence could see the return of Daniel Sturridge leading the line. Alternatively, Naby Keita could step into the number 10 role behind Mohamed Salah, with Xherdan Shaqiri playing from the right.
Either way, Liverpool will miss Firmino’s pressing and hold up play high up the pitch as well as Van Dijk’s commanding presence at the back.
