By James Whitfield

Liverpool look to return to winning ways as they face Inter Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League. A win for the Reds could see them climb into the top eight of the league table but they have a tough task in hand against fourth place Inter, who have won four out of their five games so far.

Match Preview

The season has been more difficult for Liverpool than many people will have expected but with performances looking like no improvement will come, this has left them with an inconsistent run of results. 

The Champions League had looked like the one possibility of turning the club’s campaign around but after losing 4-1 to PSV at Anfield a couple of weeks ago, Arne Slot and his team haven’t got time to waste and will need to show redemption against a team who have been in two of the last three finals. 

Inter Milan are competing well in all of their respective competitions, through to the quater finals of the Coppa Italia and only one point behind first place Napoli. 

Inter’s manager Cristian Chivu was appointed in the summer after previously coaching Nerazzurri’s academy teams and a short stint at Parma, where he secured their Serie A survival last season. 

Chivu’s preferred formation is a 3-5-2, which is commonly used within Italian football. The wider two of the three centre backs Alessandro Bastoni and Manuel Akanji are quick and versatile enough to deploy themselves in the fullback areas when needed and to support the attack minded wingbacks, who push themselves high when in attack but offer a balanced defensive structure when out of possession.  

Inter’s strikeforce of Marcus Thuram and Captain Lautoro Martinez is an attack that Liverpool need to keep quiet as Inter have scored nine more goals than any other team in Italy’s top flight this season. 

In a tough European away day, it will be crucial that Liverpool start well, keep calm and try to silence a hostile crowd. Inter are just as capable at winning games whether they dominate possession or not. This should be the main focus for Slot’s gameplan, keeping possession. The Reds have struggled all season long in the defensive department and need to put in an impressive performance to leave with a positive result otherwise it will be a long journey back to Merseyside. 

The two major summer signings of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak have both suffered with teething issues since arriving in the last transfer window. However, a heavyweight matchup in the Champions League against a strong defence might just be the time that they finally click together. 

Team News

Mohammed Salah has been left out of the squad following his comments after Liverpool’s 3-3 draw at Leeds. 

Conor Bradley could continue at right back, which could see Joe Gomez start the game at centre back.

Meanwhile, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni remain out with long term injuries.

Former Manchester United player Henrikh Mkhitaryan could make his first start after a month out with a thigh injury. He played 20 minutes in Inter’s 4-0 win against Como. 

Denzel Dumfries could make the bench following an ankle injury while Matteo Darmian, Tomas Palacios and goalkeeper Raffaele Di Gennaro are all sidelined. 

Predicted XI