Liverpool will look to book their place in the FA Cup final this afternoon when they take on Tim Sherwood’s in-form Aston Villa at Wembley with boss Brendan Rodgers saying of the match: “We now arrive into our second semi-final of the season. This is a really prestigious competition and the game at Wembley sets it up perfectly for us.
“We know it will be a difficult game but this club is based around winning trophies and we want to do everything we can to turn what was a disappointing season at the beginning into what will hopefully be a successful season come the end”.
Here is how we think Liverpool will line-up.
Goalkeeper
Simon Mignolet of course, as there really is no other viable choice, and is definitely an area the club must address come the summer.
Defence
Despite talk today linking Martin Skrtel with Bundesliga side Wolfsburg it is nice to see the big Slovakian back in the squad after missing three-games through suspension, and will pose a dilemma for Rodgers as whether or not to stick with a 4-3-3 formation or go back to just three at the back.
Our guess based on the fact that the Reds have won their last four victories in this tournament on the road by a single goal is that he will stick with a back four of Emre Can, Alberto Moreno and Glen Johnson with Dejan Lovren making way for Skrtel.
Midfield
Captain Steven Gerrard will be available after having completed his ban, but will probably start from the bench with only 27-minutes of playing time under his belt since February 10th.
Lukas Leiva will play his familiar holding role in the centre while Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson will be looking to get the ball to Raheem Sterling or Philipe Coutinho.
Attack
Daniel Sturridge will undergo a later fitness test, yet what don’t think he will be deemed fit to start, which means Sterling will play up front as he did on Monday night against Newcastle with Lazar Markovic and Philipe Coutinho playing close behind.
