Shoulder injury or not, Darwin Núñez is going to start tonight's crucial Champions League Round of 16 match against Real Madrid. Jürgen Klopp has dropped his lineup for tonight's game and the Uruguayan striker leads the attack. Kick off is at 20:00 GMT/15:00 EST from Anfield.
Klopp has opted to keep the backline intact from this weekend's clean sheet against Newcastle. He also kept 18-year old Stefan Bajcetic in the starting midfield. This is a huge responsibility for a young player and is a bit surprising.
With the likes of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino available off the bench, the Reds are starting to have some depth in the squad that they haven't had in a long time.
Liverpool
Starters
Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Bajcetic, Henderson, Núñez, Salah, Gakpo
Substitutes
Adrian, Kelleher, Milner, Keita, Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Carvalho, Matip
Real Madrid
Starters
Courtois, Carvajal, E. Militao, Alaba, Benzema, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, Rudiger
Substitutes
Lunin, Vallejo, Nacho, Hazard, Kroos, Asensio, Ordiozola, Lucas V., D Ceballos, Mario Martin, Arribas, Alvaro
LFC Globe Verdict
Every Reds fan is breathing a heavy sigh of relief seeing that Darwin Núñez is available tonight. He could prove instrumental in beating Real Madrid. Look for both Jota and Firmino to check in from the bench at some point.
Our eyes will be on the backline, and our man Alisson manning the goal. The defence will be called on time and again to repel the Real attack and Alisson will surely be called upon to make at least one or two big saves.
I see the Reds using the Anfield crowd to their advantage tonight and getting a big win. They keep riding the momentum of their recent great play to a 2-1 win.