UPDATE : Jürgen Klopp faces Ryan Gravenberch dilemma as Liverpool set to be without six for Man United

UPDATE : Jürgen Klopp faces Ryan Gravenberch dilemma as Liverpool set to be without six for Man United

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp faces a midfield dilemma that could be solved in a few ways ahead of Man Utd. Two of our writers have their say on what he should do.

Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch will be hoping to start against his former Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag.

Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch will be hoping to start against his former Ajax manager, Erik ten Hag.

Across the majority of the Liverpool team, the decisions will already have been made by Jürgen Klopp ahead of Sunday’s huge clash with Manchester United. Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk, for instance, will definitely come back in

Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold were also rested completely against Union SG, not even traveling to Belgium in the Europa League, while Dominik Szoboszlai and Luis Díaz were on the bench but didn’t play a minute. Those four — plus Alisson and Van Dijk, making it six — will definitely start. So too will Kostas Tsimikas.

The only really big question is in the middle of the pitch. Alexis Mac Allister is not expected to be involved and Thiago Alcântara and Stefan Bajčetić are long-term absentees who will not be back until 2024. That means that Klopp’s central options are rather limited (plus Diogo Jota, Andy Robertson and Joël Matip all remain out too).

READ MORE: Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer make same Liverpool prediction as biggest Europa League rival clear

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Who should Liverpool pick in that position? Two of our Liverpool.com writers have had their say, and you can add yours in the comments section below the article. The Reds certainly have more options available to them than Manchester United, with Erik ten Hag in the midst of an injury crisis.

“Ryan Gravenberch gets the nod” – Matt Addison

This will be comfortably the biggest stage that Wataru Endō has had to perform on considering the number of viewers and the interest in Liverpool vs Manchester United games, but he probably has to play here assuming there is no Mac Allister. Szoboszlai, who was rested midweek, is a given to start as well.

The big question for me is whether Klopp goes for Ryan Gravenberch or Curtis Jones on the left of that midfield. Maybe there is a case that Jones was being primed by playing him for the full 90 minutes against Union SG, but that says more to me that he will drop out for Gravenberch, who played a half — the same as Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez, one of whom will join Van Dijk.

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Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp.

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There is something to be said for Harvey Elliott deserving a start after so many excellent performances off the bench, but I want that weapon to call upon from the sidelines, just in case Liverpool needs to find a goal from somewhere. Elliott says he doesn’t want to be a super sub forever, but coming on and winning the game against Manchester United is something that he would obviously relish.

You certainly can’t bet against him having a positive impact on that role at the moment, and I wouldn’t want to lose Elliott doing that. He can start next midweek against West Ham.

“It’s time for Harvey Elliott” – James Findlater

Jürgen Klopp looks to have already made it clear who will be starting on Sunday. His selections in the Europa League practically confirmed who the frontrunners are to face United.

With Wataru Endō and Ryan Gravenberch playing just 45 minutes each in Belgium, I’d fully expect both to go alongside Dominik Szoboszlai in midfield, barring a late recovery from Alexis Mac Allister. But Harvey Elliott shouldn’t be looked over too quickly.