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Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino benched for Everton Merseyside Derby
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has left out two of the Reds' biggest stars against Everton at Anfield.
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has opted to start Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino on the bench for Wednesday night’s Premier League showdown with rivals Everton. The Reds can extend their lead at the top of the table to 11 points if they win the Merseyside Derby and Leicester are beaten by Watford.
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Salah suffered an ankle injury following a crunching tackle from Hamza Choudhury in October’s win over Leicester but seemed to bounce back quickly and has since featured heavily for Liverpool.
Firmino, meanwhile, has been a virtual ever present under Klopp having formed an all-star attacking trio with Salah and fellow hitman Sadio Mane.
However, the duo have been replaced by Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi respectively as Liverpool seek to extend their advantage over Premier League title rivals Leicester and Manchester City.
Klopp will have Salah and Firmino at his disposal from the bench if required against Everton as Liverpool go in search of a sixth top-flight win on the spin.
Shaqiri is making his first Premier League start since January having fallen by the wayside as Liverpool chased title glory last season and at the start of this campaign.
He has the opportunity to help Klopp’s men continue their run of positive results against Everton - who have failed to win at Anfield since 1999.
Origi has come up with some crucial goals for Liverpool over the past 12 months and notched in memorable circumstances last December as they beat Everton 1-0 at home.
Mane, who has eight goals in the Premier League at a rate of one every 144 minutes this season, completes Liverpool’s attack.
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Adrian starts in goal as Alisson serves the suspension for the red card he received in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Brighton on Saturday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dejan Lovren, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson make up the title-chasers’ defence, with Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner and Adam Lallana ahead of them in midfield.
Joining Salah and Firmino on the bench are young goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and England defender Joe Gomez.
Klopp can also freshen up his midfield if needs be, with Naby Keita, Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also among the substitutes.
Jordan Pickford, who made a calamitous error in Everton’s last visit to Anfield, starts in goal for Everton.
Mason Holgate, Yerry Mina and Michael Keane make up a back three, with Lucas Digne and Djibril Sidibe operating as wing-backs.
Gylfi Sigurdsson captains Everton from midfield, where he’s joined by Tom Davies, with Richarlison and Alex Iwobi on the flanks.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin spearheads Everton’s attack, with Jonas Lossl, Leighton Baines, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bernard, Theo Walcott, Cenk Tosun and Moise Kean on the bench.