Liverpool will travel to Russia on Tuesday night to face Spartak Moscow desperate to get their Champions League campaign up and running after a frustrating draw with Sevilla a fortnight ago.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have endured a difficult time of things lately, winning for the first time in five games after battling past Leicester City on Saturday, but they’ll be buoyed by Sadio Mane’s return.
His impact in and around the area was sorely missed during the home draw with Burnley and Carabao Cup defeat to the Foxes and Klopp will be delighted to see him in action on Tuesday night.
Yet, despite his return, it is the re-emergence of Philippe Coutinho – right at the centre of that Barcelona transfer saga all summer – that may prove decisive in unlocking the Russian champions.
Saturday evening’s clash with Leicester represented only his second Premier League start of the season but the Brazilian showed just why Liverpool’s owners were insistent on keeping hold of him.
Within 22 first-half minutes he had supplied a delightful cross for Mohamed Salah to open the scoring before turning goal-scorer himself, whipping an unstoppable free-kick right in the corner.
His influence didn’t stop at that though, with the Brazilian having five shots on goal, making five crosses and completing five dribbles in an all-round performance full of creativity and attacking flair.
Against a Spartak Moscow side that have conceded 17 goals in 11 league matches so far this season he could fill his boots from a deep midfield role, pulling the strings in the middle of the park.
However, Liverpool will have to be wary not to under-estimate their opponents, with the Russian side carrying their own marksman in front of goal that will be looking to exploit any defensive weakness.
Whilst picking a Spartak Moscow attacker might not be on the mind of any Draft Fantasy players heading into Tuesday’s clash Luiz Adriano could turn out to be a smart – and widely unselected – choice.
Does the name sound familiar?
If so, that’ll be because the 30-year-old has previous at this level of European competition, scoring five times in a single Champions League match for Shakhtar Donetsk against BATE Borisov of Belarus in 2014.
It is a feat that has only ever been matched by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, and his vast wealth of experience at this level could hand him the edge over the likes of Joel Matip and Dejan Lovren.
Klopp’s side have conceded ten times in just three matches away from home this season, including matches against Watford and Leicester, and the Brazilian will know the Reds are there for the taking.
In the group-stage opener against Maribor he showed he’s still got what it takes to compete, creating three chances and completing 100% of his take-ons, and he’ll be a handful for the visitors.
Whilst Coutinho evidently lends himself as the obvious choice ahead of Tuesday, Liverpool’s abject record at the back leaves the door slightly ajar for Spartak – and Luiz Adriano could capitalise on this.
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