Focus turns to Liverpool's front line ahead of Champions League showdown with Maribor

If Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah or, perhaps, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play well, surely it will be too much for the Slovenian hosts

Philippe Coutinho in training ahead of Liverpool's clash with Maribor (Getty)

When your opponent is currently the second-best team in Slovenia to a club managed by Igor Bišćan; when the host venue, the People’s Garden, looks from the outside more like an Olympic velodrome; when, indeed, press conferences are held in converted gymnasiums furnished with climbing walls, it would be tempting to think Thursday nights in the Europa League are back on the agenda for Liverpool.

They could still be, of course, should they – as huge favourites – somehow find a way not to beat Maribor in their next two Champions League fixtures, having so far failed to win either of their opening two group stage games.

Finding a way not to win seems an appropriate turn of phrase for this Liverpool side because they would have claimed six points instead of two from Sevilla and Spartak Moscow had it not been for the defensive errors that have pockmarked their season, if not Jürgen Klopp’s entire time as manager.

The focus here, though, surely has to be on Liverpool’s attack. Very simply, if Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah or, perhaps, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain play well, surely it will be too much for a defence that is marshalled by Jasmin Handanović, who is not even the best goalkeeper in his family. Younger cousin Samir has been Internazionale’s No 1 since 2012.

Oxlade-Chamberlain is considered on the list of threats because of his encouraging cameo performance in Liverpool’s goalless draw with Manchester United on Saturday. He is creeping into Klopp's thoughts for a starting place, though do not expect him to play in the centre of midfield. So far, he has only trained as a winger and that means he will play as a winger for Klopp, who keenly explained why one of Liverpool’s most expensive signings in history is being introduced slowly.

“Apart from Mo Salah who we have been working with for four or five months, the rest have been together with me for pretty much 15-16 months and that makes a big difference," Klopp said. "Obviously, it is a different style to Arsenal and a different role to the wing-back role he played in his last games for Arsenal. Then he plays for England and they all come back from their national teams not confused, but with different plans. That is not too simple. I would say there has been no consistency until now. We let him run so far, let him do what he is naturally good at and it will take time but it's all good. He is obviously powerful and that is what we need.

“It is easy – at the moment he is more the wing that the eight,” Klopp added. “I was not only happy about his offensive situation a lot (against United when he was introduced as a substitute). I also liked the way he reacted after we lost the ball little things.

“For now, it makes more sense to pick him in the more offensive positions. But it is not fixed for the next five years.”

Klopp is introducing Oxlade-Chamberlain into life at Liverpool slowly (Getty)

Klopp, however, stressed there would be limited rotation tomorrow night.

“It is a moment now where all of us have rhythm, so the last thing I would do is come here to rotate in a game like this where already everybody is saying 'that's the easy one' in the group,” Klopp said.

“And then I come with six or seven changes? No, we respect this opponent, we know it is unbelievably important for us, so nobody should expect 11 changes.”

Maribor, who trail Olimpija Ljubljana by two points in their domestic league, are managed by Darko Milanič, who might be remembered for his 32-day reign as Leeds United manager in 2014 – 12 days fewer than Brian Clough’s notorious spell in charge at Elland Road in 1974. Perhaps it is unfair to glean too much from that period because Milanic’s chairman was Massimo Cellino, someone who compared coaches to watermelons on Milanic’s appointment, reasoning you “only find out about them when you open them up.” Cellino said all that he knew about Milanič was that he was “good looking.” Maybe tomorrow we will find out a bit more.