Liverpool vs Southampton: What System Should Brendan Rodgers Employ Following Coutinho's Injury?

Option 1 - Replace Coutinho with Luis Alberto in a 4-2-3-1

Line up: Mignolet - Toure/Wisdom, Skrtel, Sakho/Agger, Enrique - Gerrard, Lucas - Henderson, ALBERTO, Moses - Sturridge

Replacing Coutinho with Alberto would represent a like for like swap with Alberto's fine ball retention and ability to get forward cut from the same cloth as Coutinho's Brazilian talents. Although less mobile than the Brazilian, Alberto can link the midfield and attack too, as he proved for Barcelona B last season and his eye for a goal is arguably much keener than little Phillipe's - Alberto recently netted three for Liverpool's U21's in a keenly contested affair under the Anfield lights, with an impressed Rodgers looking on from the stands. A second positive to this option is the lack of disruption. Liverpool have employed this formation for most of Rodgers's reign and this change in personnel will mean that formation remains intact. Not that formations mean much to this Liverpool side - the front four regularly rotate at will to cause the opposition defenders massive organisational headaches anyway. Click "next" below for option 2...