DM) Lucas Leiva
This is an interesting one. Jordan Henderson and James Milner were the only senior midfielders that made the trip to Helsinki, leaving Lucas, Can and Allen to battle it out for third starting spot alongside them against Stoke.
CM) Emre Can
The German has said time and time again that he wants to prove himself in midfield this season. This is his first chance to start doing that and as it will be his only pre-season game he could very much do with taking it.
CM) Joe Allen
He’s been in and out in pre-season thus far, having struggled with a minor niggle. As a result, he’s probably at the bottom of the pecking order as things stand, so a strong performance here could help to start changing that.
AM) Lazar Markovic
He only got an hour of pre-season under his belt thus far and will be hoping for a full ninety minutes to impress in this one. The Serbian is coming off the back of a difficult season and would love to prove some of the fans wrong.
AM) Roberto Firmino
We’re all hoping against home that the Brazilian will be ready to make his debut in this game. The summer signing from Hoffenheim looks a real exciting prospect and the fans cannot wait for the chance to see him in action.
ST) Christian Benteke
The same is true of the former Villa man, who will look to get off to the perfect start following his big money move. The pressure is going to be on him almost immediately and scoring an early goal here would ease a lot of nerves.
