F365 : How the Big Four will line up?

LIVERPOOL
To be restored as champions of England after an intolerable 18-year wait, Liverpool must improve upon last season's goalscoring return by approximately a third. That requirement has been reflected in Rafa Benitez's four major summer purchases, each of whom, to varying degrees, can be described as an attacker.

Yet while the squad has been transformed, the playing formation may remain the same. Benitez's reported remark to Ryan Babel, one of the four acquisitions, that he would "be in a group of seven players contesting four positions" indicates that, true to his cautious nature, the Spaniard will retain his preferred 4-4-2 formation.

This though, is the manager who tinkered with his line-up for 99 successive matches, so pre-guessing his intentions is a task that only the foolish would consider. Oh well.....

ARSENAL
Befitting their perceived vulnerability, Arsenal enter the 2007/08 campaign with the least settled line-up of any member of the Big Four.

Although the tried-and-successful 4-4-2 will be the formation of general use, each component of the team is under revision and only six players - Kolo Toure, William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva and Robin Van Persie - will begin the new season fully confident of selection.

The uncertainty begins at the very back. As Arsenal signed Lukasz Fabianski in late May, it can be assumed that the Gunners were eyeing the Polish goalkeeper as a direct replacement in case Jens Lehmann opted to depart. After prolonged consideration, and to general surprise, Lehmann signed a one-year extension and will enter the season as the club's number one. Nonetheless, after a palpable dip in form last term, his position is in genuine jeopardy.

The situation is even more complicated at.....

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