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Dejan Lovren has hinted Liverpool could retain their three-man defence for the weekend’s trip to West Brom.

And the Croatian believes the current crop of defenders are ‘perfect’ for the system.

Jurgen Klopp opted to add an extra body to his back line for last weekend’s win over Stoke, just days after introducing it for the final half-hour of the Reds’ draw at Bournemouth.

The move followed the German coach’s desire to see his side battle against physical mid-table sides, while a lack of options further up the pitch because of injury have forced his hand further.

Lovren lined up with Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan in the middle, with two wing-backs either side.

The switch has brought mixed results so far, but with the Baggies offering a similar sort of threat to Stoke, Lovren envisages a similar set-up at the Hawthorns.

“Stoke is a similar team to West Brom with long balls, and we played the system quite well in the second half,” he said.

“I think it’s a perfect mix for us - Matip in the middle, me on the right because I’m right-footed, and Raggy (Klavan) on the left because he’s left-footed. It’s quite a good mix.

“But also, if we change formation, we know what we need to do. Again, the vital thing for us is to play football and hopefully we won’t be 1-0 down like against Stoke.

“We need to just believe in ourselves. This, I think, is the main thing - self-confidence for every one of us. We know that we can score always.”

Lovren, like the rest of his side, endured a mixed afternoon on Saturday.

After struggling to adapt to the system in the first half, he improved in the second as Liverpool turned around a 1-0 deficit to run out 2-1 winners.

Whether Klopp opts to retain the three-at-the-back, or moves back into the traditional four-man defence, the 27-year-old believes training ground preparation is key.

“Whether you have three or four at the back, in the end you’re still a defender,” he added to Liverpoolfc.com.

“Everyone knows it’s a totally different system than when you have four at the back. Sometimes when you have three it can be better, because when you’re attacking you have three guys defending.

“But if you don’t understand well the situations, I think you also need to have the time to train on the pitch.

“I think we did it quite well against Stoke and not quite so well in the last five minutes against Bournemouth.

“But like I said, everyone knows what we need to do and I think we’re ready for everything.”