Liverpool takes on Arsenal in the Premier League, with four players set to be missing for Jürgen Klopp, who also has four doubts for Sunday’s important clash
Liverpool breezed past Chelsea in midweek in emphatic fashion, but another difficult task sees the Reds travel to the Emirates Stadium to take on Arsenal. Liverpool secured victory there last month in the FA Cup, but that will only give the Gunners extra reason to perform better this time around — especially after they failed to punish Liverpool in the first half, missing some huge chances.
The Reds squad is slowly getting back to full strength, but the star man Mohamed Salah won’t be back for this one. Wataru Endō is also set to return after Japan’s surprise exit from the Asia Championship against Iran, but won’t be back in contention until next week.
The biggest concern for Liverpool this week is the uncertainty over the fitness of Darwin Núñez. A foot injury sustained against Chelsea looked like it could mean him being a big loss given his recent form, but he has since returned to training. The Uruguayan was unplayable in midweek as he broke the Premier League record for hitting the woodwork four times in one game. A late blossom to form in the last stage of the season would certainly be helpful in the run for the Premier League title.
Other positive news this week has seen Thiago Alcântara return to training. It’s been a long wait for the Spaniard, but he won’t be at full fitness just yet for this clash against Arsenal. Kostas Tsimikas remains out along with Salah, who won’t be returning to AFCON after Egypt were eliminated.
Salah provided an update on his injury recently, and it looks as though it won’t be too long before he returns for the trophy run-in. Elsewhere, Stefan Bajčetić remains out, but it has been suggested that he could return to training during February.
Things are beginning to fall into place, and if Liverpool doesn’t get any more significant injuries, it would be hard to see how the season ends with at least one piece of silverware. Not least with the league cup final coming up later this month. Here Liverpool.com brings you the full list of players available for the Reds in North London.
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Caoimhín Kelleher, Adrián.
Defenders: Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, Jarell Quansah, Joe Gomez, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Conor Bradley.
Midfielders: Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch, James McConnell.
