Roberto Firmino will be expected to make the starting lineup when Liverpool welcome Newcastle United to Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool will be hoping to continue their perfect start to the Premier League season when they play hosts to Newcastle United at Anfield on Saturday afternoon. And, Jurgen Klopp has no fresh injury concerns to deal with following the international break.
Alisson continues to remain on the sidelines due to the calf injury he picked up on the opening day of the Premier League season and will be unavailable for another month or so. In his stead, Adrian will continue to man the Liverpool goal. Meanwhile, Klopp provided an update on Alisson during his pre-match press conference.
“It was a really serious injury in the calf. It is now much better, of course, and that’s good for us and good for him, but we don’t know exactly [how long it will be]. The target was always after the next international break [that] he could be ready, but we don’t know. So, as I said, there is no pressure and hopefully everything will be fine for the rest of the season, that’s the plan,” he said.
There are no major concerns in defence for Klopp, with fringe player Nathaniel Clyne the only defensive absentee for Liverpool. With the defenders returning unscathed from the international break, it is highly unlikely that the Liverpool boss will make any alterations to the back four against Newcastle.
Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip should thus, continue at the heart of the Liverpool defence, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson being the two full-backs. Up ahead in midfield, Klopp is getting set to welcome Naby Keita back into the fold.
But, the game has come too soon for the Guinean, who should resume full training imminently. And, Klopp had promising words to say about the return of Keita, iterating that he should be back in contention soon. The Liverpool boss said, “Naby is close, much closer than Ali. I think he could be in training when we come back from Napoli next week.”
The midfield is not expected to see any changes either, although Alex Oxalde-Chamberlain is in line to return to the starting lineup soon. As for the game against Newcastle, Jordan Henderson, Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum should continue to form the three-man midfield unit.
Finally, the attacking trio picks itself, with Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah being certain starters. There had been some concerns surrounding the fitness of Firmino, who returned late from international duty with Brazil, but he should continue to reprise his false nine role when Newcastle come visiting.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Adrian; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum; Salah, Firmino, Mane
