Virgil van Dijk withdrew from Netherlands duty due to personal reasons, but is available for Liverpool as they take on Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Liverpool have problems on the personnel front ahead of their trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday. But, Jurgen Klopp will be urging his team on to maintain their undefeated record in the 2019-20 Premier League intact as they take on a stuttering Eagles side at Selhurst Park.
Alisson is a certainty in goal, but the options ahead of him is what is troubling Klopp. There is good news regarding Virgil van Dijk, with Klopp stating in his pre-match conference that the Dutch international is ‘100% available’. But, Andrew Robertson and Joel Matip are both struggling to make it and will likely have fitness tests before the match.
Nathaniel Clyne continues to be on the sidelines for Liverpool. Even Joe Gomez is a doubt after having come off of England duty with a knee injury. Klopp should go with the pairing of Dejan Lovren and Virgil van Dijk in the centre, with Trent Alexander-Arnold a given on the right. In case of Robertson’s absence, James Milner should slot directly into the left-back slot.
Midfield has its own tiny issue, with Jordan Henderson not fully fit. Fabinho and Georginio Wijnaldum also played during the midweek and would need to be assessed before a decision is made. Naby Keita would be looking for a rare start and should get one alongside Fabinho and Wijnaldum.
Mohamed Salah’s potential absence is the biggest talking point ahead of the game. The Egyptian is likely to miss out on Saturday and should ideally by replaced by Xherdan Shaqiri, who returned from his injury layoff and is reportedly fit. Klopp addressed the Shaqiri situation in his pre-match conference.
“There is no reason to rush it now but it’s nice to have him back. We saw a lot of really nice things in training this week, it was really good. But it is intense for him in the moment, he needs to get used to the intensity again and everything will be fine.”
Alternatively, we could see Shaqiri miss out or be on the bench, with Divock Origi given a nod to play on the left. Sadio Mane should shift to the right, with Roberto Firmino playing his quintessential mobile forward role through the middle.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson, Keita, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Mane, Firmino, Origi
