Jordan Henderson will replace Harvey Elliott when Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion face off at Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool will be desperate to get the Premier League campaign back on track when they play hosts to Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield on Saturday afternoon. And Jurgen Klopp has seen his squad’s injury woes ease considerably heading into his side’s latest fixture.
Andrew Robertson (knee), Caoimhin Kelleher (groin), Calvin Ramsay (back), Naby Keita (thigh), and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (hamstring) will be unavailable to take on Brighton this weekend. But Kelleher and Ramsay have recovered enough to be set to feature for Liverpool’s under-21 side.
In some more good news, Ibrahima Konate has resumed training after recovering from a knee injury. And Klopp provided an update on Konate, Robertson and a few others during his pre-match press conference while also speaking about players who returned late from international duty.
“Some are still out doing rehab – that’s Robbo, that’s Curtis, that’s Ox, that’s Naby, if I’m 100 per cent [right]. Definitely these four. [Nunez, Diaz and Jota], they came back from international [duty]. How it always is, long flight. Luis only landed Thursday morning. I didn’t see him yet. I heard he is good but [will] see him now only later. Darwin, yeah, precaution after intense travel and games. Same for Diogo.”
“Calvin is not ready to play but over the moon that he can train now. Caoimh, I think will play this weekend [for the] U21s, that he can have a game. And Ibou needs training as well. Yes, back. For the weekend, [it] depends to training today but he’s back and that’s good.”
Konate will not be fit enough to return to the starting lineup, and Joel Matip will pair up with Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the Liverpool defence. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kostas Tsimikas will continue as the two full-backs, with Alisson Becker taking his spot between the sticks.
Up ahead in midfield, Jordan Henderson is in line to return to the side after regaining his fitness and featuring for England in the international break. The Liverpool captain will replace Harvey Elliott, lining up alongside Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara in the middle of the park.
Finally, the offensive trio should remain unchanged, even though Diaz returned late from the international break. Diaz will start alongside Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah in the final third, with the former spearheading the Liverpool attack against Brighton. Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez will be options on the bench.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Jota, Diaz
