Joel Matip and Naby Keita will start when Liverpool take on Manchester City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night.
Liverpool have done well against Manchester City in the recent meetings between. And the Reds will be looking to extend their fine run of form against the Citizens when the two sides face off at the Etihad in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Thursday.
Liverpool will look to get their season back on track during the second half of the campaign. And a win over Manchester City on Thursday could give them immense belief. The Reds will be without the services of attackers Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz here.
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Both players are still sidelined with injuries and they are not expected back anytime soon. And Pepijn Lijnders confirmed during the pre-match press conference that the duo remains unavailable. But the Liverpool assistant manager provided an update.
Speaking to the media before the game, Ljinders said, “Diogo is inside the timeframe we think. So it’s going well, he was there in Dubai – he was in all the meetings and video meetings. That was good. And of course, Luis Diaz is not available and that’s it.”
However, the Reds will be boosted with the return of Joel Matip and Naby Keita. Both players have been back in full training and will be expected to participate in this game. Liverpool are unlikely to start with Fabinho and Henderson here because of their participation at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
So the return of Keita could not have been better timed. The Guinean is likely to partner Thiago Alcantara and Harvey Elliott in the midfield three.
As far as the back four is concerned, Ibrahima Konate misses out after playing in the World Cup final just a few days ago. Joe Gomez is likely to pair up with Matip in the center. Andrew Robertson is well-rested, and he will start as the left-back here. Trent Alexander-Arnold was away on World Cup duty with England and Calvin Ramsay could get the nod ahead of the Englishman here.
In the front three, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah are certain to start. They were not a part of the World Cup, and both players have had ample rest over the last four weeks. Darwin Nunez is also expected to start after crashing out of the marquee event early on with Uruguay. Caoimhin Kelleher should feature in place of Alisson Becker, who could be given some time off because of his World Cup exertions.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Ramsay, Gomez, Matip, Robertson; Elliott, Keita, Thiago; Salah, Firmino, Nunez
