Caoimhin Kelleher and Joe Gomez will start, but Mohamed Salah might miss out when Liverpool face Brighton in the FA Cup on Sunday.
Liverpool come into the game against Brighton & Hove Albion on the back of a goalless draw against Chelsea in the Premier League. The FA Cup represents Liverpool’s best chance of winning a trophy this season and Jurgen Klopp will demand a strong reaction from his players here.
The Reds will be without a number of players because of fitness issues. Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino, Diogo Jota, Arthur Melo, and Virgil van Dijk are all sidelined with long-term injury problems. Meanwhile, Fabio Carvalho and Nathaniel Philips are doubts for Sunday’s game with minor concerns.
During his pre-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp gave a team news update, saying, “If the boys who now started the games with the good spells look like they have to go again, then they will start again.”
“If not, thank God [we have options]. Up front not too many, Darwin is in – but in midfield, we have a few options, I hope that stays like this and that’s always good. How I said, who is ready to defend is more than welcome in the team. The boys looked like they understood and now we have to show it on the pitch.”
Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to start here in place of Alisson Becker. The young goalkeeper has been Klopp’s go-to man in the cup games and will look to put on an impressive showing once again.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson are likely to start as the full-backs here. Kaoru Mitoma and Solly March ran Liverpool ragged earlier this month in the Premier League, and Klopp won’t risk using his fringe players against them.
Given his injury history, Joel Matip could be rested for this game, with Joe Gomez partnering Ibrahima Konate at the heart of the defence. In the midfield three, Klopp will look to field his best players after being overrun against Brighton earlier this month.
So Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita will start alongside Fabinho, who is set to anchor the midfield. Finally, in the front three, Darwin Nunez is expected to lead the line, with Harvey Elliott and Cody Gakpo on either side of him.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Konate, Robertson; Keita, Fabinho, Thiago; Elliott, Nunez, Gakpo
