Naby Keita and Luis Diaz will miss out, but Harvey Elliott should start when Liverpool face Manchester City on Saturday.

Liverpool went into the international break on the back of a humiliating defeat against Bournemouth. And they will be desperate to bounce back strongly when they take on Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds will be without the services of Luis Diaz, Thiago Alcantara, Naby Keita and Rhys Williams. During his pre-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Luis Diaz has returned to training but is unlikely to be ready before next week.

Klopp said, “So, we will see. In training everything looks fine but of course he’s not in the squad for the weekend, there’s no chance. Next week will be an important week for him; this week he was doing parts of training, next week I think most of the things he can do. Then we will see. Maybe [ready for] Arsenal but more likely Leeds after that.”

Thiago Alcantara is unavailable with a hip issue, and he is yet to participate in full training. The Spanish midfielder could return for the Arsenal game. Klopp also added that striker Darwin Nunez has not been able to train because of the cut he got against Real Madrid on his foot.

Manchester City vs Liverpool Preview: Prediction, Probable Lineups, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats

However, the Uruguayan international is back in full training and is expected to start. Meanwhile, Guinean midfielder Naby Keita returned from an international break with a muscle injury, and he is set to miss out.

“Naby is out, he came back with a muscle injury from the national team. We will see how long it takes but obviously, the season is not too long anymore. There is a chance that Naby comes back but we have to wait a little bit.”

“Thiago is in a good way but was not part of team training yet. I think if things go well he will probably be part of next week’s team training, parts – [that] means we will see when he is back. Joe [Gomez] is fully back. Rhys Williams has a little bit of something.”

Liverpool are likely to shape up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Alisson Becker in goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will reprise their roles as the full-backs here, and the two players will look to exploit Manchester City’s defensive vulnerabilities this season and add creativity and width going forward.

Ibrahima Konate will partner Virgil van Dijk at the heart of the defence. In the midfield, Fabinho will be the anchor, and he will look to win the ball back for his side and break up opposition attacks.

Harvey Elliott is set to start along with captain Jordan Henderson. Elliott will look to add craft and flair in the middle of the park while Henderson will look to keep the midfield compact and contribute defensively. As for the front three, Mohamed Salah will start on the right, with Darwin Nunez on the left. January signing Cody Gakpo is set to lead the line.

Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Elliott, Fabinho, Henderson; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez

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