Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will be the Liverpool centre-backs against Aston Villa at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Liverpool pulled off an impressive comeback to secure all three points away to Newcastle United in their last outing, and they will fancy their chances of picking up all three points against Aston Villa at home as well.
Despite missing a number of key players for various reasons, Jurgen Klopp has enough quality in his squad to find a way past Aston Villa. The Reds will be without their captain Virgil van Dijk, who picked up a red card during last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Ibrahima Konate missed the game due to a muscle complaint, and he is set to be sidelined for this week as well. Thiago Alcantara continues to be sidelined with a groin injury. The Spanish international has suffered a little setback in his recovery, and he is unlikely to return before the international break.
Klopp spoke about Konate and Thiago in his pre-match press conference. He said, “No, Ibou will not be ready for the game. Curtis is back in training fully. Thiago not. Thiago had a little setback. [He] started training with the team and then had a little setback, so we have to slow down there a little bit.”
Liverpool vs Aston Villa Preview: Probable Lineups, Prediction, Tactics, Team News & Key Stats
“It’s not cool for him, it’s not cool for us but it’s how it is. Thiago will use the international break for that then obviously to be up to speed, I’m pretty sure that should be hopefully enough for him then. All the rest, until now, are available.”
Apart from Konate and Thiago, the Reds have a fully fit squad to choose from. Liverpool are set to line up in a 4-3-3 formation against Aston Villa, with Alisson Becker taking his customary place in goal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson will look to help create goalscoring opportunities and keep the defence compact as the full-backs. Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will start in central defence in the absence of van Dijk and Konate.
In the midfield, Wataru Endo will start as the defensive midfielder, and he will look to break up the opposition play and shield the defensive unit. Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister will look to add creativity and control to the side.
Finally, in the final third, Darwin Nunez could be given a start ahead of Cody Gakpo after his impressive performance against Newcastle United. Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz will continue as the wingers. So Gakpo and Diogo Jota will be options on the bench for Liverpool against Aston Villa on Sunday.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Endo, Mac Allister; Salah, Nunez, Diaz
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