Giorgi Mamardashvili and Federico Chiesa will return to the Liverpool starting lineup when they host Barnsley at Anfield for the FA Cup third round on Monday.
Liverpool will be eager to return to winning ways and book a berth in the FA Cup fourth round when they welcome Barnsley to Anfield for the third round on Monday night. Arne Slot has a new injury concern to worry about ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Conor Bradley is the latest absentee after sustaining a season-ending knee injury earlier this week in the Premier League clash with Arsenal. The Northern Irishman has joined Giovanni Leoni (knee), Wataru Endo (knee), and Alexander Isak (leg) in the treatment room.
Additionally, Mohamed Salah remains at the Africa Cup of Nations with Egypt. However, Hugo Ekitike could return from a hamstring injury on Monday. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, Slot provided fitness updates on several players, including Ekitike.
The Liverpool boss said, “Hugo, that is not 100 per cent sure but we will do everything to have him available on Monday. I think if I am correct he [Endo] might start to train one of these days, but he has been out for two months now, that’s of course different to being out for one week. Alex is not going to be back yet and Mo played on Saturday.”
“Not [Jayden Danns is] fit enough, no. Not even training, if I’m correct. One of the players that got a stress fracture because he was young and from what we’ve been told was a bit over-trained. That’s why we are so careful with Rio Ngumoha, that he’s two days a week off the pitch if that’s possible, to not have that same situation with him. But Jayden is definitely not available in the short term.”
Giorgi Mamardashvili will replace Alisson Becker between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Barnsley on Monday. The backline will feature Calvin Ramsay, Joe Gomez, Rhys Williams, and Andrew Robertson.
As for the midfield unit, Trey Nyoni will join Curtis Jones in the double pivot, with Florian Wirtz reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Federico Chiesa, Rio Ngumoha, and Cody Gakpo will form a fluid offensive trifecta. So, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, and Alexis Mac Allister will be the backup options on the bench.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Mamardashvilli; Ramsay, Gomez, Williams, Robertson; Jones, Nyoni; Gakpo, Wirtz, Ngumoha; Federico Chiesa
