Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak will return to the Liverpool starting lineup when they take on Aston Villa at Villa Park on Friday.
Liverpool will aim to secure a top-five finish and qualify for the UEFA Champions League when they lock horns with Aston Villa at Villa Park on Friday night. Arne Slot has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Mohamed Salah has resumed training after being unavailable for a few weeks due to a hamstring injury. Alisson Becker is also back, having been on the sidelines since March with an unspecified issue. Additionally, Ibrahima Konate is available after being taken off in the second half of the Premier League clash with Chelsea last weekend.
However, Slot continues to sweat over Florian Wirtz’s fitness due to a stomach infection, while Conor Bradley, Giovanni Leoni, Wataru Endo, Stefan Bajcetic, and Hugo Ekitike are long-term absentees. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, the Dutch tactician provided fitness updates on Salah, Alisson, Konate, and Wirtz.
The Liverpool head coach said, “Ibou is OK, trained with us. Mo will be available tomorrow for only a few minutes, but hopefully can come in. Alisson trains with us again, let’s see where he is tomorrow, if he is ready already or has to wait one more week. Stomach infection [for Wirtz], so let’s see how fit he is for tomorrow. He’s on antibiotics. Let’s see if he’s ready to play tomorrow.”
During his press conference, Slot discussed his team’s poor away record and how his charges can deliver the goods against Aston Villa. He said, “First of all, the first challenge is to be fitter and more ready to play three days or sometimes two days after we’ve played in Europe. I think we’ve shown this season that we’ve progressed in that, so that’s already helpful.”
“Second of all, indeed, we’ve had more than a few times in away games, not a good starting position, but after 70 or 80 minutes we were in a good place. But maybe that goes hand in hand.”
Giorgi Mamardashvili will continue to deputise for Alisson Becker between the sticks, with Liverpool lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Aston Villa on Friday. The backline will feature Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Milos Kerkez.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister in the double pivot, with Dominik Szoboszlai reprising the no. 10 role. The trio will form a dynamic partnership in the middle of the park, allowing each player to shift roles as needed according to tactical requirements. Finally, Alexander Isak will lead the line for the away side against Aston Villa, with Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Mamardashvili; Jones, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Isak