Liverpool will aim to guarantee their spot in the knockout stages of the Champions League when they travel to the Netherlands to face Ajax on Tuesday evening.
The Reds have endured a rollercoaster season, and head into the game fresh off the back of an embarrassing 1-0 loss against Nottingham Forest—just six days after a 1-0 win over Man City.
Jurgen Klopp’s side now turn their sights to the Champions League, where they are second in Group A. They will be raring to win at Ajax to keep the pressure on table-toppers Napoli, who host Rangers on Wednesday.
Liverpool have received a timely triple injury boost ahead of their trip to Ajax as Darwin Nunez, Thiago Alcantara and Ibrahima Konate are all set to return to the squad. Nunez and Thiago missed Saturday’s disappointing defeat to Nottingham Forest with small problems, while Konate suffered a minor setback in the big win over Rangers at the Ibrox.
Darwin Nunez, Joel Matip, Arthur Melo and Diogo Jota remain on the sidelines, whereas Naby Keita will play no part in Tuesday’s game as he has recently returned to training from a long-term thigh problem.
Goalkeeper
Alisson has been one of the rare bright spots in an underwhelming campaign for Liverpool. He is a certainty to start in goal against Ajax.
Defence
Joe Gomez will resume his centre-back partnership with Virgil van Dijk at the heart of Liverpool’s backline as they focus on keeping things tight against Ajax during the 90 minutes. Both Gomez and Van Dijk must put in a better defensive display than they did against Forest at the weekend.
Kostas Tsimikas could replace Andy Robertson at left-back, while Trent Alexander-Arnold gets the nod at right-back. Both the full-backs will get the license to bomb forward and influence the attacks in the final third.
Midfield
Thiago Alcantara is likely to be available on Tuesday. With the Spaniard in the team, Liverpool looks a completely different unit. His passing and vision will be key in carving open the well-drilled Ajax defence.
Fabinho will sit beside Thiago in the double pivot, hoping to help the Reds get some control of the ball in the middle of the park at Ajax. Roberto Firmino should take his usual No.10 position, pulling the strings and combining well with the forwards in the final third.
Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be good midfield options to bring on off the bench in the second half.
Attack
Harvey Elliot will try to put his dribbling skills and pace to good use on the left flank while Mohamed Salah tries to give a good account of himself from the right after a poor display against Nottingham Forest.
Darwin Nunez has hit some form of late for the Reds. The Uruguayan will be raring to get himself on the scoresheet and make a real difference against Ajax.
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