Buoyed after booking their place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League, Liverpool are bidding for a return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome Leeds United at Anfield on Saturday evening.
Jurgen Klopp’s side enjoyed a 3-0 success over Ajax in the Netherlands to confirm a top-two finish in Group A on Wednesday. Victory in Europe came after the Reds were shocked by Nottingham Forest 1-0 away in the Premier League, which leaves them eighth in the table ahead of the upcoming fixture.
The win at Ajax should give Klopp’s men some confidence heading into the game against Leeds United, who are on a four-game losing run and have dropped down to 18th in the table.
Diogo Jota (calf), Luis Diaz (knee), Joel Matip (calf) and Arthur Melo (muscle) are long term absentees while Naby Keita isn’t yet match-fit despite returning to training.
Thiago Alcantara is available after recovering from an ear-infection while Darwin Nunez and Ibrahima Konate were in the Champions League matchday squad in midweek.
Jordan Henderson is a slight doubt heading into the game today.
Goalkeeper
Alisson continues to perform admirably for Liverpool in what has been a disappointing campaign so far. The Brazilian shot-stopper will be keen to keep a clean sheet against Leeds.
Defence
Liverpool’s defence has been all over the place this season thanks to recurrent injury problems and dip in form of certain key players.
Klopp might go with the 4-4-2 diamond formation after experimenting with a number of variations in recent weeks, with Virgil van Dijk resuming his central defensive pairing with Joe Gomez in the Liverpool lineup.
We might see rotation in the fullback roles given that Jurgen Klopp has been ultra careful with his two star fullbacks’ fitness after their respective return from injury.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is likely to take up the right-back role in the Liverpool lineup while a rest for Robertson beckons which will see Kostas Tsimikas take up the mantle today.
Midfield
Fabinho will hold the fort in midfield for Liverpool, hoping to control the tempo of the game from the first minute.
Jordan Henderson, despite possibly being match-fit, might not be risked which will see Harvey Elliot and Thiago Alcantara take up the two roles in front of Fabinho in the Liverpool lineup.
Roberto Firmino has made the starting Liverpool lineup five times in the last 17 days which might force Klopp to refrain from starting him once again.
In that case, we are likely to see another start for Fabio Carvalho at the tip of the diamond in the Liverpool lineup.
Attack
Up front, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah both got on the scoresheet against Ajax in midweek and will feature again today. They will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing a leaky Leeds defence at Anfield.
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