Liverpool stars Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah are fit and available for selection for the Reds’ trip to Huddersfield Town on Saturday evening.
Liverpool will return to Premier League action after a two-week hiatus due to the international break, when they take on Huddersfield Town at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are placed in third in the Premier League standings, after eight matches, level on points with Manchester City and Chelsea, who occupy the top two spots, but behind on goal difference. Unbeaten in the English top-flight this term, Liverpool are without a victory in their previous four games in all competitions and will be aiming to address that this weekend.
The international break seemed to have brought along with it a number of injury headaches for Liverpool, with key players Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Naby Keita all returning with injuries from international duties for their respective countries, while James Milner was also a doubt.
However, Klopp has allayed the fears of an injury-crisis, claiming that all his players, barring Keita are likely to be available for Saturday’s game. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, the German tactician said,“We had a session yesterday and a few of the boys trained, so we’ll have to see how they’ve reacted after that.
“The only thing that is pretty sure is that Naby will not be available; with all the rest we have to see how it develops. That’s it, pretty much.”
Brazilian international Alisson Becker is a guaranteed starter between the sticks for the Reds. Young Englishman Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was a surprise omission for Liverpool’s previous game against Manchester City, is set to return at right-back, while Andrew Robertson will hold on to his place on the opposite side.
Joe Gomez will move back into the heart of the defence, having played as a full-back last time out and is likely to be partnered by Van Dijk, who, according to Klopp, has completely recovered from his rib injury. Speaking of the Dutchman, Klopp said,“It settled pretty quickly. It’s all good. He has no problems with that anymore.”
Coming to the midfield department, Klopp confirmed that Adam Lallana was back to full fitness after having spent a considerable time out on the sidelines. “Training looks tremendous,” the boss said, speaking of the Englishman. “We still want to be careful. But he is 100 per cent back.”
However, the former Southampton man is unlikely to start this weekend, with Gini Wijnaldum set to occupy one of the three places in the middle of the park, while Milner, who is back in training after an injury setback, is poised to start as well. Captain Jordan Henderson will occupy the deepest of the midfield spots for the Merseyside outfit.
Last season’s Golden Boot winner Mohamed Salah was also involved in training on Friday and should start on the right side of the attacking trident for Liverpool. Roberto Firmino is expected to spearhead the attack once again for the Reds, ahead of Daniel Sturridge.
However, the manager might opt to not risk Mane against the Terriers, after the Senegalese underwent a surgery on his hand earlier in the week, which would mean Xherdan Shaqiri gets the nod on the left flank.
