Jordan Henderson is set to replace Harvey Elliott when Liverpool host AC Milan to Anfield in their UEFA Champions League opener on Wednesday
Liverpool will be aiming to kick-start their UEFA Champions League campaign on a strong note when they play hosts to AC Milan at Anfield in a Group B tie on Wednesday night. And Jurgen Klopp has a fresh injury concern to deal with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Harvey Elliott is sidelined for the foreseeable future after sustaining a gruesome ankle injury versus Leeds United on the weekend. The teenage prodigy has joined Neco Williams and Roberto Firmino in the list of players who will not be available to take on AC Milan this midweek, having undergone a successful surgery this week.
Klopp was quizzed about the updates on the team news front during his pre-match press conference, but the Liverpool boss chose to remain coy on providing them. Instead, Klopp focused on heaping praise on his squad and how he intends to utilise his resources.
The Liverpool manager said, “This group can be exciting from the first second to the last second, I can’t see any kind of early decisions made in this group and that keeps us on our toes. In between these games, we have a very important competition as well playing Premier League, League Cup and then hopefully FA Cup later on in the season, but it’s the thing we wanted. It’s exactly what we wanted.”
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“Now we are here, we play Milan here, Porto and then Atletico, unbelievable stadiums as well, great crowds, all that kind of stuff, passionate fanbase. It’s exactly how you want football. That’s what we got and now we have to deal with it.”
Alisson Becker is a certainty in goal for Liverpool, who will line up in their usual 4-3-3 formation against AC Milan. At the heart of the Reds’ defence, there is no looking past Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, who has been phenomenal early in the season, meaning Ibrahima Konate misses out again. Out wide, there is no looking past Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson.
Up ahead in midfield, Jordan Henderson is expected to come in for the injured Elliott. The Liverpool captain will line up alongside the indomitable Fabinho as well as the ever improving Thiago Alcantara in the three-man midfield unit.
Finally, in attack, the three first-choice players pick themselves, especially in the absence of Firmino. So, Diogo Jota will once again take up a central position on the pitch, with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane being the two wide men, although the trio will form a fluid partnership.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson; Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago; Salah, Jota, Mane
