Tyler Morton and Divock Origi are set to start, but Diogo Jota could be rested when Liverpool and AC Milan face off at San Siro on Tuesday.
Liverpool will hope to end their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign with a perfect record when they lock horns with AC Milan at San Siro on Tuesday night. And Jurgen Klopp does not have a new roster issue to deal with ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
James Milner, who was likely to start against AC Milan, is suspended after accumulating three yellow cards in the first five games. The veteran midfielder has joined Curtis Jones (eye), Harvey Elliott (ankle) and Roberto Firmino (hamstring) in the list of players unavailable to represent Liverpool on Tuesday.
However, Joe Gomez (calf) and Naby Keita (hamstring) could feature after recovering from their respective injuries and taking part in full training this week. In his pre-match press conference, Klopp spoke about possibly rotating his troops but did not provide any team news updates.
The Liverpool boss said, “We have to rotate, we will rotate, that’s clear – ‘we have to’ is the headline actually. I will not give you now the line-up but I cannot change all, so that’s another truth. We need to have players on the pitch, so I cannot rotate and then start with nine or whatever, that’s not possible.”
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“We want to field the best possible side for the situation we are in. We played five games in the last 14 or 15 days, which is a lot, and after the Milan game again pretty much the same number of games in a similar amount of time. So we have to make the right decisions and we will.”
The changes should start from the goalkeeping slot, with Caoimhin Kelleher in line to make a rare Champions League appearance for Liverpool. In front of him, Virgil van Dijk might retain his spot at the heart of the Liverpool defence but will likely have Ibrahima Konate as his partner. Out wide, Neco Williams and Kostas Tsimikas should replace Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson as the two full-backs, respectively.
Up ahead in midfield, Tyler Morton appears to be a certainty at the base of the unit, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain also in line to feature. Alongside the two, captain Jordan Henderson is likely to be the senior figure, guiding Morton and Oxlade-Chamberlain through the game in the absence of Milner.
As for the attacking unit, Divock Origi seems to have earned a place in the starting eleven after making a big impact off the bench against Wolverhampton Wanderers this past weekend. And Klopp hinted at the possibility of handing a start to the Belgian forward.
Origi should lead the line for Liverpool against Milan, replacing Diogo Jota, who was sub-par against his former club on Saturday. Mohamed Salah is also due for a rest and should make way for Takumi Minamino. The final spot in the starting eleven will likely be taken up by Sadio Mane, who will make way for Salah or Jota in the second half if required.
Predicted Liverpool XI: Kelleher; Williams, Konate, van Dijk, Tsimikas; Henderson, Morton, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Minamino, Origi, Mane
Liverpool, Straight Win!!!