Ibrahima Konaté will start for Liverpool vs Rangers, according to reports. The Frenchman is suddenly right back in the mix.
This comes from the Athletic. They report that Ibrahima Konaté will start for Liverpool against Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow night.
This comes as both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip are ruled out with injuries. The pair will miss up to the next three weeks, severely limiting Jurgen Klopp’s options in defence.
Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk are the only other centre-back options, of course. Gomez may need to deputise at right-back, though, and that leaves Konaté as the sole option to replace Matip.
Konaté to start vs Rangers
This is a tough one. In truth, there’s a good chance that Konaté was starting regardless of the injuries. Now, however, he’ll need to play against Rangers tomorrow and Manchester City at the weekend.
That’s a lot to ask of a player who missed the first two months of the season. Konaté has played literally 21 minutes in this campaign, all coming on Sunday against Arsenal. To go from that to Ibrox and the champions is a tall order.
Liverpool, though, don’t really have a choice here. Konaté is certainly good enough to play both games and dominate – he’s a ‘ridiculous’ talent, as Alexander-Arnold puts it. But is his fitness up to it? That’s the big question here and it will only be answered by playing him.
This is set to be a very tough run on the legs, then. Several players, particularly in defence, must play every game over the next few weeks. That comes after playing every game over the last few weeks, too – we’re not sure how Van Dijk will hold up.
But this is a season that’s determined to challenge Liverpool. Let’s see how they handle it.
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