Jurgen Klopp has insisted that Trent Alexander-Arnold could be involved as Liverpool take on Manchester City next week.
The Reds travel to the Etihad on Thursday night in their first game for almost six weeks. Speaking on Liverpool’s YouTube channel after his team’s 4-1 friendly win over AC Milan today, Klopp was asked for an update on the availability of his World Cup players.
“There’s a chance [that they will be involved vs City], of course. They are training already. Hendo is training here, Virgil is training here but Virgil I don’t think we will try that. Hendo we will see, Trent we will see, but this group worked together for nearly two weeks and we made a real step and that’s cool,” said the manager. “We will make a decision on Wednesday who will play on Thursday.”
It sounds as though Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson are the most likely candidates to be thrown back in. There’s no mention of either Fabinho or Alisson Becker though, who were both sent packing from Qatar the day before the England duo.
Back to business for Liverpool
Liverpool’s squad for the big trip to Manchester is starting to take shape. We know for certain that the Reds will be without Ibrahima Konate, while it looks like Virgil van Dijk will also be given some more time off.
Beyond that, Liverpool can cross injured pair Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota off their list, too. Put that quartet aside though, and Liverpool should be relatively strong.
Klopp will want to set things off on the right foot for the remainder of the campaign after a more than rocky beginning. The visit to City is also the next step for them in defending their Carabao Cup title of 2021/22.
It should be remembered that Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are already out of the competition. Liverpool could clear a path if they can knock out City. And vice-versa.
As a result, it could be a livelier affair than a regular fourth round League Cup tie.
Where possible, Jurgen will want the best options for each position on the pitch. As Trent is Liverpool’s best right-back by some distance, he’ll be hopeful that the 24-year-old will be ready.
Having barely featured during the World Cup, Alexander-Arnold certainly won’t be fatigued. You could probably put money on him being more ready than ever to get back to club football.
Whether Trent plays or not, it promises to be a big occasion. Today’s friendly gave us a good taster of it, but the Reds are almost back proper. Time to get excited.
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