When the Premier League leaders visit Arsenal on Sunday, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot is hopeful that he may have one or two extra squad options available.
The Reds’ excellent start to the season was maintained in midweek when they defeated RB Leipzig 1-0 in the Champions League. However, the matchup with the Gunners this weekend is regarded as crucial for both their own possible title challenge and to determine whether the team is prepared to play against the best opponents after a more relaxed start to the season.
Due to a string of injuries, including to first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Slot has had to make some adjustments to his roster recently. Additionally, center-forward Diogo Jota was sidelined last weekend and missed the trip to Leipzig as a result.
Although the Portuguese attacker is not yet ready to return, full-back Conor Bradley might make a comeback, and new recruit Federico Chiesa has a remote possibility of playing if he shows up for the last training sessions.
In response to a question concerning the injured players, he stated, “They feel good but not when it comes to playing during the weekend.”
“Diogo will not be training today or tomorrow, but Federico may. Let’s see if Conor can join us tomorrow.
Harvey Elliott, a midfielder, has also yet to start under Slot due to injury; he only had one brief substitute appearance in August before going out.
Alisson’s substitute, Caoimhin Kelleher, has performed admirably, and Slot disclosed that the Irish goalie will be required for at least three more games.
As anticipated, Allison is making good progress, but this is not a quick fix. Judging is never easy; the optimum time to do so is when the patient is nearing the finish of their rehabilitation, and he isn’t there yet. I’m not sure how long he’ll be out, but don’t count on him to play next week or against Brighton in the cup.
With William Saliba suspended, Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber undergoing fitness tests, and Martin Odegaard injured, Arsenal is also without a few first-team players.
In any case, Slot anticipates a difficult contest in what is thought to be an early marker match for the championship this year.
“You would think that playing Arsenal would be even harder because they were far ahead of us and above Chelsea the last two seasons. This is especially true because it’s an away game, so it will be harder than Chelsea at home, and we all saw how hard that was.”
