Liverpool have a huge opportunity to move 11 points clear of Man City with a victory on Sunday, and Arne Slot has a number of selection decisions to make.
The Reds are flying and can make yet another statement of intent by collecting three points against Pep Guardiola’s side, who have lost their last three in the Premier League.
A convincing victory over Real Madrid last time out ensures momentum is not in short supply at Anfield, but that match did serve up some unwanted injury setbacks.
With that in mind, here’s how Slot could line up his side on Sunday.
Team News
Slot spoke to the press on Thursday afternoon and thus could not tell us too much on the injury front, but he did confirm Trent Alexander-Arnold is back in starting contention:
Liverpool’s XI vs. City
Alexander-Arnold went unused against Real Madrid in midweek, but his return is a timely one considering Bradley’s hamstring injury.
Having been given the green light, we can expect him to return at right-back, but this time alongside Joe Gomez – with Konate unavailable due to the knee injury he sustained late on Wednesday.
It would be two changes to the right side of defence and will mean Andy Robertson starts his third game in eight days as Gomez could no longer cover at left-back.
Further up the pitch, Dominik Szoboszlai will inject fresh legs into the midfield after playing only seven minutes in midweek, taking over from the impressive Curtis Jones.
And up top, we could see the front three that finished the match last time out, with Cody Gakpo starting after scoring his seventh goal of the season:
- Alexander-Arnold and Gomez to start in defence
- Szoboszlai returns to the advanced midfield role, replacing Jones
- Gakpo to start on the left wing with Luis Diaz in the middle
That would represent four changes from Wednesday, and would look like this:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz
With Konate confirming he is now focusing on recovery, Gomez is set to make his first league start of the season ahead of Jarell Quansah.
Caoimhin Kelleher will surely hold on to his spot, irrespective of if Alisson proves his fitness, while there could be a world in which Jones displaces Alexis Mac Allister in midfield.
Slot has, at times, kept us guessing over his front three and we could yet see Darwin Nunez continue in the central role but this time with Gakpo to his left:
- Jones remains in midfield, Mac Allister drops to bench
- Nunez keeps his place to start next to Gakpo and Salah
Those tweaks look like this:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez
Liverpool have been hit with a few untimely injuries to their backline, but there are plenty of options available to Slot who can step up and play an important role at Anfield.
City are wobbling and the Reds need to grasp the opportunity before them as they do not come around that often – which we all know too well!
