Jurgen Klopp has several injury concerns at Liverpool as he prepares to face a Brighton side that defeated his team 3-0 earlier this month in the FA Cup.
Liverpool will be hoping for a better performance against Brighton when they face them for the second time in as many days on Sunday.
Brighton thrashed Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 3-0 earlier this month in the Premier League. They will now face Roberto De Zerbi’s team in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Reds have only won once in January, a 1-0 victory over Wolves in the FA Cup third round, and are in desperate need of a performance. Klopp has had eight days to prepare for the 1.30 pm kickoff, but he still has a number of injury concerns.
Injuries have decimated his forward line, with Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino, and Diogo Jota all out, and Fabio Carvalho questionable with a knock.
There are also issues in defense, where Virgil van Dijk is injured and Nathaniel Phillips is questionable due to illness. The midfield issues have subsided somewhat, but Arthur Melo is still a long way from returning to the squad.
Arthur is the only central midfielder who is unavailable, but Klopp has indicated that he will prioritize consistency over rotation after a 0-0 draw with Chelsea last weekend.
“We didn’t make these decisions yet,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “We have now a long training week – and after the game again – and that’s something that we always use and everybody can show up.
“If the boys who now started the games with the good spells look like they have to go again, then they will start again. If not, thank God [we have options]. Up front not too many, Darwin is in – but in midfield, we have a few options, I hope that stays like this and that’s always good.”
Caoimhin Kelleher is expected to start in goal instead of first-choice Alisson after featuring in the previous round against the Wolves. He is likely to be guarded by the same defense which played against Chelsea last week, barring the inclusion of Trent Alexander-Arnold ahead of James Milner at right-back.
With Jordan Henderson and Fabinho available, Klopp now has more options in midfield. Stefan Bajcetic, on the other hand, may keep Fabinho out of the team after impressing Klopp recently and signing a new long-term contract this week.
Naby Keita has shown some form of late and could keep his place alongside Thiago Alcantara. In attack, there aren’t many options for Klopp, meaning Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez are very likely to play.
Liverpool predicted XI: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Konate, Robertson; Keita, Bajcetic, Thiago; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.
