Joe Gomez is set to start for Liverpool on Wednesday night when Jurgen Klopp’s side take on Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League group stages at Anfield, according to The Athletic journalist James Pearce.
The reporter claimed via his personal Twitter account on Tuesday that Joel Matip has been ruled out of the midweek fixture, meaning that Gomez, 22, will come in and is likely to partner Virgil van Dijk at centre-back.
Joel Matip ruled out of game v Salzburg. Joe Gomez set to earn a recall at centre-back #LFC
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) October 1, 2019
Liverpool have confirmed that Matip suffered an injury in the 1-0 win against Sheffield United on Saturday and will not be involved in the club’s second Champions League group stage fixture this week.
OPINION
Liverpool should be able to win with Gomez in their side, even though the England international has been rarely-used by Klopp in the Premier League so far this season. Gomez’s only start in the league came on the opening day win against Norwich on August 9 and he has only been used once since then when he came off the bench to play for one minute against Chelsea last month. He has played in the Carabao Cup, Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup, but it has been a slow start to the campaign for the former Charlton defender. Hopefully Matip’s injury is not too serious and he is available to play at the weekend but Wednesday night could be a chance for Gomez to show his worth and play his way back into Klopp’s plans. At the moment, Matip is one of the most in-form players on Merseyside and Gomez is hardly going to beat van Dijk to his starting spot.
