Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has provided a key injury update ahead of Saturday’s crucial Merseyside derby clash with Everton at Anfield.
The Reds are back in Premier League action this weekend, hosting a Blues side who have made a positive start to the season in their own right, not losing since the opening game of the campaign.
Liverpool will be favourites to prevail at Anfield, given the world-class quality in their squad, but their midweek Champions League commitments mean they may be less fresh than their rivals.
Speaking in his pre-Everton press conference on Friday [via The Athletic‘s James Pearce on X], Slot confirmed that none of his players are out of the visit of the Blues, delivering a positive 11-word statement: “All of them are fit. I can choose between 21 players.”
How should Liverpool line-up against Everton?
Slot has some healthy selection headaches ahead of Saturday’s much-anticipated game, with key decisions to make in various areas of the pitch after the 3-2 win at home to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Conor Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong will vie for a start at right-back, with the former’s Premier League experience arguably giving him the edge, while Andy Robertson’s nous means he could be preferred to Milos Kerkez at left-back.
In midfield, the exceptional form of Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai makes them almost certainties to start, so it will be interesting to see if Slot can find a space for Alexis Mac Allister, who hasn’t been at his best of late by his high standards.
Liverpool’s head coach could potentially use Florian Wirtz in a left-sided role in place of Cody Gakpo, with Mac Allister starting alongside Gravenberch and Szoboszlai, but that would take pace out of the Reds’ attack out wide.
Like Gakpo, Mac Allister hasn’t been in peak form this season, but the Dutchman possesses the direct running to cause Everton right-back Jake O’Brien problems.
Meanwhile, Slot has to decide if Alexander Isak is ready to start a second game in three days, with Hugo Ekitike arguably more likely to get the nod. Isak could then come on in the second half, as he continues to search for full match sharpness.
