Jurgen Klopp is considering a further midfield makeover as Diogo Jota forces Liverpool to make a decision.
The Premier League matchup between Liverpool and Manchester City is coming up, and Jurgen Klopp may have some difficult choices to make.
Liverpool continued their impressive start to the Premier League season with victory over Brentford at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
Mohamed Salah scored twice and Diogo Jota also netted as the Reds won 3-0 to move up to second place in the table and just a point behind leaders Manchester City.
Liverpool will resume their Premier League challenge after the break when they visit the Etihad on Saturday week.
And here we look ahead to the changes Jurgen Klopp could make when his team are next in action.
The usual caveats will apply as Klopp waits on his international players emerging unscathed from representing their respective countries, with European teams in the final stages of Euro 2024 qualifiers, while South America, Africa and Asia are involved in World Cup qualifiers.
Alisson Becker will be among Liverpool’s South American contingent who are action in the early hours of next Wednesday morning – barely 72 hours before the City game, which is Liverpool’s third successive 12.30pm kick-off after an international break.
However, the Brazilian will be expected to start in goal, with Caoimhin Kelleher and Adrian on standby.
The big question is at centre-back where Ibrahima Konate has missed Liverpool’s last two games with a hamstring problem, although France boss Didier Deschamps has hinted he could be back fit inside the next week.
Konate would then face a battle with Joel Matip – excellent at the weekend – to partner in-form skipper Virgil van Dijk. Joe Gomez is another option should he shake off a minor injury.
Kostas Tsimikas was much improved against Brentford but could come under pressure from Gomez at left-back, should Liverpool seek a purely defensive option.
On the other flank, Trent Alexander-Arnold is clear favourite to retain his place.
While Liverpool were short of midfield options at the weekend, there will at least be one returnee with Alexis Mac Allister having served a one-match suspension.
He would then be likely to take over from Wataru Endo in the defensive midfield role.
Klopp has said he is confident Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones are both available after spells out with knee and hamstring problems respectively, and would both be competing for the position on the left of the triumvirate which Cody Gakpo filled against Brentford.
Dominik Szoboszlai has become a regular on the right with Harvey Elliott an alternative.
Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic and Bobby Clark are all expected to remain sidelined.
Klopp, though, has form for throwing a curveball at the Etihad, and could easily opt to play a double pivot which opens up the prospect of Endo and Mac Allister both playing deeper with Szoboszlai ahead of them.
Another brace for Mohamed Salah on Sunday underlined why he is one of the first names on the teamsheet for Klopp on the right of the attack, with teenager Ben Doak in reserve.
The other two forward places, though, aren’t quite so clear cut.
Darwin Nunez has been the man in possession down the centre, but Diogo Jota continues to find the net regularly while Gakpo will have benefited from a confidence-boosting display at the weekend.
All three can also play on the left, although Klopp is likely to end up choosing between Jota and Luis Diaz, who hasn’t started a Premier League game since his subsequently released father was kidnapped in Colombia a fortnight ago.
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