Liverpool return to action this afternoon to take on Fulham in the Premier League, having battled fiercely for an impressive point against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium last time out.

Jurgen Klopp’s side are flying high near the top of the table to put themselves firmly in title contention alongside both City and Arsenal, with the former Borussia Dortmund boss no doubt keen to maintain that momentum.

After rotating to secure a comfortable 4-0 victory over Austrian side LASK in the Europa League on Thursday night, the Reds will be expected to field a near-full-strength line-up, though there will be a few absentees.

Liverpool team news vs Fulham

Spanish midfielders Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic remain long-term absentees, while Andy Robertson is still sidelined as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Caoimhin Kelleher will likely earn his first league start of the campaign between the sticks following the issue Alisson sustained in Manchester – which is expected to keep him out for a few weeks.

There are fears that Diogo Jota is set for a longer spell on the sidelines, but the stellar showings of Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo in midweek prove that Klopp has options aplenty to keep the Merseyside outfit firing.

Why Curtis Jones should start vs Fulham

Ryan Gravenberch returned to the starting line-up in the Europa League this week and produced an energetic display, albeit not his best in a Liverpool shirt since signing from Bayern Munich for £34m in the summer.

The 21-year-old Dutchman has been excellent so far, scoring two goals and supplying two assists and receiving praise for his “Rolls-Royce” performances by the likes of journalist Declan Carr.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 13% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals, the top 3% for shot-creating actions, the top 7% for progressive passes and the top 4% for successful take-ons per 90.

Clearly, he’s a brilliant player and a real star in the making, but Klopp might be wise to demote Gravenberch to the bench against Fulham and unleash Curtis Jones, who last week made his first Premier League appearance since being sent off against Tottenham Hotspur in September.

Jones, aged 22, has sort of ebbed and flowed from fitness and form since rising from the Reds’ academy ranks several years ago, but really came into his own at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and started the last 11 league matches as Liverpool enjoyed a late-stage revival.

This term, the 6 foot 1 star began strongly and was even noted for his “flying start” by The Athletic’s James Pearce, and must now receive a second successive start in the division.

Not so creative in his craft, the £15k-per-week star ranks among the top 1% of midfielders for pass completion, also ranking among the top 10% for goals, the top 9% for progressive carries, the top 13% for successful take-ons and the top 11% for tackles per 90.

He sculpts control in the engine room, and against Fulham this might be the appropriate way to deal with a resilient and disciplined outfit, suffocating them and controlling the flow while allowing the frontal players and midfield machine Dominik Szoboszlai to break the visitors down.

Jones needs to start building match fitness back up and the fact that he did not start against LASK suggests that Klopp has been planning ahead.

Moreover, the Reds return to league action next Wednesday, travelling to face struggling Sheffield United, and with rotation paramount over the forthcoming period, this looks like the change to make.