Liverpool FC supporters got some good news ahead of the Community Shield against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Club captain Virgil van Dijk and No. 1 goalkeeper Alisson Becker were both back at the AXA Training yesterday. The superstar duo pair missed out on the Reds’ pre-season finale against Athletic Bilbao on Monday night. Van Dijk missed the last two matches with an unspecified illness, but he’s fit to potentially feature this weekend.
As for Alisson, he returned to his native Brazil for personal reasons, with a report later surfacing that he came home to support his wife, who was undergoing an operation.
Community Shield FYIs
Liverpool FC vs Crystal Palace
Kickoff: Sun, Aug. 10, Wembley Stadium, London
Preview Content for Both Sides: Team News Starting Lineup Predictions
Team News for Both Sides
Both Alisson and Van Dijk are doubts for Sunday, as are defenders Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez, both of whom are still recovering from injury. And by doubtful, will mean strongly doubtful. Yes, it’s a trophy game, and yes, Liverpool do want to win, but this is still a preseason affair.
One guy we know will miss out is Darwin Nunez. The man who held the club transfer fee record, prior to this summer (£85m), will move over on a £46.3m deal to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal. Nunez leaves the club not as a flop, but as a folk hero, for some reason.
Or at least, that’s narrative circulating today.
Arne Slot made it clear in his press conference today that LFC is still in the transfer market this summer. Their business is not done.
“As you know from me and it’s the same for a lot of managers, you never talk about a player who isn’t yours,” Slot said when asked about the Merseyside club’s standing interest in Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak.
“I can talk about Hugo [Ekitike], who we signed recently and has done really well until now.
“We are really happy with the squad we have and there is every reason to be happy about that because we won the league last season.
“OK, players left but we’ve brought players in as well and youngsters are doing good. At this moment in time, Darwin might leave but things are not signed yet so we need to wait a few days before that’s completely done.”
This makes sense, given how Nunez is leaving, and Luis Diaz is already gone.
“I think we already have a lot of attacking power in our team,” Slot continued.
“When I think about Cody Gakpo, Federico Chiesa, Hugo Ekitike, Mo [Mohamed] Salah, Jeremie Frimpong who can play as a right winger, Florian Wirtz who can play as a left winger, so I already feel I have a lot of attacking options.
“But as always as a club we are always looking at the chances in the market but that can also be in the midfield and the last line,” Slot said.
Shifting gears to Crystal Palace, they have no fresh injury concerns at this point, and their squad is close to full fitness. Long-term absentees Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure remain out of contention.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter