Liverpool head to the St. John’s Stadium on Saturday to take on Huddersfield Town in Premier League action. They’ll do so coming off the heels off a nightmare international break, in which they were infected by the “FIFA virus.”
Let’s take a look at who could be out and who might be fit for this match, starting with the Reds.
We’ll likely know much more tomorrow after manager Jurgen Klopp does his weekly news conference, but here’s what we know now at the moment.
Kickoff: Saturday Oct 20, St. John’s Stadium, 5:30 PM local
Odds via 888 Sport: Liverpool 27/100, Huddersfield 10/1, Draw 22/5
Liverpool Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Match Preview: go to this link
Sadio Mane suffered a thumb injury while training with the Senegal National Team on Monday. Liverpool confirmed on Wednesday that he underwent surgery for the setback, and that it went well. While it may take a while for the hand to fully heal, it shouldn’t impede his abilities on the pitch too much.
He is a doubt for Saturday, as is Mohamed Salah, who suffered a groin strain while on international duty with Egypt. The third key player in doubt for this one is midfielder Naby Keita, who went off at halftime of Guinea’s 1-1 draw against Rwanda with what is thought to be a muscle strain.
A fourth Reds player, Virgil van Dijk, encountered an injury issue while on international duty these past couple weeks, as his rib problem re-aggravated. However, he was rested accordingly and is expected to be available for selection in this one.
Also, you have the long term absentee Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. However, another midfielder, Adam Lallana should come back into the team for this one. We should also receive word on James Milner soon, who was injured in the goalless draw against Manchester City two weeks ago.
Flipping over to the other side, Terence Kongolo is out until next month with a thigh problem, but Ramadan Sobhi could be available. Aaron Moy (groin), Danny Williams (knee) and Tom Smith (hip) are the three Terriers players facing late fitness tests for this one. Philip Billing remains a long term absentee.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, is currently a regular contributor to SB Nation, WGN CLTV and Chicago Now.
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