It was thought that Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister missed out on Monday night’s win over Newcastle United due to his partner, Ailen Cova giving birth to their child. That is not the case, as the Argentine midfielder’s girlfriend actually took to Instagram, and informed the public that she had birthed the baby yet.
The real reason that Mac Allister missed out? An unspecified knock/undisclosed injury, according to Reds boss Arne Slot.
Liverpool vs Arsenal FC FYIs
Kickoff: Sunday Aug 31, 430 pm BST, Anfield, Liverpool, UK
Starting Lineup Predictions: Liverpool Arsenal
Team News: Liverpool Arsenal
Premier League Form: Arsenal WW Liverpool WW
Premier League Standing: Arsenal 1st, 6 pts Liverpool 3rd, 6 pts
Result Probability: Liverpool 44% Draw 27% Arsenal 29%
Reds Team News
“He had to leave the training pitch two days ago, and that would not even be the biggest problem if he would have had a proper pre-season, but he missed out for so many weeks,” Slot said a couple days ago.
“With such a long season to go, it was too much of a risk for me, but I am hoping he is available for Sunday.”
Sounds like he’ll be a late fitness test/assessed closer to kickoff kind of situation. The only other injury issue for Liverpool is central defender Jeremie Frimpong. He’ll miss this game, due to a hamstring injury, but he could be back in contention after that.
“The medical team was completely right about Jeremie to tell me that I had to take him off, because he is out until the end of the international break,” Slot said last week, which was the most recent time that he spoke on the matter.
“So, a good call to take him off; otherwise, he would have maybe been out for longer.”
Otherwise that is that. The Reds have a clean bill of health heading into this monster matchup.
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