Liverpool grinded out a 2-1 win against West Ham on Saturday, getting a late goal from Diogo Jota to secure the three points. The Reds haven’t been at their best lately, but are finding ways to grind out results.
The attention turns now to the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, when Liverpool travels to Italy to take on Atalanta. The two teams sit atop Group D through two games.
Liverpool are slowly getting more players back from injury, and will be as close as they can be to full strength. (For the Liverpool starting XI prediction go here)
Injury News
The big news for Liverpool is that Joel Matip is back in full training. Jurgen Klopp was coy in his pre-match press conference about the center back starting Tuesday, but it seems likely.
Also back with the first team in training were Naby Keita and Kostas Tsimikas. Both will travel to Italy.
Thiago Alcantara is training, but not with the main group as he recovers from an injury suffered in the Merseyside Derby. Liverpool are hopeful to have him available to face Manchester City on the weekend.
James Milner didn’t train with the full group on Monday, and his status is unclear for Tuesday.
Mo Salah trained with no restrictions on Monday, but is battling “three knocks” after a busy slate of games.
Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil Van Dijk all remain long term injury losses.
Group Outlook
Liverpool will likely be putting added importance in the game on Tuesday because they can set themselves up for the rest of the group.
A win would give Liverpool nine points, and they would only need three from their last three games to secure qualification to the knockout stages. With the condensed fixture list this year in December, it would give Liverpool flexibility moving forward as they try to compete on multiple fronts.
Betting Lines
Liverpool are slight favorites in the match, with 27/25 odds to win. Atalanta are receiving 54/25 odds to win, with the odds coming in at just under 3/1.