Coming off a frustrating 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage against Fulham, Liverpool FC aim to right the ship Wednesday night against Tottenham Hotspurs.
Tottenham sit atop the table, but are level on points with Liverpool. With the busy festive period ahead for all teams, a win for either squad would give them a big boost. (For the Tottenham team news and starting XI prediction go here)
Team News
Not much has changed on the injury front for Liverpool. Joel Matip had a back spasm that forced him off against Fulham, but has been working “round the clock” to be ready for Wednesday.
Naby Keita is also back in training after missing Sunday, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made the bench last game as he comes back from injury.
Diogo Jota is out for 6-8 weeks with a knee issue, but it won’t require surgery.
Virgil Van Dijk, Thiago, Joe Gomez, James Milner, Kostas Tsimikas and Xherdan Shaqiri are all out.
Predicted Line-up
With Matip as the one question mark, Liverpool will likely line up 4-3-3 again.
Alisson is back in goal, and made several key saves against Fulham, keeping his team in the game.
Andy Robertson, Fabinho and Trent Alexander-Arnold will all start in the back. Matip is the other choice, but if he can’t go, Liverpool will use Nat Phillips or Jordan Henderson.
In the midfield, Gini Wijnaldum and Curtis Jones are two of the names Jurgen Klopp will select. Henderson is likely the other, but if he is forced into the back line, Takumi Minamino will start.
Up front, Mo Salah scored his 10th goal of the season on Sunday, scoring from the penalty spot. Liverpool need Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino to start scoring, as both are struggling to score at the moment.
Predicted Liverpool XI (4-3-3): Alisson, Andy Robertson, Joel Matip, Fabinho, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Gini Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mo Salah.