Girona vs Liverpool
| Tuesday, December 10th |
Champions League | Estadi Montilivi
5:45PM BST / 12:45PM ET
Despite not playing the Merseyside derby this weekend as a result of Storm Darragh causing havoc in the northeast, Liverpool had a good Premier League round, as both Manchester City and Arsenal dropped points in their chase for the Reds, and only Chelsea managed to do their job and pick up the win.
Now, with just three rounds to go in the Champions League, the Reds can all but guarantee a spot in the top eight, as a sixth consecutive win would put them plausibly, if not mathematically out of reach of the entire chasing pack.
The obstacle this time is Girona, the City Football Group-owned Spanish upstarts who put up an impressive effort in La Liga last season, before predictably getting stripped for parts this summer. The result has been a downturn in form, of course, and after finishing third last year, they currently sit ninth in the domestic league, with a negative goal difference, while their Champions League return has been limited to a single win and zero draws in five games.
Manager Míchel is coming off a 3-0 home defeat to Real Madrid and will have to make do without Viktor Tsygankov, but can otherwise call on his full squad, including joint top scorers Christhian Stuani and Bojan Miovski.
Projected Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, van Dijk, Robertson; Endo, Jones, Elliott; Diaz, Núñez, Salah
For the Reds, Alisson Becker is back in the traveling squad and could be set for his first start since early October, with a late Caoimhin Kelleher error causing the draw with Newcastle at the weekend likely to dampen any potential blowback for the Brazilian’s immediate reinstatement.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to start at right-back, with Conor Bradley expected to be out until after Christmas, while Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk should continue in the centre of defence. Andy Robertson is likely to start ahead of Kostas Tsimikas.
In midfield, Alexis Mac Allister is suspended and will not travel with the squad — the Argentinian’s enforced break continued at the weekend, as he is also serving a suspension in the Premier League — meaning a Curtis Jones start is highly probable, while a rest for Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai would be welcome at this stage of the season. One or both of Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott could be in line for a rare start.
Up top, Federico Chiesa is back in team training but has fallen ill and will not travel, while Diog Jota remains unavailable through injury. Two of Cody Gakpo, Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez will feature alongside Mohamed Salah.
What the Managers Said
Arne Slot: “I think their game model is what stands out. They have a very good idea about football, they always want to bring out the ball from the back. They have a lot of good players.”
Michel: “Liverpool are absolutely dominant, leading the Premier League and the Champions League. It’s a historic match – a game to enjoy, but also to compete in. In football, anything can happen.”
The Officials (FRA)
Referee: Benoît Bastien
Assistant referees: Hicham Zakrani, Aurélien Berthomieu
Fourth official: Thomas Leonard
VAR: Benoît Millot, Willy Delajod
Kickoff is set for 5:45PM GMT/12:45PM ET tomorrow, and television listings for the match can be found on LiveSoccerTV.
In the meantime, and as always, we’ll be keeping you updated with all the buildup to the game, including team news as it’s released, our live matchday thread, and post-match recaps from The Liverpool Offside staff. If you want to join the discussion, sign up for an SB Nation account to have your say on the action as it happens.