Man City 3-0 Liverpool: Match Review
How Liverpool could line-up against
Liverpool return to action after the international break when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield (3pm GMT).
The Reds head into the encounter with their hopes of defending the Premier League title hanging by a thread. After five losses in six games, suffering a 3-0 defeat by Manchester City last time out, Arne Slot’s side find themselves eight points behind Arsenal.
Slot is refusing to get caught up in title-race talk and insists that he is only thinking about the short-term improvements that can be made.
On paper, Liverpool have a favourable run of fixtures approaching, starting against a Forest side who are themselves underachieving and languish 19th. But the Reds have injury issues heading into the game, with Florian Wirtz and Conor Bradley suffering setbacks while Jeremie Frimpong remains absent.
With everything in mind, here’s the Liverpool team that could face Forest.
Liverpool team predicted
GK - Alisson Becker
The No.1 stopper has missed the past eight games because of a hamstring problem. However, Alisson is back in training and Slot confirmed that he will start.
RB - Curtis Jones
Liverpool have a real quandary with Bradley and Frimpong absent. Given that the Reds are at home, Slot may feel that Jones is capable of playing in the role - as he did in a 1-0 win over Everton last season.
CB - Ibrahima Konate
The Frenchman’s form has been under scrutiny this season. In fairness, he’s performed far better at Anfield than away from home.
CB - Virgil van Dijk
The Liverpool captain will be irked by the number of goals conceded. He will have plenty to deal with against a physical outfit in Forest.
LB - Milos Kerkez
The Hungary international has fallen down the pecking order to Andy Robertson for the past three games. But due to Kerkez having two extra days to recover than Robertson after the internationals, the former Bournemouth man may just get the nod.
CM - Ryan Gravenberch
Liverpool would have been pleased that Gravenberch did not play in the Netherlands’ second game during the international break. He is a key cog in the Reds’ system.
CM - Alexis Mac Allister
After a tough start to the campaign, Mac Allister has started to show signs that he’s getting back to his best, although he was one of several players who struggled against City.
RW - Mo Salah
Liverpool’s talisman’s drop in form has left plenty mystified. However, Salah will surely recapture his best and that could start against Forest.
AM - Dominik Szoboszlai
He has unanimously been Liverpool’s best performer this season. There might be a temptation to deploy Szoboszlai right-back but he would be wasted in the role.
LW - Hugo Ekitike
The summer signing from Eintracht Frankfurt has been quiet of late but he is capable of playing on the left and scored a fine goal for France during the international break.
ST - Alexander Isak
Slot has admitted he needs to get the £125m British record signing up to speed and could play him over some other fitter players. As a result, it could be Cody Gakpo who is left on the bench.
Mamardashvili, Gomez, Robertson, Ramsay, Endo, Nyoni, Gakpo, Chiesa, Ngumoha
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