**Liverpool will likely be without Joe Gomez for the midweek trip to Sunderland in the Premier League, with Arne Slot confirming as much.**
The champions are still smarting after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Manchester City at Anfield – one that saw their Champions League qualification hopes damaged.
It was another game that saw Liverpool short of options at right-back, with Dominik Szoboszlai forced to play there in the absence of Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley and Gomez.
The Hungarian may have played well, scoring a stunning free-kick, but he was also too deep for Bernardo Silva’s equaliser, playing him onside in an unfamiliar role.
Next up for Liverpool is Wednesday’s trip to a Sunderland side who are unbeaten at home in the league this season, and Slot has said Gomez is expected to again miss out:
_“Jeremie for sure not. We knew this when he got injured, that it was a few weeks. To be honest, I don’t expect Joe to be back as well, but you never know. But then he is back after being out for three weeks, would you play him then? You say no, but you don’t have to make the decision – I have to make the decision._
_“Let’s see what decision we make. We have other players that can play that position as well. Dom – again – played a very good game in that position but unfortunately he is unavailable for Wednesday.”_
**Who will play at right-back for Liverpool vs. Sunderland?**
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With all these injuries, and Szoboszlai suspended after his late red card against City, Slot has a huge selection headache at right-back going into the Sunderland game.
Assuming Gomez is out, Curtis Jones feels like the natural choice to come in and fill the void, but that is still far from an ideal situation for Liverpool to be in.
It would at least mean that the rest of the Reds’ starting lineup can remain the same, assuming Slot doesn’t want to make any other changes.
This feels like a huge task for Liverpool on Wednesday, with the right-back situation not helping matters, and another defeat could intensify the calls for a change of manager.