The Reds were missing their star winger Salah for their 2-1 loss at Brighton last time out, with the Egyptian sidelined with a muscle injury.
That issue forced him out of Egypt’s international fixtures over the past fortnight, but Arne Slot confirmed on Wednesday that Salah, who announced he would be leaving the club last week, would be back for the trip to the Etihad Stadium.
The same can be said of Chiesa, who withdrew prematurely from Italy’s camp with a niggle, but he is thought to be available for this game too.
There was more good news from Slot about summer signing Alexander Isak, who is back in team training after he broke his leg against Tottenham back in December.
He has been out for over three months with a broken fibula bone in his left leg.
Now, however, while the Swede is not available for the visit to Manchester this weekend, he could well be set for a return to action very soon.
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There are some absentees for Slot, with first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker out of this game with an injury that forced him to sit out of Brazil’s recent internationals.
Wataru Endo, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni are longer-term absentees while Jeremie Frimpong suffered another injury setback while with the Netherlands, and he is set to be sidelined for another extended period.
That leaves question marks over who starts at right-back, with Dominik Szoboszlai often the preferred choice when Slot runs out of natural options.
Alisson’s absence will also see Giorgi Mamardashvili start in goal once more, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate again the go-to central defensive pairing.
Andy Robertson and Milos Kerkez will battle it out fot the left-back berth, while decisions are to be made over who starts in midfield should Szoboszlai move to right-back.
That could leave room for Curtis Jones in the engine room, or Florian Wirtz could be back as the No10 with Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister behind him.
Hugo Ekitike has led the line superbly in Isak’s absence, while Cody Gakpo and Salah should get the nod out wide.
Predicted Liverpool XI (4-2-3-1): Mamardashvili; Szoboszlai, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitike
Injured: Isak, Alisson, Frimpong, Leoni, Endo, Bradley
Venue: Etihad Stadium
Date and time: 12.45pm BST on Saturday, April 4 2026
How to watch: TNT Sports