Virgil van Dijk and Conor Bradley were both forced to miss out on Liverpool’s final two friendlies of pre-season, with back-to-back games against Athletic Club.
Van Dijk was ruled out due to illness while Bradley has picked up a fitness issue, joining Alisson and Joe Gomez on the absentee list.
Speaking to LFCTV before kickoff in the opening friendly, Arne Slot explained that Alisson and Van Dijk were both set to return against Crystal Palace in the Community Shield.
But the situation could be different for Gomez and Bradley, with the head coach saying “it’s going to be tight” for the pair to return by Sunday.
It has forced Slot into a late rejig in defence with a makeshift back four of Luca Stephenson, Trey Nyoni, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas starting the first of the two games.
Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate and Milos Kerkez are likely to be joined by Wataru Endo for the second friendly, scheduled for an 8pm kickoff.
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - Wednesday, July 30, 2025: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk shakes hands with head coach Arne Slot as he is substituted during the Meiji Yasuda J.League World Challenge 2025 match between Yokohama F. Marinos and Liverpool FC at the International Stadium Yokohama. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
The expectation that Van Dijk will be passed fit for the clash with Palace at Wembley means that Slot can effectively name his first-choice defence.
There is little in the way of depth however, with both Tsimikas and Robertson required to fill in at centre-back already in pre-season.
Liverpool are likely to sign at least one new centre-back before the summer transfer window closes, and they could still agree a deal with Sunday’s opponents as they pursue Palace captain Marc Guehi.
Parma’s Giovanni Leoni, Wolfsburg’s Konstantinos Koulierakis and Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez have all been scouted but it is unclear if the club will pursue any of those options further.