Evertonvs.Liverpool

The right-back only started on the bench in Wednesday's 3-3 draw with Newcastle United, but came off the bench with the Reds 2-1 down, and provided both assists for Mohamed Salah's brace that turned the game on its head.

Joe Gomez was who Alexander-Arnold replaced, and after a difficult night at St James' Park, he is expected to be the man who drops out of the side here, with Jarrell Quansah likely to partner Virgil van Dijk in the centre of defence.

Injuries to both Ibrahima Konate and Conor Bradley have not been timed well with many important games in quick succession, and while it did not impact them much in the recent win over Manchester City, that slight drop in quality was evident on Wednesday.

It was goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher who was at fault for the decisive goal though, letting the ball sail over his head before Fabian Schar slid in to equalise for the Magpies.

Kelleher will start again with manager Arne Slot revealing that Alisson is not yet ready to return, but should be back before the end of December from the hamstring injury he picked up almost two months ago.

Kostas Tsimikas is also currently out for Slot's men, so Andy Robertson is set to start at left-back, while further forward, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa are not expected to be involved in a game of such intensity following lengthy absences.

That means they will look to Salah again in the big moments, and he did all he could in midweek, scoring for the seventh Premier League game in succession, edging closer to Jamie Vardy's record of 11.

Salah's brace also took him to the top of the Premier League scoring charts ahead of Erling Haaland, and his 21 goal involvements this season is six more than any other player in the division.

After also setting up Curtis Jones for their first goal of the night, Salah scored and assisted for the 37th game in his Premier League career, beating the previous record of 36 held by Wayne Rooney, and doing so in 214 fewer games.

The visitors will also be without Alexis Mac Allister after he picked up a fifth booking of the season on Wednesday, and midfield partner Ryan Gravenberch is just one shy of a suspension of his own.

Mac Allister's ban could see Dominik Szoboszlai come back into the team, while Luis Diaz is also expected to return, replacing either Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Nunez, Diaz

Written by

Andrew Delaney