Liverpoolvs.Fulham

Mac Allister was set to miss the Merseyside derby against Everton last weekend after being booked against Newcastle United, but after Storm Darragh saw the game postponed, he will now serve that ban this weekend instead.

It will see the Argentine midfielder miss a second game in a week across two competitions, given that he was suspended for their trip to Girona in the Champions League on Tuesday too, also for yellow card accumulation.

While Mac Allister gets well rested for the hectic festive period, Dominik Szoboszlai is set to start again in his absence, alongside Ryan Gravenberch, and the ever-improving Curtis Jones in midfield.

Tuesday's win in Catalonia also saw the return of goalkeeper Alisson following 11 games out with a hamstring injury, and the Liverpool number one was at his best instantly, making five saves on the way to keeping a clean sheet against the La Liga outfit at Montilivi.

Just ahead of him though, there remains many injury problems in Arne Slot's defence, with Ibrahima Konate and full-back pairing Conor Bradley and Kostas Tsimikas unlikely to feature before Christmas.

That will mean Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah will battle to partner Virgil van Dijk at centre-back again, with the former being given the nod in midweek.

More good news was provided to the Liverpool faithful earlier this week though, with Diogo Jota being spotted in training, and his return to the side appears imminent.

Recent signing Federico Chiesa is also on the right track to make a comeback ahead of the busy schedule ahead, giving Slot more freedom to rotate in attack.

The one dilemma facing the Liverpool manager this weekend is whether he goes with Darwin Nunez or Cody Gakpo up front, should Jota not be ready, following another wasteful night for the Uruguayan at Girona.

There are no such concerns about Mohamed Salah, with his penalty on Tuesday taking him to 28 goal involvements in just 22 games this season, but he was joined back at the top of the Premier League scoring charts by Erling Haaland last weekend, with Liverpool not in action.

On the opposite flank, Luis Diaz has hit something of a dry spell, not directly contributing to a goal or an assist for club or country in eight games, since his hat trick against Bayer Leverkusen, but he did win the penalty for Salah to convert in midweek, and was very lively, so should start again.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Quansah, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai; Salah, Gakpo, Diaz

Written by

Andrew Delaney