Man Cityvs.Liverpool

The Netherlands international has been unavailable for recent battles with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa as a result of the knock he picked up in the Merseyside derby last week.

Arne Slot expressed hope that Gakpo would be fit when asked in Thursday's press conference, but he offered no guarantees, so the Dutchman may be one of four absent troops for the visitors here.

Tyler Morton (shoulder), Joe Gomez (thigh) and Conor Bradley - who picked up a hamstring injury in midweek - are also unavailable, or in the latter's case, there is only a 0.01% chance that he will make the cut according to Slot.

Trent Alexander-Arnold - still being carefully managed after his own hamstring problem - will therefore feature as part of an unchanged backline with Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Andy Robertson from the first whistle.

Slot made an unexpected alteration in midweek with the inclusion of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai all from the first whistle, but the Reds boss may revert to a more familiar setup on Sunday.

Jones is likely to be the sacrifice as Luis Diaz seeks a recall to the final third, which should comprise Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah if Gakpo is not fit to start; Darwin Nunez has surely played his way out of the reckoning after Slot criticised his attitude in midweek.

A goal or assist for Salah would take him up to 14 direct involvements against Man City in the Premier League, the same tally that Steven Gerrard managed; no player has registered more against the Citizens in the competition than the ex-Reds skipper.

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Alexander-Arnold; Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Jota

Written by

Ben Knapton