After midweek success for Liverpool in the Champions League, it’s back to Premier League action this weekend. The Reds host Fulham at Anfield on Saturday (3pm BST).
They go into the game on a high, having beaten Atletico Madrid 2-1 in their Champions League opener on Wednesday night. Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister ensured that Liverpool took all three points.
While Liverpool were in action, Fulham have had a full week to prepare for the game at Anfield. The Cottagers are yet to win in the Premier League under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, having lost all three matches.
Liverpool have, meanwhile, won one and drawn two of their opening three league games under Andoni Iraola. Both teams will go into the match looking to take all three points and properly kick-start their season.
Ahead of the meeting, both managers have given the latest team news on their squads.
Liverpool
The main worry for Liverpool will be the availability of Cody Gakpo. The forward missed the win over Atletico, and faces a late fitness test for the match vs Fulham.
“Cody we will see. He didn’t train yesterday,” Iraola said. “Today we will try with him and let’s see if he’s ready for tomorrow or we need to wait for the next one.”
If he isn’t fit, he will join defender Joe Gomez on the sidelines. The England man suffered an injury during pre-season and is yet to return to the first team squad.
While he is closing in on a return, this weekend’s game may come too soon.
Federico Chiesa is also expected not to be available after picking up a muscle injury in the latter stages of pre-season. It is unknown when he will make his return.
There are also three longer-term injuries who will be on the sidelines. Giovani Leoni, Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike are all continuing their rehabilitation.
In a boost for Iraola, he has confirmed that summer signing Bradley Barcola is expected to be available after being taken off with cramp during the win over Atletico. “We still need to train this afternoon. Barcola was just cramps,” he said.
“We have to evaluate how he is today, but there’s no injury. He should, I think, be available, if everything goes normal.”
Fulham
Fulham don’t have much to worry about on the injury front, with only two players expected to miss the match. Club captain Tom Cairney will be unavailable as he continues his recovery from a minor knee procedure last month.
Young striker Jonah Kusi-Asare is yet to feature in any matchday squad so far this season. He has 10 first team appearances for the club, and struggled with a knee injury last season.
The match will see Arbeloa come up against Iraola, someone he knows well from Spain. “I played with Andoni in the national team, and obviously we faced each other many, many times in La Liga,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “I know him very, very well.
“I saw him when he was the coach of Mirandés, Rayo Vallecano, and after in Bournemouth, so I know that he’s an amazing coach, and I’m not surprised that now he’s the coach of Liverpool.
“He has been doing amazing work here in the Premier League, and now in Liverpool you can see they are playing in the style that he’s always playing with his teams, and of course it will be so difficult for us today.”
Be the first to comment