Liverpool Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West Brom

Melissa Reddy

Liverpool Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs West Brom image

Liverpool will look to exorcise their Merseyside derby frustrations at home against struggling West Bromwich Albion in midweek.

Jurgen Klopp's men had to settle for a point from Sunday's fixture against Everton, despite being in total command of the game.

And while new Baggies boss Alan Pardew hopes his side can be similarly annoying on the Anfield pitch, he will also fear them being shredded by a formidable attack.

Liverpool have scored 63 goals in their 25 competitive games so far this season - the most that they have ever managed after as many fixtures in a campaign since 1986-87 (64).


LIVERPOOL INJURIES


Klopp will leave it as late as possible to ascertain who is in contention on Wednesday night.  "I know we play tomorrow, but it’s still not 100 per cent clear," the manager said at Melwood. 

"We have a few knocks and we still have to wait a little bit to see how they’ll deal with that. Nothing serious after the last game – serious in the sense of long term – but for one or two it is possible that the time will not be enough for the West Brom game. We have to see.
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"It is how it is after games like the derby; there were hard challenges. Always in this short-term you always need to judge, is the muscle they feel an injury, or is it just intensity?

Adam Lallana

"For that, you need pretty much each minute until you can judge it – and that’s what we will do."

Adam Lallana has undertaken full sessions again, but has to continue building his sharpness, while Joel Matip has not yet shaken off an adductor issue.

Klopp explained: "Adam is back in training completely normally but of course he needs to build up again. That’s how it is.

"But he is good. He trains completely normally. We have to see what we do with him because we need him for the next few weeks, 100 per cent.
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"We should not need him for tomorrow but then, step by step, we need to see how we can bring him in match fitness shape. That’s it. We have to see, but he is in a good way.
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"Joel is not in training. He is running, nothing more. That means it takes a little bit longer."

Alberto Moreno

There is still no definitive timescale on Alberto Moreno's absence, meanwhile, as the left-back nurses an ankle problem.

"He’s not ready for sure – no chance," added Klopp. "We will make further assessments in the moment, we will send him to different doctors just to know a little bit more.
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"It’s still possible it’s not that long, it’s possible it is up to six weeks. We will have to see.
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"It’s really not decided so far, so we need to have a further look on it."


LIVERPOOL SUSPENSIONS


Neither side have a suspended player heading into this encounter, but Emre Can and Dejan Lovren are a caution away from a one-match ban.

Meanwhile, West Brom have Jonathan Evans, James Mcclean, Claudio Yacob and Allan-Romeo Nyom in the same situation.


LIVERPOOL POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP


Klopp will continue to shuffle his selection as the games keep stacking up. “It’s just how it starts when you get injuries in early November, which we had last year, then you cannot rotate in December because the players are not there," he explained. 

"Then you suffer in January, that’s how it is, that’s not really to change. Then the players come back in January who got injured in November but they are not in the same shape they were in. That’s the situation. That’s the only thing and it’s only one information.

“All these games, I really think if you have the quality in the squad that we have, you have to use it. I’ve said it before: you cannot play the same 11 players all the time until four of them are injured, and then you hope that the other four who come in – they have quality but no rhythm – will perform for you.

"We expect that, I know, but it’s not really likely. We did it so far how we did it so far.”

Possible Liverpool XI v West Brom

Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho were held in reserve in the derby and should both start. Emre Can and Gini Wijnaldum were also rested and will hope to return to the XI. 

Trent Alexander-Arnold could swap in for the impressive Joe Gomez at right-back, while Andy Robertson is expected to continue on the other flank, where James Milner is also an option. 

Gomez can fill in at the heart of defence if needed. Given Klopp did not specify which of his charges face late fitness tests, it is harder to predict a possible starting line-up. 


WEST BROM TEAM NEWS


West Brom won their opening three games in 2017-18, but have been without victory since, with Pardew appointed to arrest the slide last month.

He has overseen a goalless draw and a 1-0 defeat against Crystal Palace and Swansea City, respectively.

“Alan Pardew said when he came in that he wanted to play offensive football, but the situation for West Brom is not for that," Klopp noted on the situation of Liverpool's opponents. "You cannot change things overnight. The other thing is that the squad is for a specific kind of football; it’s still long balls of course, still set-pieces, very physical, that’s how it is.

“I’m not here to judge anything, you can only judge after much more time than Alan has had so far. That’s for sure.

“They need points. They are not in a comfortable situation. It’s not a worrying situation where you say ‘no chance’. They started really well in the season and then obviously the situation changed a little bit.

Alan Pardew

“We know what we can expect. Last game, they played with all three strikers against Swansea. I don’t expect that against us, but if [it is] we have to handle this. [They have] quality and experience but it’s a home game for us.”

Nacer Chadli, James Morrison and Craig Dawson will miss out, while Gareth Barry and Matt Philips are slight doubts for the visitors.

Pardew, meanwhile, is focusing on what those who are available can offer at Anfield. "It's not whether we wonder about what Liverpool do, we've got to bring our own game," he said. 

"We're in a situation where we need to pick up points and we need to fight to do that tomorrow. There's a resilience and some fight in that dressing room, we just need to find that quality and confidence.

"Your experienced players and your younger players need to understand how to see the game through. This group is intelligent enough to grasp that.

"Defensively we've been really sound, but we've got to threaten the goal more. You're just looking to get a win any way you can in the situation we're in, we've just got to keep fighting. The odds are stacked against us in this game and they will be on Sunday, but that doesn't mean we're not going to fight."


TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME


Kick off is at 20:00 BST (3 p.m. ET) and the game will not be televised live in the UK.

In the U.S., the Premier League can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).


BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS


  • Liverpool are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games against West Brom (W4 D4), having lost the previous three in a row before that.

  • West Bromwich Albion have their lowest points tally after 16 games of a Premier League season since 2008-09 (12); winning 13 of a possible 48 so far this season.

  • Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in 23 goals for Liverpool in all competitions this season (in 24 games), two more than any other player in the Premier League.

Melissa Reddy

Melissa Reddy Photo