Liverpool face Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday with one fresh injury concern and a race against time to include new signing Endo Wataru.
Liverpool return to Anfield for the first time since May today to face Bournemouth – but Jurgen Klopp has a midfield conundrum to solve.
The Reds go in search of their first win of the new campaign and will play in front of a home crowd, albeit at a reduced capacity. It was first stated back three weeks ago that the Anfield Road expansion would not be completed ahead of the new season as originally intended, with a phased introduction of supporters through to October. This week news then emerged of contractors Buckingham Group filing for administration with workers told to leave the site.
However there have been reassurances this will not impact the planned use of the lower tier, and completely aside from that Klopp’s preparations with his players go on unencumbered.
Wataru Endo was announced on Friday as the latest summer recruit in a £16.25m transfer from Stuttgart. He will provide strong defensive midfield cover, although is a doubt around his debut chances on Saturday as uncertainty remains over his international clearance and work permit application at the time of writing.
Curtis Jones may also have joined the list of midfielders set to miss this one, as the Athletic’s James Pearce claims an ankle injury sustained in training this week will sideline him for this match. Klopp has already confirmed the Cherries clash is too soon for the returning Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic.
This leaves only Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Harvey Elliott as the only senior midfielders available, although the Reds’ boss is no stranger to such issues. Last week he utilised Cody Gakpo from the middle, as much as it hampered his productivity, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is again likely to slot in via his hybrid role. Still, it’s a headache the manager would rather not have.
Here is the expected full squad and absentee details:
Goalkeepers: Alisson Becker, Caoimhin Kelleher, Adrian
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Jarell Quansah, Kostas Tsimikas, Andy Robertson
Midfielders: Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Harvey Elliott, Bobby Clark, James McConnell
