On Sunday, Liverpool will host Aston Villa, who will be looking to extend their unbeaten start to the season.
Last season, Villa ended Liverpool’s Champions League dreams. Unai Emery’s side took the lead via Jacob Ramsey, with Roberto Firmino’s equalizer coming too late for Jurgen Klopp’s players at a moment when only a win would have sufficed.
Ramsey is injured, and Firmino left for Al-Ahli over the summer, so neither of those scorers will play on Sunday. With the transfer market closed, three summer arrivals could make their debut for Liverpool, however deadline day signing Ryan Gravenberch will be too late.
Defense and goalkeeper
Alisson will remain in goal after maintaining his fine form into the new season. However, Liverpool will be obliged to make alterations in order to accommodate the Brazilian.
The first-choice full-back pairing of Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold should be retained. However, Virgil van Dijk’s ban and Ibrahim Konate’s injury limit the alternatives in central defense.
Nat Phillips is also unavailable after joining Celtic on loan. This means that, at least for this game, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will be playing together in the middle.
Midfield
Jurgen Klopp completed a fourth midfield transfer late on Friday night, bringing Ryan Gravenberch from Bayern Munich in a £34.2 million deal. However, it was not completed in time for this game, so the Dutch international will have to wait until after the international break to make his debut.
Thiago is still out, according to Klopp, while Stefan Bajcetic has returned to training but is unlikely to play anytime soon. This means that the new-look midfield might play for the second time in a row.
Wataru Endo joined Dominik Szoboszlai and Alex Mac Allister in the starting lineup against Newcastle, completing a summer signing trifecta. It might happen again at Anfield, with Szoboszlai being the most advanced of the three.
Attack
Darwin Nunez’s impact from the bench last weekend was “exactly how it should have been, being a massive threat,” Klopp added. “Everyone felt it; this game was massive.” The game appeared to be going against us, but the boys came back admirably.”
With those goals, Nunez might be inserted into the starting lineup against Villa, with Cody Gakpo shifting left and Luis Diaz sliding to the bench. Of course, the main question is about Mohamed Salah.
There has been interest in the Egyptian from Al-Ittihad, which Liverpool has so far rejected, and there is no reason to believe Klopp will not stick with last season’s top scorer. However, in his pre-match press conference, the manager acknowledged the threat posed by the Saudi Pro League.
“I’m not sure how long it will stay like this, but I think the next two weeks will show how difficult it is,” he said.”Because no one can react anymore [if players are lost].” We must safeguard the game.”