Arsenal v Liverpool: Team news
Jürgen Klopp once again has a number of fitness issues to consider ahead of Liverpool's Premier League meeting with Arsenal on Friday night.
Joel Matip returned to training on Tuesday after a muscle injury but, at his pre-match press conference, the manager was ‘not sure’ whether the defender would be available at Emirates Stadium.
There was a similar report on Daniel Sturridge, who has missed the past three games due to a tight hamstring and subsequent illness.
Emre Can comes back into contention after missing last weekend’s 4-0 victory over Bournemouth due to a suspension for collecting five yellow cards, but Alberto Moreno is out and could remain so for a few weeks.
A 20-minute appearance on Sunday has aided Adam Lallana as he builds up match sharpness.
“He’s back and that’s good but he needs to collect minutes now, we will see how we manage that,” said Klopp of the midfielder, who scored in this fixture last term. “He’s ready to help us in specific moments.”
Having scored five times in his previous 11 appearances against the Reds, Olivier Giroud is expected to miss this meeting with a hamstring injury sustained in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup win over West Ham United.
“It doesn’t look very good,” said Arsene Wenger, but the Arsenal manager was more hopeful on the availability of Francis Coquelin after he limped off in midweek as well.
Aaron Ramsey is out with a hamstring problem.
Wenger also confirmed that Shkodran Mustafi should be fit for the encounter in the capital but was coy on the defensive set-up Klopp’s men will have to break down.
“I haven’t decided [the formation] yet,” said the Frenchman. “But the fact that we are adaptable now to both systems [means] it will be down to me to make the decision: do we play in a four, or in a three, or in a five?”