The best of the photos as Liverpool train at Melwood for Salzburg tie

October 1, 2019
Jack Lusby

There were no surprises as Liverpool held their open training session at Melwood for Wednesday’s clash with Salzburg, as Joel Matip missed out with a knock.

Matip was the only new injury concern as Jurgen Klopp revealed the latest on his squad’s fitness earlier on Tuesday, with the centre-back joining Alisson and Xherdan Shaqiri as absentees.

The Reds will, therefore, retain a strong side for their second game of Group E in the Champions League, as they take on the champions of the Austrian Bundesliga.

Sadio Mane was back after appearing to miss training on Monday, while Klopp drafted in Sepp van den Berg, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, who could still feature for the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League.

Joe Gomez is the player most likely to come into the side from Saturday’s 1-0 win at Sheffield United, but Klopp could consider both Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita for midfield roles.

Roberto Firmino (28) and Alisson (27) will both celebrate their birthdays on Wednesday, and the No. 9 will be aiming to celebrate with his fourth goal of the season and three points.

And after a disappointing afternoon for him and Mane in front of goal at Bramall Lane, Mohamed Salah can push for a return to the scoresheet as he takes up his usual role on the right.

Klopp’s assistant, Pepijn Lijnders, led an energetic session in front of the cameras, with the first-team staff also joined by new addition Vitor Matos.

Matos reported for his first day in Lijnders’ old position as elite development coach, and stood alongside Peter Krawietz to assess the likes of Van den Berg, Jones, Elliott and Rhian Brewster.

Meanwhile, John Achterberg put a separate group through their paces as Caoimhin Kelleher and Andy Lonergan helped support Adrian, who keeps his place as first-choice goalkeeper.

Alisson is set to take over on his return from injury, but the medical staff are remaining cautious over his recovery, largely due to the form of his stand-in.

Liverpool kept a rare clean sheet for the campaign on Saturday afternoon, and after a 2-0 loss to Napoli last time out in the Champions League, the target will be another shutout against Salzburg.

It could prove a difficult task given the form of Jesse Marsch’s side, but in strong form and good health, the Reds should be seen as heavy favourites.