Liverpool have no time to dwell on dropped points in the derby as the Champions League takes centre stage midweek amid a host of injury concerns.
Fallout to Van Dijk injury
The long-term worry at the back is clear, after the news that Virgil van Dijk could miss up to nine months with his ACL injury.
But the repercussions are wider-ranging than just a timeframe of the Dutchman’s absence.
Question marks remain over the use and application of VAR, with the Reds asking for clarification on how certain decisions were made against Everton.
And many Reds have been angered by the news that Jordan Pickford will face no punishment at all for his terrible challenge which leaves our No. 4 sidelined.
The Liverpool squad have given big Virgil their backing, however, sending him messages to say they’ll be with him “every step of the way” and encouraging him to return strong.
Keita cleared to play after Covid-19 test
Expect Naby Keita to be back in the squad for the Ajax game in midweek.
The No. 8 missed out on the derby due to a positive test while on international duty, but there was confusion and a lack of clarity about whether it was a false one or not.
Ultimately, he has tested negative this time around back on Merseyside and Klopp says he’s back under consideration and looking sharp in training ahead of our Champions League game on Wednesday.
Klopp also gave updates, which you can see on the above link, on the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alisson Becker and Thiago Alcantara.
The good and the bad
Half-full or half-empty glass for Reds tonight? It’s mixed news on the fitness front, Van Dijk aside…
- Joel Matip is a doubt for midweek after undergoing a scan, leaving the Reds short of centre-backs
- Thiago‘s injury is nowhere near as bad as first feared though, and Alisson could be back far earlier than expected too
- And for more positivity, you can watch all 100 of Mo Salah’s goals for Liverpool right here
Quickfire LFC news
- Ajax got ready for the Reds with a 5-1 win at the weekend (TIA)
- Carra says the title race is wide open after Virgil’s injury (MEN)
- Abel Xavier has spoken about transferring from Everton to Liverpool and why things didn’t work out (FFT)
- And former ref Dermot Gallagher says Pickford should have been sent-off and it was “human error” to not do so (Sky)
Around the Prem
- Newcastle fans have raised £20k for charity in a protest against Pay Per View matches, which is utterly brilliant (BBC)
- An American consortium remains in talks to buy Burnley, so maybe they’ll splash out the extra £3m on Harry Wilson in January (Mail)
- And United are going to embarass themselves again in going for Sancho in January, as well as a Portuguese teen Luis Gomes (Mirror)
Stupid bitter of the day
Just Everton left-back Lucas Digne here, joking around about trying to stop Richarlison getting sent-off after he nearly broke Thiago‘s leg at the weekend.
Tweet of the day
He's scored from 0, 10, 20, 30 and even 40 yards. He's scored from almost 0 ,45, 90 and 135 degrees on the pitch.
He's ran down the wing to score. He's chipped & juggled around the keeper. He's scored VITAL goals. He's scored hat-tricks. HE. IS. THE. KING. ?
Only one Mo Salah. pic.twitter.com/bu7PfYYdai
— Hardik Nagar (@hardikreds17) October 19, 2020
Worth watching tonight
Monday night games for Leeds vs Wolves. 8pm kick-off, enjoy.
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