Liverpool are preparing for a Tuesday night outing at Anfield, while the rest of the world rumbles on about transfer happenings a year away.
Trio out but Thiago could return vs Hammers
The Reds won’t have Thiago Alcantara back on the pitch against FC Midtjylland tomorrow night, but it won’t be long now.
Far from fears he could miss out for the long-term after Richarlison behaved like a moron, our new No. 6 could be back for the West Ham game at the weekend – meaning he’ll have sat out three fixtures since the derby.
The Reds are taking it easy with him, as we will need him for many more games ahead this term, but it has been stop-start for the former Bayern midfielder so far.
Elsewhere, Klopp has also confirmed that Naby Keita and Joel Matip still won’t be fit to face the Danes, either.
There’s no real comeback date set for them, but a “day by day” approach is the best the boss will offer in terms of a timescale – as he said recently, even a small two-week absence can see players miss four or five games at present, so congested is the schedule.
Who wants to start #Mbappe2021 trending…
Next summer we could well sign a big-money player, given we didn’t exactly lash out hundreds of millions this past summer, we’ll recoup plenty through sales and (hopefully) a mega-drain on finances through the global pandemic might just be coming to some sort of end.
Along the same lines of far-fetched hopes and dreams of getting fans back into stadiums and funds back into club coffers, French media are reiterating the intentions of Liverpool to sign Kylian Mbappe next year.
L’Equipe say PSG sporting director Leonardo is working on a renewal deal and knows that a failure to do so could cost him his job – but Mbappe’s entourage want assurances about the club project and player investment.
As the Ligue 1 side are struggling to comply with FFP, there’s limited amounts they can invest right now – which could see Mbappe opting to depart and the Reds choosing to swoop.
To make it a bit more dramatic, Liverpool are apparently “sharpening their weapons” to help sway the striker into picking Anfield, whatever that’s supposed to mean.
Champions League and defensive disorder
Today we’re welcoming our Danish opponents and talking about a distinct lack of Van Dijk.
- Even without the No. 4, Klopp says he expects “not too far from perfection” once the defence build new understandings and partnerships
- Alisson has explained precisely how he returned so quickly after injury, having told the docs “no” when they said six weeks out
- And Jurgen expects the Reds to go deep in Europe this year – and you can see his entire press conference here as usual
Quickfire LFC news
- Check out Harvey Elliott‘s first professional goal in our LFC Loan Watch (TIA)
- Fabinho says Thiago is “exceptional” on the ball and gives the team something it lacked last year (LFC)
- Ex-Red Mark Lawrenson has joined the calls for the Reds to sign “ready-made” Conor Coady in January (Star)
- And the Reds are set to switch to the new training complex at Kirkby next month in the international break (TIA)
Around the Prem
- Paul Pogba is planning on legal action against the predictably and constantly lying rags in the media claiming he was going to retire from internationals (BBC)
- Man City want either Poch or Nagelsmann to replace Pep if he leaves next summer, with Guardiola in his last year and still no closer to European success (Mail)
- Spurs and Everton want Arak Milik in January after he was left out of Napoli’s squad, but let’s be honest, no they don’t (Calciomercato)
- And ex-Red Jonjo Shelvey needs a hernia op, which is what happens when you demand your midfielders sit so deep they’re next to your goalkeeper then expect them to pass and run 70 yards ever time (Chronicle)
Stupid comment of the day
Carlo Ancelotti somehow reckons Lucas Digne’s weekend red card – where he stood on the calf and heel of a player running away from him perfectly deliberately – was a “joke” and tried to suggest it was basically Liverpool’s fault for making a big deal about Richarlison and Pickford last week.
Carlo, you’re a fine man and manager, but give over that sh*te. Your players are still reckless, stupid thugs.
Tweet of the day
Love this guy.
? Incredible last-ditch clearance by Fabinho! @LFC | #MondayMotivation | #UCL pic.twitter.com/PFmrorjOEW
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 26, 2020
What we’re reading
Daniel Sturridge is given a fierce, and correct, protection of his character and personality by Micah Richards for BBC Sport.
And if you want to know more about our Tuesday night opponents, the Independent‘s Miguel Delaney has the story of them trying to find the advantage on their own level in the same way the Reds do on ours.
Worth watching tonight
Milan vs Roma should be a belter at 7:45. Burnley vs Spurs 15 minutes later if you want to find an answer to the old “immovable object vs unstoppable force” question – Spurs have a zillion goals in the last three games and Burnley are dead boring.
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