Liverpool are just days away from being back in action after a two-week break and Jurgen Klopp will have plenty of options up his sleeve as he oversees the Reds’ comeback.
Liverpool last played on January 23 and for most that will feel like a lifetime ago, but the wait is nearly over with the visit of Cardiff now looming.
The FA Cup tie represents a chance for Liverpool to get back into their rhythm with Premier League and Champions League games swiftly following before the League Cup final at month’s end.
And it presents somewhat of a different conundrum for Klopp as he balances players’ return from injury and blowing out the cobwebs before three league points are on the line.
So who is to be available for the manager?
Who can take part?
There will be three names that Reds will hope to see, those being Harvey Elliott, Thiago and Luis Diaz.
We will get to the latter in a moment, but it’s Elliott and Thiago that have seen the game signposted by Klopp as their time to return to the fold.
The 18-year-old played 60 minutes in an under-23s friendly arranged for his benefit during the break, scoring and assisting, to put him firmly into the mix for the XI alongside the Spaniard – if all goes as planned.
It’s then that Klopp will have reason to pause with this cup tie providing the ideal setting to get some of his regular senior figures back into the groove instead of turning to youth or those on the fringe.
This will see the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Naby Keita, Jordan Henderson, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino firmly in the selection window.
And with Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas, Conor Bradley, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Curtis Jones, Kaide Gordon and Takumi Minamino also available, there’s no shortage of options to find the right balance.
What a welcome luxury!
And who is to be considered questionable?
Liverpool’s new signing in Diaz sits more in the questionable category, as he will need time to settle as he will only leave the Colombian national team on Wednesday at the earliest.
The same potentially applies to Alisson and Fabinho on their return from featuring for Brazil, with the Reds able to safely turn to Caoimhin Kelleher and Tyler Morton for the cup tie.
Who will not be available?
You can definitely rule Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane out as they will both be in Cameroon either fighting for the Africa Cup of Nations title or in a third-place playoff.
The pair will have been at the tournament for its entirety and question marks remain over whether they are rushed back to face Leicester on February 10.
Divock Origi, on the other hand, will remain sidelined with a knee complaint with Klopp confirming prior to the break that he “will not be ready until after Cardiff.”
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