Liverpool will resume their campaign after the World Cup with a trip to Man City in the Carabao Cup, with Jurgen Klopp likely to have a strong squad.
This weekend brings the last competitive game before a five-and-a-half-week break for Liverpool, as they host Southampton in the Premier League.
After that, seven players will head to the World Cup and, after a short holiday, the rest of the squad will head to Dubai for a warm-weather training camp.
There, Klopp will look to build a base for the rest of the season, with friendlies against AC Milan and Lyon, before returning to take on Man City in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Having made 11 changes for the third-round victory over Derby on Wednesday night, the manager could have hoped to field a less experienced side in the next round, too.
But with Man City the opposition, Klopp could instead turn to more key names – particularly as they will have not been in competitive action for over a month.
Mohamed Salah, Thiago, Andy Robertson, Roberto Firmino, Harvey Elliott and Joe Gomez are among those set to be available for the tie, while Luis Diaz, Joel Matip and Naby Keita are expected back from injury by then.
James Milner, Curtis Jones, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kostas Tsimikas, Caoimhin Kelleher, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsay are among the other names who could be in the squad.
They will likely be supplemented by a number of academy players, too, namely Stefan Bajcetic, Bobby Clark, Melkamu Frauendorf, Jarell Quansah, Luke Chambers and Ben Doak.
Unlike Liverpool, the majority of the Man City squad are set for the World Cup, with 15 first-team players already called up.
Striker Julian Alvarez could join them when the Argentina selection is confirmed, leaving only four senior players not heading to Qatar.
Erling Haaland and Riyad Mahrez were not eligible after Norway and Algeria failed to qualify, and are likely to start in the mid-December tie along with goalkeeper Stefan Ortega and Sergio Gomez.
Pep Guardiola’s squad could instead be comprised mainly of young players, such as Cole Palmer, Rico Lewis and Josh Wilson-Esbrand, and perhaps even 37-year-old Scott Carson.
Things could change, of course, depending on which nations progress beyond the group stage of the World Cup – which runs from November 20 to December 2.
Players who are knocked out before the round of 16 could, in theory, rejoin their clubs in time for the Carabao Cup clash, and perhaps even those who exit the competition at that stage.
Either way, Liverpool stand to have a strong squad when they head to the Etihad in the week commencing December 19.
Liverpool players not at the World Cup
Goalkeepers: Kelleher, Adrian, Davies
Defenders: Matip, Gomez, Phillips, Quansah, Robertson, Tsimikas, Ramsay, Chambers
Midfielders: Thiago, Elliott, Milner, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Keita, Bajcetic, Cain
Forwards: Salah, Firmino, Diaz, Carvalho, Clark, Frauendorf, Stewart, Doak
Injured: Arthur, Jota
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