Arne Slot put his players through their paces on the eve of their clash against AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday night, a match which could bring up a number of milestones.
After a season out of the competition, the Reds return to the premier European competition against a familiar foe in Milan.
It will be Slot’s first time leading the team out in the Champions League and he is not short on options for his matchday squad after 24 players trained at the AXA on Monday afternoon.
Harvey Elliott was the only absentee as, thankfully, the weekend’s result was not compounded by any fitness issues.
And talking about fitness, the medicine ball – which has been prominent since Slot and Ruben Peeters came in – made for quite the selection of images as we got a look inside training.
Alexis Mac Allister had a little smile before hoisting the 4kg ball into the air, but things were a little more strained for Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai…
And we cannot be surprised by Mo Salah looking as chilled as ever, it must have felt like a feather to him.
Slot kept a close eye on his players throughout, hopefully thinking about the changes he is to make to his starting XI.
Federico Chiesa is unlikely to be among them, but he continues to train strongly and could be named in the squad for the first time.
There were no academy players involved in the session, including Amara Nallo, Trey Nyoni and Tom Hill despite the trio being named in the 24-man Champions League squad.
With the Reds back in the UEFA Youth League, Nallo and Nyoni are expected to feature for the U19s on Tuesday afternoon against Milan.
Tyler Morton is one who will be hoping for game time in the near future having remained at the club at the end of the transfer window, the midfielder has yet to be involved in a matchday squad.
It will be interesting to see if Andy Robertson starts again at left-back or if Kostas Tsimikas comes into the team for his first start this season.
Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, is in line for his 50th game for Liverpool in Europe – but he is not the only one sitting on a potential milestone.
Szoboszlai could play his 50th game for the Reds, Nunez his 100th and Diogo Jota could reach 150 for the club.
The team will soon travel to Italy, and there Slot will front the press for his pre-match press conference (6.30pm BST), where he is expected to be joined by a member of his squad.
The trip to Milan is the first of eight games for Liverpool in the new-look Champions League format.
Liverpool squad in pre-Milan training
Goalkeepers: Alisson, Kelleher, Jaros, Davies
Defenders: Konate, Van Dijk, Quansah, Gomez, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Tsimikas, Bradley
Midfielders: Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones, Mac Allister, Endo, Morton
Forwards: Salah, Chiesa, Jota, Diaz, Nunez, Gakpo
Fan Comments