Alisson will miss Liverpool’s Carabao Cup third round tie against West Ham United and is a doubt for the Premier League fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers through injury, head coach Arne Slot has said.
Caoimhin Kelleher, who stepped in for Saturday’s 3-0 victory over Bournemouth, will continue to deputise for the 31-year-old Brazil international for Wednesday’s clash against Julen Lopetegui’s side and potentially for Saturday’s match at Wolves.
Alisson is recovering after suffering a minor muscle problem but Slot is hoping to have him back for the trip to Molineaux, while 25-year-old Kelleher, a Republic of Ireland international, has played in Liverpool’s domestic cup matches in recent seasons in his role as back-up goalkeeper to the Brazilian.
“It is sure that Caoimhin will be in goal tomorrow,” said Slot during the pre-match press conference.
“Alisson is getting there but I think this game is just a bit too early. We are looking at the weekend against Wolves but it is going to be tight so let’s see if he manages to be there but he will not be there tomorrow.”
The match offers Slot an opportunity to rotate his side and give game time to some of the players who have not seen much action so far this season including summer signing Federico Chiesa.
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After arriving at the end of last month, work has been ongoing to build up his fitness. He has made two substitute appearances against AC Milan and Bournemouth and the next step is starting games.
“I don’t think he’s able to play 90 minutes,” Slot said. “He only played 25 (minutes) now as a maximum in the last few months. I don’t think he played any friendlies with Juventus but he is able to start in our opinion and if he will let’s see. There are many options that we have. I don’t think he’s able to play 90 (minutes) at the level we are playing tomorrow against a strong West Ham team.
“I want all of them to play (the squad). Unfortunately, that’s not possible, because you can only name eleven but we will play with the best possible team. That can sometimes also mean that other players that have played a lot are maybe a bit more tired so that means, because the differences are so small, that I will select different players for this game. They will come in today and we will look at how fit they are and then I will make a decision on who is going to start.”
17-year-old Trey Nyoni also has a “fair chance” of being involved in the matchday squad after his impressive pre-season, Slot has said.
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Liverpool are the holders of the Carabao Cup after their dramatic victory over Chelsea in the final last year with Virgil van Dijk scoring a 118th-minute winner and former manager Jurgen Klopp having to use a number of young players. It is something Slot would like to repeat.
“It’s very important because it’s the next one, the next game we play,” he said. “That’s always the most important one and I know the history of this cup, I know what happened last year and I know how special winning a cup can be.
“We are aware of the fact that we won it last season. We are the holders of that trophy so we have to protect it. We are going to give everything to win it again.
“We are far away from that because it’s only the first game and a lot has to be played. We have a difficult tie against West Ham, fortunately, at home but it’s a game to look forward to and an important one.”
(Justin Setterfield – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
