Liverpool’s next game is going to be a tough one we battle Sevilla for top-spot in the Champions League group. The travelling party has one major omission that could be a problem for us.
Joel Matip has been left out of the squad travelling to Spain as he is still recovering from an injury. The Cameroon defender did not play for us during our 3-0 win over Southampton at the weekend.
The former Schalke man has been our most consistent central defender but without him in the starting XI, we didn’t fare all that badly against the Saints, even though the away side were rather toothless in the attack.
The Liverpool Echo reports that Matip has remained at Melwood to work on his thigh problem and with us playing against Chelsea at the weekend, we need all the help we can get.
There is some good news for us though, as Adam Lallana is set to return to the matchday squad after he didn’t take part in the win over the Saints. The Englishman has not played a single competitive minute for us this season after injuring his thigh but his timely return should help us deal with the very heavy schedule during the Christmas period.
Sevilla Will Not Be An Easy Side To Face
Even with Dejan Lovren making a return to the first-team, there are fears that Sevilla will score against us and make it tough for us to get anything out of the game. The reverse fixture at Anfield was a topsy-turvy affair, with us going behind and taking the lead before the La Liga side got an equaliser, thanks to some poor defending from us.
Joe Gomez could be in line to return to the back four and play in place of Ragnar Klavan. It will also be interesting to see how Klopp deals with Lallana’s return, as the Englishman would require some time on the pitch to get rid of his rustiness.
What we do have going for us is our attack, with Mohamed Salah scoring goals for fun. His brace against Southampton took his tally to 9 in the Premier League and 14 in all competitions for us since the start of the season.
We would require another brilliant performance from the former Basel man and if he does get a goal or two, progress into the knockout round of the Champions League will be a guarantee.
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