Jurgen Klopp welcomes Trent Alexander-Arnold back into the Liverpool squad at Tottenham but saw young midfielder Stefan Bajcetic injured in the setback.
Trent Alexander-Arnold will return to Liverpool after being sidelined, but Jurgen Klopp will once again be without Stefan Bajcetic.
Alexander-Arnold has not featured in recent games but stopped by Kirby’s training ground ahead of their trip to Tottenham on Saturday. Klopp is confident that the right-back will be involved in the match, bringing his usual attacking style.
But Bajcetic, who has been pushing for minutes in the middle of the park, has been hit by a calf problem that has ruled him out and the Reds boss is taking a cautious approach to avoid a long spell on the Spaniard’s side, even if he is also without Thiago.
Regarding the availability of his players, Klopp said: “Trent trained as usual yesterday, he will train as usual today. We have to make a decision. He seems to be on the team and playing. Stefan had a small, small setback. The problem with Stefan is that I imagine everyone wants to see him play more – me (including) – but we have to be very careful. And now there’s this little, little, little calf problem. That’s what it’s like when you’re gone for six months.
“And we try to do our best to get him up to speed without pushing him. We make him a very specific plan, but at the end of the day, of course, it’s disappointing for him and for us that he got another one. So we have to He can work almost about everything else but not playing. That’s it, I’d say. Thiago is still out, Conor (Bradley) is still out. I think that’s it.”
Liverpool have won every match since Chelsea were held to a draw on the opening weekend of the season. They have already secured an emphatic win away to rivals Newcastle, which will see them keep pace with leaders and defending champions Manchester City.
A trip to Tottenham presents them with another big challenge after the north Londoners underlined their quality by coming from behind twice to leave Arsenal with a point. Liverpool’s record against Tottenham makes for pleasant reading, but Klopp expects a harsh assessment of his team.
Dominik Szoboszlai returns to the starting line-up after scoring a memorable goal in Liverpool’s Carabao Cup win in midweek. “I’m impressed, the boy is impressive, really intelligent, a good boy who is close to everyone,” Klopp said of the Hungarian. “He was so happy to come here, which was great to see how much it meant to him. When you’re in that mood, it’s a good situation to play your best football.”
