Manager Arne Slott has hinted that Alisson Becker may still be sidelined for some time, with Giorgi Mamadashvili expected to take his place in next week’s games against Manchester City and PSG. The Brazilian goalkeeper was withdrawn from his country’s national team during the international break and now faces another long period of absence. The 33-year-old has missed 50 games over the past three seasons due to hamstring issues.
“He won’t even play in the PSG game, he’ll be out for a little while longer,” Slott revealed at his pre-match press conference ahead of his visit to the Etihad Stadium. “Towards the end of the season, we expect him to be healthy.” Elsewhere, Jeremy Frimpong is back available and Alexander Isak is also close to returning. If he does feature in the matchday squad this Saturday, it will only be from the bench.
“Jeremy has been training with us and seems to be OK, but he was one of the players I looked at at Brighton,” Slott said. This hinted at the difficulties he faced in making a quick turnaround after midweek’s win over Galatasaray.
On the possibility of Isak playing against City, he added: “It’s a difficult game because we don’t play a ‘normal’ game. We could go into extra time and if he only plays 10 minutes then it will be difficult.”
“If we have the players, of course we can take him out again, but maybe tomorrow it will be a few minutes, but today we will see. There are two sessions left and 100 days left. It makes no sense to start him tomorrow.”
Following the games against Manchester City and PSG, Liverpool have a crucial match against Fulham at Anfield that could decide a top-five finish and Champions League qualification.
Earlier this week, Slott told club media he was “excited” when asked about such an important time. “Getting into games like this is what we’ve been working on all season.
“Obviously we played against the toughest opponents you can face in the FA Cup and the Champions League, but when you get to the quarter-finals you always know it’s a team you can play against.
“It’s exciting for us. I think it’s a challenge for them too to play against Liverpool. As you know, last season we played Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 and now we’re in the quarter-finals and both games were fun to watch.”
“I looked back at them and they both liked the game at Anfield a bit better than the game in Paris, but they won in Paris and lost at Anfield.
“But (we’re) really looking forward to it. We’ve shown many times this season that we can be a very good team.”
“Unfortunately this season we have looked vulnerable a few times and we have to give our best, as we have so many times this season.
“But that’s definitely something we need to do again in the coming weeks to do what we want to do, which is continue our run in both cups and qualify for next season’s Champions League.”
