Liverpool opened their Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw against Fulham and next up, they will take on Crystal Palace.
This is Liverpool’s first home game of the season and even though Palace lost their first game of the season to Arsenal, Vieira’s men play a brand of football which can cause the Reds several problems on Monday night.
The odds are heavily stacked against Palace because Liverpool have won their last 12 matches against Crystal Palace in all competitions but going into gameweek two, Jurgen Klopp has a series of injury concerns.
The manager is expected to miss a host of first-team regulars on Monday and this could seriously affect his selection and in turn, help the away side pick up something from this tie.
Liverpool’s team news & injuries vs Palace:
Ibrahima Konate is set to miss out with a knee injury and this is a big headache for the manager because, with Konate out, he only has Van Dijk and Joel Matip as his two primary centre-back options.
The other cause of concern for the manager will be the hamstring injury to Thiago which he picked up last weekend. Klopp has admitted that the injury is not looking good and if rumours are to be believed then the midfielder is likely to be sidelined for six weeks.
“Thiago is good, but the injury is not good,” he said(h/t This is Anfield). “The timeframe? I read four to six weeks! I would prefer four, we’ll see…”
Thankfully, Naby Keita will return to full fitness and will be available for selection on Monday. With Thiago out of action, Keita will come straight into the first XI.
“Naby will be back for Monday,” the manager said. “Kostas will train today for the first time as well so might be back.”
Diogo Jota is out with a thigh injury and as per the latest reports, he is scheduled to return sometime at the end of this month. However, the Liverpool boss won’t be too worried about this particular injury because the likes of Darwin Nunez and Firmino will start ahead of him anyways.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Caoimhin Kelleher and Curtis Jones are the other absentees.
Liverpool predicted line up vs Crystal Palace:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-3-3): Alisson; Robertson, Van Dijk, Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold; Fabinho, Naby Keita, Henderson; Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Mo Salah.
