Liverpool Thiago Alcantara
Thiago Alcantara Liverpool

Liverpool head to the Amex Stadium this weekend to face Brighton and Hove Albion and Jurgen Klopp looks set to miss some very important players.

The Reds do not have any fresh injuries but their manager has admitted that there is a fresh COVID outbreak in the camp meaning several of the first-team players are going to be unavailable on Saturday.

The manager said, as per Liverpool Echo: “We had a few little things but so far nobody is out of training[in terms of injuries]. On top of that, Covid is not over.

“These kinds of things we have as well. Or had, we will see. We try everything to avoid this but it’s not really possible.

“Players and staff who have had it now with no symptoms. That’s good but they can’t be involved. We will see. They come later today.

“We train a little bit later and they are not here yet. So far I haven’t had any news injury-wise. They should all be ready.”

Van Dijk and Konate’s absence to be a major issue for Liverpool?

Thiago’s absence should be well dealt with because Henderson and Naby Keita will start alongside Fabinho in midfield. Hendo and Keita both came off the bench in midweek but since Jones was poor vs Inter and Thiago has not been available in training, Henderson and Keita are more or less guaranteed starters.

But if Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate are missing then it’s a major cause of concern for the Liverpool boss because Joe Gomez is the next best alternative alongside Matip and the 24-year-old has hardly had any game time this season.

Gomez has played only 106 minutes of Premier League football this season and since Brighton play a very attack-minded brand of football, a pairing of Gomez and Joel Matip could be under a fair bit of trouble on Saturday.

Whenever Van Dijk’s been absent, Liverpool have not been at their best and since Brighton’s recent record vs the Reds has also been good there’s every chance that Klopp’s side stumbles on Saturday.

Read: 4-3-3 Liverpool’s predicted line up vs Brighton & Hove Albion.