Kostas Tsimikas has really upped his game under Liverpool’s new manager but he is not going to be a part of the matchday squad for the Real Madrid game on Wednesday night.
Real Madrid come to town to take on an in-form Liverpool team and ahead of this key encounter, Arne Slot has been dealing with several injury issues. Now, to add to that long list, Kostas Tsimikas has picked up an injury in training and will be on the sidelines for some time.
Speaking to the press, the Liverpool manager has said: “Kostas is not there – he is having an injury as well, so it’s quite a list for us as well.”
Tsimikas has given a tough competition to Andy Robertson this season and in recent weeks, it seemed like Arne Slot is preferring Tsimikas a little bit more.
However, now that the 28-year-old is out injured, Andy Robertson will hold onto his starting lineup from the Southampton game.
The Scottish international missed most of pre-season due to an ankle ligament injury which has contributed to him making a difficult start to the season. He has started in 10 out of the 11 Premier League games this season but the left-back is yet to make a goal contribution for Liverpool.
Despite his slight dip in form, having Robertson at left back isn’t bad at all because the Scot is still one of the best left-backs in England. Also, Rodrygo is out injured and Valverde will be playing in midfield due to Tchouameni’s absence.
This basically means young Arda Guler will play as the right-winger for Real Madrid and tackling him should not be too big an ask for Robertson, someone who has played more than 300 games for Liverpool
Tsimikas isn’t the only major absentee for midweek because Alisson, Diogo Jota, Trent and Chiesa are all unavailable. Harvey Elliott is back in the squad but the manager has deemed him not match fit.
