Team news ahead of Liverpool vs Napoli

Adam Lallana headlines the list of absentees for Liverpool’s penultimate pre-season game against Napoli in Dublin on Saturday evening.

Lallana will miss the game as a precaution after reporting soreness in his calf to the medical staff.

The same can be said for Marko Grujic, who has been advised to sit out the contest after suffering a slight hamstring injury.

Liverpool may fear that a more serious injury could prove a stumbling block in their efforts to finalise the Serb’s loan move to Cardiff City.

Also ruled out is defender Joel Matip, who has a ‘sore hip flexor’ and looks increasingly likely to miss the first game of the season against West Ham after a series of setbacks this summer.

The club have also confirmed that Danny Ings will not travel with the rest of the squad as he looks to secure a move away from Anfield.

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LEICESTER, ENGLAND – Saturday, September 23, 2017: Liverpool’s Danny Ings during the Football League Cup 3rd Round match between Leicester City and Liverpool at the King Power Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

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Elsewhere, the world’s most expensive goalkeeper Alisson Becker is likely to make his Liverpool debut before an audience of more than 50,000 at the Aviva Stadium.

Klopp stressed earlier this week that there was no reason to “waste time” with the Brazilian, who has been training with the squad in Evian this week.

Compatriot Roberto Firmino also returned to fold in France and might play a part against the Serie A side, but the match could come slightly too soon for him. The same can be said for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who only joined up with his team-mates on Tuesday.

Nathaniel Clyne should return to the team after leaving the US tour early for the birth of his son.

Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Ragnar Klavan and Nat Phillips could all get minutes at centre-back.

Smiles all round in Evian. pic.twitter.com/ZwzPRAsnv0

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 2, 2018

It is a key game, meanwhile, for Georginio Wijnaldum, who has seen his pre-season heavily disrupted by various injuries. The Dutchman could be handed a start against Carlo Ancelotti’s men as he looks to build his fitness.

Naby Keita should play after recovering from the neck problem which ruled him out of the games against Manchester City and Manchester United.

Two other new arrivals – Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri – have the opportunity to get some more valuable game-time under their belt.

In attack, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will hope to continue their impressive pre-season form, as will Daniel Sturridge after he returned to full training on Thursday.

Moves like Mane.

Ready for day three in Evian. pic.twitter.com/0l8WHdo1Vm

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 2, 2018

Klopp will ensure he maximises his players’ minutes across his two remaining friendlies.

“We will see who can start against Napoli,” he said. “Those who can’t start against Napoli will start against Torino. It will be a mix-up.”

The match kicks off at 18.00 on Saturday and will be available to watch live on LFCTV.

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Source: anfieldhq.com