MatchArsenal v Liverpool: FA Cup team news
Jürgen Klopp must make at least three changes to his starting line-up for Liverpool’s Emirates FA Cup third-round tie against Arsenal.
Wataru Endo, Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai are unavailable for Sunday’s game at Emirates Stadium, with Endo and Salah having departed for international duty and Szoboszlai nursing a hamstring injury sustained during the 4-2 win over Newcastle United on Monday.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning, Klopp confirmed the Reds’ No.8 will miss a minimum of two fixtures – the visit to Arsenal and next Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg versus Fulham.
“I can confirm it’s not a potential injury – it is an injury. Muscle, hamstring. But now we have to see,” the manager said of Szoboszlai.
“Dom is very positive, doesn’t have a lot of pain but we have to wait a little bit. So, no chance obviously for Sunday, not for Wednesday. No.
“And then we will see, after that hopefully he might be back but we don’t know.”
Klopp otherwise reported no new injuries within his squad. Thiago Alcantara, Stefan Bajcetic, Ben Doak, Joel Matip, Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas are long-term absentees.
“Besides that [Szoboszlai’s injury], nothing else really happened,” he added.
“The rest were yesterday available and fully fit, so let’s hope that’s today the same and we will have to make a choice.”
Owen Beck, recently recalled from a successful loan spell with Dundee, is suspended for the tie.
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Watch on YouTubeKlopp was asked whether he sees cup competitions as an opportunity to rotate his squad and replied: “I don’t know exactly but I think we rotated a lot in the first part of the season... But actually, I am not sure if Arsenal is now a game to rotate.
“I sit here, I don’t know 100 per cent if we have the opportunity to do so, to be honest, whatever it means. It’s not that we have the biggest squad available. We have players available and we can line a team up, 100 per cent, a good team. And I think that’s what we will do. If that looks then afterwards like rotation, I don’t know yet. We have six days between the games, 1st and 7th, that’s long and there’s no need for rotation.
“You can say, OK, three days later we have another game. Yes, that’s true, but we can think about that game when the other game is over. That’s what we do usually. And both have the same importance, there is nothing in between.
“We want to win these games, we want to go to the [Carabao Cup] final but we want to go to the next round [of the FA Cup] as well. But it is probably the most tricky draw you can get and it will be a tough one. The game here was a good one and let’s hope we can show a good performance there as well.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko will be assessed ahead of the tie after a calf issue ruled him out of the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage last Sunday.
“He is progressing well. We have another training session tomorrow and we will evaluate whether he is available or not to play and start the game,” Mikel Arteta told the media on Friday.
Mohamed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu are unavailable – the duo have joined Salah and Endo with Egypt and Japan respectively – while Fabio Vieira, Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber are sidelined through injury.
On which goalkeeper he will select, Arteta stated: “We will see on Sunday, I cannot give you the line-up right now.”
Last match
Fulham 2-1 Arsenal (December 31): Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Kiwior, Rice, Odegaard, Havertz, Saka, Martinelli, Nketiah.
Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle United (January 1): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Gomez, Endo, Szoboszlai, Jones, Salah, Diaz, Nunez.
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