MatchLiverpool v Bayer Leverkusen: Champions League team news
Ibrahima Konate is available for selection for the Reds having emerged unscathed from a knock to the arm that forced him off at half-time against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.
“Yeah, he is available to play,” head coach Arne Slot told the media of the defender during his press conference on Monday afternoon.
“And I think also completely recovered, so there is no issue for him to not play because of what he had. Then it is up to me to make the decision if he plays or not. But he is in a good place.”
Slot did not mention any other fresh fitness news; however, Alisson Becker, Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota have already been ruled out until after the November international break and Harvey Elliott has yet to rejoin team training.
Konate and Alexis Mac Allister are a yellow card away from a one-match suspension in the Champions League.
“If you play against strong teams, which Leverkusen is one of them, Liverpool as well also though, you need to be good in both sides,” said Slot.
“Unfortunately, we were poor in the first half [against Brighton] on both hands. We were poor with the ball – not poor, we were not as good with the ball, and we were quite poor without the ball against Brighton, which is a team that can play out from the back really good as well.
“That shows us that we need a performance like the second half because Leverkusen, in my opinion, before we play them is at least equal to Brighton when they have the ball.
“So, we need a much better performance than the first half and we need an equal performance like the second half.”
Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso makes his first return to Anfield as an opponent since his five-year spell in the Liverpool midfield ended in 2005.
The Spaniard’s squad is missing Amine Adli, Jeanuel Belocian and Nordi Mukiele due to injuries.
Attacker Martin Terrier, meanwhile, was part of the Bundesliga outfit’s training session before their flight to Merseyside, after not being involved in the previous two games.
Having switched from three to four at the back for Leverkusen’s last Champions League outing – a 1-1 draw at Brest – Alonso was asked about his tactical approach at his pre-match press conference.
“[It’s] mainly [about] our team, our players and what we need for the game,” he replied. “We have a wider squad and other players that are on the boat, they feel that they can be part of that – they need to feel that. They have to be ready.
“And depending on the moment or the tactical approach we’ll have, I choose. We choose. We work and we try to prepare things, but always with many of the same principles – it doesn’t matter the system, the game is fluid.
“You have to have movement, you need to understand the moments as well because you can, here, play 70 great minutes but in 20 minutes it’s gone. So you need to prepare well mentally, emotionally because that might happen and we need to be ready for that.”
Last match
Liverpool 2-1 Brighton (November 2): Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.
Leverkusen 0-0 Stuttgart (November 1): Hradecky, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie, Mukiele, Andrich, Xhaka, Grimaldo, Frimpong, Wirtz, Boniface.