FA CupLiverpool v Cardiff City team news
Jürgen Klopp has multiple selection decisions to consider as he chooses a team to face Cardiff City in the Emirates FA Cup fourth round.
January signing Luis Diaz has now arrived on Merseyside and conducted an individual training session on Friday afternoon.
And there is a possibility the No.23 could be involved at some point in Sunday’s Anfield meeting with Championship side Cardiff.
“If he would have been here yesterday [Thursday] and could have trained a little bit, I would have considered it definitely. Now, I don’t know,” said Klopp.
“Let’s have a look. I wouldn’t say no because I would be excited as well. A few minutes in a sold-out Anfield is nice. But let’s see.”
Harvey Elliott will definitely be named in the Reds squad for the first time since September, with a judgement to be made on how long the 18-year-old plays on his return to match action.
“He is in a good place and is in full team training now, but we have to see what is right for him – is it right to start [or] is it right to come on?” explained the manager.
Thiago Alcantara has now fully recovered from a hip injury, though recently suffered from a chest infection and will be assessed ahead of the game.
Divock Origi returned to full team training on Thursday; “Looked very good, but it was the first time full team training after a while, so from here we go as well,” said Klopp.
Naby Keita is back at the club after Africa Cup of Nations duty, while Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are still in Cameroon and preparing to face off in Sunday’s tournament final.
Inside Training: Friday's pre-Cardiff session
Cardiff manager Steve Morison also has selection issues to ponder for the trip to Anfield.
Their captain, Sean Morrison, and Alfie Doughty – who is also cup-tied – are both awaiting diagnoses after sustaining injuries during the Bluebirds’ midweek win at Barnsley.
“Alfie was having a scan at one but looking at the picture of it, it’s not pretty. Touch wood, but I’m not holding out much hope. Sean’s got a scan tonight,” Morison told the media on Thursday afternoon.
Joe Ralls missed Wednesday’s victory due to a knock and Curtis Nelson has also recently been sidelined, with Morison unsure of their availability at the time of his press conference.
Uche Ikpeazu and Cody Drameh are cup-tied, too. “I was going to make changes anyway, but they’re somewhat enforced anyway,” added Morison.
“Uche and Cody are both cup-tied so it’s a really good opportunity to reward some of the younger players that have been tasked with looking after this football club over the last six months and trying to get them away from the bottom of the table.
“Some of them may never get the chance to play again at Anfield and may get that extra urge off the back of it to say, ‘Actually, this is where I want to play all my games of football.’
“It will be a great day. One we’re looking forward to.”
Last match
Crystal Palace 1-3 Liverpool (January 23): Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Jones, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jota, Firmino.
Barnsley 0-1 Cardiff City (February 2): Smithies, Drameh, Ng, Morrison, McGuinness, Doughty, Wintle, Doyle, Vaulks, Hugill, Watters.
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