9 hours ago
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Liverpool could have an almost fully fit squad for Sunday’s Premier League clash against Arsenal, although there is uncertainty surrounding the fitness of two players.
The Reds have yet to select its strongest XI this season due to a variety of absentees, but there is only one guaranteed for the visit of Arsenal, with Jeremie Frimpong ruled out until after the September international break.
The full-back, who signed from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, sustained a hamstring issue in the first week of the season which kept him out of the win over Newcastle United on Monday and will again deny him the chance to play against Arsenal.
It’s hoped Conor Bradley could come in to start at right-back with Frimpong out, but the Northern Irishman has also had his own injury issues this campaign.
Bradley picked up a knock in pre-season and only returned to the fold at St James’ Park on Monday when he came off the bench for the final 10 minutes.
Arne Slot confirmed in Friday’s press conference that the defender has trained all week, but whether he is yet able to start is unclear. If not, it’s likely Dominik Szoboszlai will continue in that role.
Meanwhile, Slot will hope Alexis Mac Allister is available to return in midfield. The Argentinian picked up a minor injury last week which kept him out of the Newcastle match, but he has also trained this week.
Slot had hinted ahead of the trip to the north-east that he would partner Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch together in midfield, a combination which proved so effective last season but has not been seen so far in 2025/26.
If Mac Allister is not available, Slot could well stick with Curtis Jones in the middle.
The Liverpool head coach confirmed there were no fresh injuries sustained after the Newcastle game and added that Virgil van Dijk was fine following the nasty challenge from Anthony Gordon on Monday.
As for the Gunners, they have suffered a spate of injuries since the new campaign got under way. Bukayo Saka has been ruled out of Sunday’s game, along with Kai Havertz, while Ben White, Christian Norgaard and Leandro Trossard are doubts.
Martin Odegaard was named in the Norway squad for the upcoming international break, leading to hopes from Arsenal fans that he may have recovered from the shoulder injury he sustained last week, but Mikel Arteta gave a more pessimistic outlook when speaking ahead of the match.
“We don’t know yet. He hasn’t trained yet and, if he does, it will be tomorrow. Let’s see,” the Arsenal boss said on Friday.
“He is doing everything he can, we are doing everything that we can to make himself available - but we will have to wait and see tomorrow.
“There is an injury there, but hopefully if everything goes well, he can cope with it. But we don’t know yet.”
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