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Liverpool is set to be without at least seven players for today’s game against Aston Villa, with Arne Slot’s side desperately hoping it can get back to winning ways at Anfield.
The Reds are on an awful run of form, having lost six of their last seven games in all competitions, a run which includes four straight Premier League defeats.
Having fallen seven points behind current leader Arsenal - a gap that could grow to 10 points before kick-off later - Liverpool can ill-afford any more slip-ups, with its season in danger of falling by the wayside even at this early stage.
Another defeat would really ramp up the pressure currently on Slot, who is already facing plenty of heat after his decision to play a significantly weakened squad in the Carabao Cup against Crystal Palace this week.
The Liverpool boss has been adamant that he had little choice, given the injuries his side is carrying at the moment, and the workload of having been in three competitions at the time.
The injury situation looks set to be eased a little today, with Slot confident that Ryan Gravenberch will be back available against Villa. The midfielder has been back in training after twisting his ankle against Manchester United, and could be in line to start at Anfield.
Alexander Isak and Curtis Jones though look set to miss out again, with Slot giving the pair little chance of featuring today.
"In the end phase of the injury, things can slow down a bit or go faster,” Slot said in his pre-match press conference on Friday.
"Let’s wait and see where they are. Ryan trained with us for the first time yesterday, will train with us today and then we will make the call if he can start. The other two (Isak and Jones) are 99.9 percent not in the squad on Saturday."
As well as Isak and Jones, Alisson Becker, Jeremie Frimpong and Giovanni Leoni all remain out.
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Alisson looks as though he could be closing in on a return soon, although today’s game will come too soon for him, while Frimpong looks likely to be out until at least next month with a hamstring injury. We won’t see Leoni in action until next year after he underwent surgery on his ACL.
As well as those senior options, Liverpool won’t be able to call upon Stefan Bajcetic, who is still recovering having been out since May with a hamstring problem.
Not only that, but academy defender Amara Nallo will be suspended today. The 18-year-old would have been unlikely to have been named in the squad in any case, but his red card against Palace on Wednesday rules out any possibility.
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