Ole reveals team news for Liverpool trip

Friday 15 January 2021 13:30

The Premier League leaders, Manchester United, go head-to-head with the current champions, Liverpool, at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Reds moved into top spot in the table with the 1-0 win at Burnley on Tuesday and take an unbeaten away record into the clash on Merseyside and the scene of our last loss on the road in the division a year ago.

Since then, Bruno Fernandes has been added to the ranks and the Portuguese star looks a certain starter at the weekend, after becoming the first player to win four Premier League Player of the Month awards in a single calendar year.

However, some of the manager's other selections look far from cut and dried.

Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic looked to pick up knocks at Turf Moor, while Victor Lindelof's back problem has kept him out of action. There are other undisclosed issues on the injury front, with full-back Brandon Williams, who played in this fixture last term, definitely unavailable.

The selection headache includes which formation to use and how the midfield will be formed, with a number of individuals in good form and pressing for a place.

“Well, I think we have as many injuries as them,” revealed Ole at his press conference. “That’s just how football is, you get injuries and that’s just part and parcel of the game.

“I’ll give everyone tomorrow as well to prove their fitness, to get a chance to go to that game. There are a couple of knocks that we got at Burnley that I’m not sure about. For us, form goes out the window when you play your rivals.

“I’m going to give everyone a chance, another day. Anthony is not out of it.

“I think the only ones that are certainly out it are Brandon and Phil Jones. They are the two that definitely cannot make the game. A couple of others may be doubts, but we’re hoping - fingers crossed.”

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LIVERPOOL TEAM NEWS

Jurgen Klopp provided an update in his press conference on Friday with Joel Matip still a doubt. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are already ruled out and Naby Keita is definitely missing.

Summer recruits Konstantinos Tsimikas and Diogo Jota are sidelined but Thiago Alcantara returned to the side recently.

"Joel is close," said Klopp. "Does it make sense to throw him in after one or two sessions? I don't know. We will have a look at how he trains. Naby is not ready. It's not a big thing but we have alternatives in midfield so we'll try to give him the time he needs to get 100 per cent fit. So he's not in contention for Sunday."

 

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