Liverpool welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Anfield on Saturday, a fixture that could provide a genuine challenge for the reigning champions.<\/p>\n
Fitness outlook ahead of the Seagulls\u2019 visit<\/p>\n
In his pre-match press conference, Arne Slot offered updates on several players carrying knocks following the midweek Champions League victory over Inter Milan.<\/p>\n
Slot confirmed that Federico Chiesa, who had been out due to illness, has returned to full training:
\n\u201cFederico is fine now. He trained yesterday and again today, so I expect he\u2019ll be available for the squad tomorrow,\u201d the manager said on Friday.<\/p>\n
The news was less positive for Wataru Endo and Cody Gakpo. Slot admitted both will be missing for a while:
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be weeks. Cody has a muscle issue and Wata picked up an ankle injury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Slot also noted that Alexander Isak will need to be assessed after taking a heavy knock in Italy:
\n\u201cAlex took a hit in the first half, so we\u2019ll see today how he\u2019s recovered \u2013 whether he can start tomorrow and, if he can, whether I choose to start him with Hugo Ekitike again or go in another direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Concerns around Isak have grown since his struggles against Inter, where one pundit remarked he \u201creally struggled with the physicality and intensity tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Chiesa returning but Gakpo ruled out and Isak potentially limited, much of the attacking responsibility could fall on Hugo Ekitike.
\nAnd with Mo Salah not yet fully integrated after his absence, Liverpool\u2019s attacking depth may be stretched, making Slot\u2019s frontline decisions especially important.<\/p>\n
Salah, Isak and Liverpool\u2019s forward options<\/p>\n
A key talking point remains whether Salah will feature before departing for AFCON. Slot admitted that his plans will depend on discussions with the Egyptian:
\n\u201cI\u2019ll speak with Mo this morning. What comes from that will determine how things look on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Supporters are now waiting to see whether Liverpool\u2019s No.11 will return to the matchday squad or sit out a little longer.<\/p>\n
With Chiesa fit again and Ekitike poised to take on a bigger role, Slot\u2019s management of injuries and attacking choices will be central to how Liverpool approach the Brighton clash.
\nHis decisions could prove crucial in maintaining the team\u2019s unbeaten form and carrying momentum into the festive schedule.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Liverpool welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Anfield on Saturday, a fixture that could provide a genuine challenge for the reigning champions. Fitness outlook ahead of the Seagulls\u2019 visit In his pre-match press conference, Arne Slot offered updates on several players carrying knocks following the midweek Champions League victory over Inter Milan. Slot confirmed that …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":56648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_0234.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56649,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56647\/revisions\/56649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/56648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eplbanter.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}