Arne Slot confirms Liverpool injury 'issues' as he rules out huge player for Chelsea clash

Chelsea travel to Anfield on Sunday to take on Liverpool and Reds head coach Arne Slot has admitted his squad is currently dealing with a "few issues" ahead of the match

Arne Slot has admitted Liverpool have "a few issues" in terms of fitness ahead of the Reds' Premier League meeting with Chelsea on Sunday.

Liverpool, who sit top of the Premier League table going into the weekend, welcome the Blues to Anfield following the conclusion of the second international break of the 2024/25 season. However, the Reds will be without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who limped off in the win against Crystal Palace less than two weeks ago.

There are more issues for Slot, too, with a few players still needing to be assessed ahead of the Chelsea game. Alexis Mac Allister is one of them, as is Kostas Tsimikas and Wataru Endo.

"Alisson is for sure not with us in upcoming weeks, that's a blow for him and us, he did really well for this club for so many years," Slot said in his pre-match press conference on Friday morning. "Caoimhin [Kelleher] did well for us previous years and this year, so we have a good replacement.

"We've got quite some issues and we can only judge that from today as it's the first day they are all in. Macca [Mac Allister] missed one game, played the second. Kostas missed England... I can name them all and we have a few issues, so we will see. Endo was sick, we will see."

Slot has also conceded that Chelsea may well be Liverpool's toughest opponent of the season thus far. The Blues have a perfect record on the road so far this term, winning their three games against Wolves, West Ham United and Bournemouth.

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"If you look at the league table, they might be our toughest opponent. But it's not always about the league table, it's about the form, it's about their game-plan. We had some difficulties with Wolves as well and they are bottom of the league. But it is a challenge, for sure."

In terms of Chelsea team news, we will hear from Enzo Maresca on Friday afternoon. The Italian will conduct his pre-match press conference at Cobham where he is expected to provide an update on the injured Reece James, who returned to training earlier in the week.

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