Liverpool, Nov 1 (IANS) The Liverpool head coach was asked about the fitness of Alisson Becker, Federico Chiesa and Diogo Jota during his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion. All three will be unavailable until after the November international break at the least.
“I think I said it already a few times that it is always difficult to tell you exactly when they are ready because especially the last phase of the recovery can always be a few days extra or less. The fact is that they are not there before the international break and let’s see if they can join us after.
“Chiesa is not back before the international break, but there is only a week to go. We are hoping he can do things again during the international break and that he can join us afterwards,” said Slot.
Liverpool participated in a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Arsenal last week, which saw them drop to second in the points table, behind Manchester City. The team then won their Carabao Cup game 3-2 against Brighton, the team they face in the League on Saturday.
When asked if playing the same team twice in a matter of days was strange, the Dutch head coach said, “In the older Champions League or Europa League world, if it went to (knockouts) you faced a team after a week again. So, in football we are used to playing the same team after a few days. So, it’s not weird, especially because both teams didn’t start with the team they will start with on Saturday.”
“I think for both managers it’s a positive thing because you know even more about the opponent. Although, players make the game and it is, of course, a difference if a different player plays. The playing style might be the same but the quality of the players make nine out of 10 times the difference. That changes the game on Saturday compared to the one on Wednesday,” he added.
–IANS
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