Liverpool have been dealt further injury blows as they head into a crucial stage of the season in their pursuit of four trophies. Both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are expected to miss the Carabao Cup Final against Chelsea on February 25, according to Paul Joyce and Chris Bascombe, which all but definitely rules them out of the league games against Brentford and Luton beforehand.
Jurgen Klopp’s side were without Szoboszlai for the trip to The Emirates on February 4 after he aggravated a previous problem days before in the win over the Blues whilst it also appears Alexander-Arnold has returned too soon from his knee injury as well. It follows Thiago being ruled out of the Reds’ home game against Burnley, less than a week after his first appearance of the season against Arsenal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold to miss Carabao Cup final with Chelsea after aggravating existing knee injury. @TimesSport
— paul joyce (@_pauljoyce) February 14, 2024
How Does Klopp Deal with Liverpool’s Injuries?
Liverpool’s Injured Players are Key
Losing Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai is a huge dent to Liverpool’s multiple trophy ambitions this season. The pair are key to Klopp’s side, particularly creatively. The Englishman is second in the squad for Expected Assists (4.6) whilst the summer signing sits third (3.8). The pair both feature in the top four Reds players for Big Chances created as well according to Fotmob.
Considering the league leaders have been without Mohamed Salah since the start of January, who features at the top of both of those statistical lists, it’s impressive that they find themselves in the enviable position of competing on four fronts.
Liverpool Have Coped with Injuries Already
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That Liverpool are top of the league and still in all competitions shows that they have coped well without key players already. Salah hasn’t played since the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle whilst Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai have collectively missed eight games since then.
A key part of the reason they have coped has been the emergence of Conor Bradley. The Northern Ireland full-back filled in for his English colleague expertly throughout January and was in line to start in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal, only to be given bereavement leave following the sad passing of his Father the day before the match. Consequently, Alexander-Arnold came back in but the Reds’ Vice-Captain looked miles off the pace as he navigated his return from injury.
Liverpool’s Number 66 started the home win over Burnley with his younger teammate still unavailable but was taken off at halftime due to a recurrence of his problem.
The story was similar with Szoboszlai. The Hungarian midfielder’s appearance in the starting eleven against Chelsea on January 31 was a surprise and again, it came back to haunt the team as he was ruled out by the following week.
The Right Hand Side Dynamic
Liverpool’s injuries have followed a trend in that they deeply impact the right-sided triangle of the line-up with Klopp missing his first-choice, right-sided full-back, his right-sided Number 8 and, until now, the right-sided player of his front three in Salah.
It was noticeable that there was a tactical shift in their absences and Liverpool particularly thrived when Diogo Jota was playing on the right of the front three with Bradley operating as a conventional right back, as opposed to the inverted full-back that Alexander-Arnold has become.
The pair combined to great effect in the wins over Bournemouth, Norwich and Chelsea with each of them registering an assist and/or goal in each game. Bradley actually assisted Jota in two of those games and, despite not being the main provider, the attacker played a vital role in the build-up to the full back’s first goal for the club against Chelsea.
Read More: Liverpool Return to Winning Ways Against Burnley Without Key Players
In Szoboszlai’s absence, the manager has opted for either Ryan Gravenberch or Harvey Elliott and it’s come with mixed success. Gravenberch’s displays have been mixed as he still settles into English football and Liverpool’s style of play whilst Elliott has earned a reputation for being a super sub. His influence from the bench appears to be greater than when he starts, no better reflected than the recent win over Burnley where his half-time introduction (for Alexander-Arnold) saw him create both goals that won the game.
Returning Players
Liverpool’s returning players change the picture for Klopp though. Waturo Endo was back in the starting eleven for the Burnley fixture following Japan’s elimination from the Asian Cup the week before. The result was that Alexis Mac Allister was pushed further forward into a Number 8 role which is a natural solution to that problem.
Endo is becoming a cult hero at Anfield and his return is certainly welcomed but the consequence of that is the Reds removing a player from a position he has been excelling in. Mac Allister has really found his form in the Number six role since his own return from injury at the start of January and was particularly strong in the matches against Bournemouth and Chelsea. He was also the only Reds player to emerge from the Arsenal match with any credit and his ever-improving ball-winning capabilities, combined with his range of passing, have been a real asset of late.
The other soon-to-be returning player is Salah and there can be no question that his comeback will be a welcome one. Despite not being available for over a month he remains the top scorer (14) and has provided the most assists (8) this season in all competitions for the team.
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The role the attacker plays in the team down the right is different to the one that Jota played in the Egyptian’s absence though so whilst a fit Salah always starts, it will be interesting to see how that dynamic on the right pans out with Bradley likely to be behind him. It seems unlikely that Klopp would make such a drastic change to Salah’s role, after almost seven years of excelling in it, but he might not be able to ignore the relationship Bradley and Jota were forming down that side.
Alternatives
The other option Liverpool have is to use Joe Gomez at right back. With Andy Robertson fit again, the manager could revert Gomez to a more familiar position after he successfully deputised at left-back for so long. Gomez has shown great tactical flexibility lately, sometimes playing as a conventional full-back but occasionally drifting infield to take on an inverted role. He can’t offer what Alexander-Arnold offers in terms of creativity but his know-how and ability to take on that tactical element might be important to the wider game plan for Liverpool.
The good news for Klopp is that he has different options and this situation is not an unfamiliar one for him as Liverpool’s injuries have piled up throughout the campaign. The Reds seem to constantly be navigating these circumstances and up to now, they’ve handled it quite well.
Whether they can continue to cope without two of their most important players, however, remains to be seen.
