Arne Slot has confirmed that Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is ‘fit and ready to start’ against Manchester City this weekend.
Alexander-Arnold has not featured since sustaining a hamstring injury against Aston Villa before the international break. The 26-year-old returned to the squad on Wednesday night but was an unused substitute as the Reds beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the Champions League.
Liverpool are light at right-back after Conor Bradley was withdrawn late on against Real Madrid with a hamstring issue of his own. Joe Gomez was introduced as his replacement. However, Slot has alleviated fears over Alexander-Arnold’s condition and said he is ready to play from the start on Sunday.
“Trent Alexander-Arnold is fit and ready to start against Man City,” Slot said at his pre-match press conference.
On Ibrahima Konate and Bradley, who picked up knocks, he added: “They are still being assessed so it is difficult to know where they are. Let’s wait and see but it’s never a good sign if players – Conor I had to take him off and Ibou didn’t walk off the pitch as he should after such a fantastic game. He should have made a round and clapped to the fans but unfortunately he couldn’t so that’s not a good sign.”
Liverpool head into the clash sitting eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table. A win would move the Reds 11 clear of the Premier League champions, who are six without a win in all competitions.
City blew a three-goal lead to draw with Feyenoord in the Champions League this week, a result that followed five successive losses. The most recent of those defeats saw the Citizens beaten 4-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad.
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