Your final Liverpool news overview of the week includes all of the build-up to Crystal Palace, plus the boss on the prospect of buying a defender in January.
Reds in centre-back market?
Friday started with reports that Liverpool were interested in two defenders in the wake of Joel Matip‘s season-ending injury.
Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix and Crystal Palace‘s Marc Guehi were the two names linked to Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp‘s centre-back options reduced after Matip suffered an ACL tear.
The Cameroonian may have played his last game in a red shirt, with his current contract set to expire during the summer.
Jurgen Klopp, however, hinted at a new contract for the 32-year-old during his pre-Crystal Palace press conference, indicating he is confident “the club will show their class.”
The Liverpool boss then shut down a question about the prospect of adding a replacement in January, explaining: “I didn’t really think about [signing a defender] yet, because it’s only five days since we had that problem. But I don’t know, I don’t think so, to be honest.”
3 things today: Fitness updates and Hodgson ‘regret’
- Alexis Mac Allister is set to miss out on the trip to Crystal Palace, with the manager revealing that the midfielder’s injury “doesn’t look good”
- Alisson, on the other hand, is making steady progress with his hamstring injury and “trained normal” on Thursday
- Roy Hodgson has described his Crystal Palace side as “fragile” ahead of Liverpool’s visit, adding he “regrets” describing his own supporters as “spoiled”
Latest Liverpool FC news
- Virgil van Dijk has been described as “the best defender in the world” by his manager, we have to say we agree
- Ryan Gravenberch has detailed how he has regained his “confidence” since making the move from Bayern Munich to Anfield over the summer
- Dominik Szoboszlai is currently top of the Premier League for ball recoveries, not bad for an attacking midfielder!
Latest chat from elsewhere
- Harry Maguire has been named Premier League Player of the Month, we didn’t see that one coming either! (Daily Mail)
- Pep Guardiola insists he feels sorry for Kalvin Phillips but says he “struggles to see him” in his team, which does beg the question, why buy him? (Sky Sports)
- Mikel Arteta has vowed to continue showing emotion on the touchline despite his recent ban. Keep that in mind for the 23rd, Mikel! (Guardian)
Video of the day and match of the night
If you missed it, you can catch the boss’ full pre-Crystal Palace press conference from Kirkby below. He gave us plenty of talking points!
If you’re looking to start your weekend early with a bit of football then you can watch two Italian giants lock horns as Napoli travel to Juventus.
Kick-off is at 7.45pm (GMT) and you can watch it all unfold on TNT Sports 3, if you fancy it!
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