Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that goalkeeper Alisson Becker won’t be playing against Sheffield United in the Premier League tomorrow.
Klopp was speaking to the press, via the Liverpool Echo, as the congested Christmas period kicks off.
Liverpool will be full of confidence heading to the bottom team in the league tomorrow.
They managed to claw back a vital 4-3 win against a spirited Fulham team with one of the finest quartet of goals ever seen at Anfield.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was unfortunate not to come away from the match with a brace after his pinpoint free-kick went down as an own goal.
World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister scored one of the goals of the season to give Liverpool the lead once again in the first half, while Wataru Endo’s first Premier League goal wasn’t too shabby either.
The fact that Liverpool achieved that result while missing several key players was all the most important when it comes to their title challenge.
Jurgen Klopp has now shared that Liverpool won’t be able to welcome back several key stars for their trip to Sheffield United including Alisson Becker.
The £150,000-a-week goalkeeper has been incredible since arriving at Anfield.
While Klopp has previously said that his replacement Caoimhin Kelleher is good enough to be a number one himself, he’s no match for the Brazilian.
He didn’t look brilliant against Fulham on Sunday and that might be a worry heading into tomorrow evening’s match.
Klopp confirms Alisson is unavailable for Sheffield United clash
Giving an update on the fitness of the squad, Klopp said: “I don’t know the exact [timescale] but it doesn’t look good [for Joel Matip].
“That is something we can say. The scan is not done yet so we don’t know exactly but it is not great.
“From the first minute, it was clear. I spoke to him and said: ‘Ah no, that is not good’. But how long [he will be injured for], we don’t know.
“Diogo [Jota] was running yesterday (Monday) outside, on his birthday and everything is going in the right direction but no one told me he will be back in team training. It will be some time.
“Obviously, Alisson is closer but not for tomorrow, definitely.”
Kelleher has to grasp rare opportunity for the good of his career
While Klopp has said Alisson won’t feature against Sheffield United, Kelleher has to prove that he’s good enough to be a regular Premier League goalkeeper.
He was linked with a move to Celtic in the summer as well as Premier League rivals Tottenham.
While Spurs fans will be delighted they ended up opting for Guglielmo Vicario, Kelleher has to show that he could play a similar role at another top-flight club.
Alisson is still relatively young for a goalkeeper at 31 and so Kelleher isn’t going to step into his shoes any time soon.
While Klopp won’t want to lose such a reliable second-choice goalkeeper, Kelleher can’t be happy sitting on the bench year after year.
At 25, he’s made just 38 professional appearances in his career with ten of those coming for the Republic of Ireland.
He’s already cemented his status as a club hero at Anfield for his heroics in the EFL Cup final in 2022.
That might be the last memory Liverpool fans have of him when he eventually departs the club at this rate.
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