Liverpool Expect Four Players to Return to Action Against Fulham

Liverpool are looking to bounce back from a couple of disappointing away results in front of the Anfield faithful tomorrow. In addition to being home and playing bottom-dwelling recently promoted Fulham, the Reds should also be expecting reinforcements to the matchday squad.

Both captain Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita are back in full time training, and should be available for action tomorrow. While Keita made the trip to Red Star midweek, he did not feature for Liverpool (though, in retrospect, he probably should have).

Dejan Lovren will also be coming back into the fold after recovering from an unspecified illness.

And finally, Xherdan Shaqiri is available after missing out in midweek because of (justifiable) fears of politically-fuelled violence against him and/or Liverpool supporters.

This can only be good news, especially in midfield, where Tuesday night’s trio of Adam Lallana, Georginio Wijnaldum, and James Milner failed to impressed (to put it mildly). In both of the last two matches, the midfield screamed out for the kind of control and tempo-setting that Henderson is capable of, and for the dynamism and creativity that Keita can bring to the party.

In attack, Shaqiri has often provided a spark when the front three are bereft of ideas.

And Lovren is decidedly a better option than Joel Matip. Plus, it gives Jurgen Klopp the option of moving Joe Gomez over to fullback to give the struggling Trent Alexander-Arnold a break.

It would be a surprise to see all four of the retuning players come directly into the starting line-up, though it seems likely that they all make the matchday squad.