Liverpool could be without two key players for Real Madrid clash as Arne Slot learns suspension risk
Liverpool could be without two key players for their Champions League clash with Real Madrid later this month as they run the risk of European suspensions.
Liverpool may have to make do without two of their regular starters against Real Madrid in the Champions League later this month due to suspension.
The Reds return to European action on Tuesday evening with the visit of Xabi Alonso‘s Bayer Leverkusen side, aiming to make it four wins from four in the revamped 2024-25 competition.
After masterminding a 3-1 comeback win over AC Milan in his first Champions League game in charge of the Reds, Arne Slot oversaw a 2-0 triumph over Bologna in early October, before a 1-0 success over RB Leipzig two weeks ago.
Liverpool are one of just two teams to win their opening three matches of the 2024-25 Champions League and are flying high in second place in the 36-team league phase tableonly behind Aston Villa on goal difference.
Following Tuesday’s visit of Leverkusen, Liverpool’s fifth Champions League match of the season comes at home to none other than defending champions and 15-time winners Real Madrid, who visit Anfield on November 27 after the international break.
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However, two of Slot’s key performers – Alexis Mac Allister and Ibrahima Konate – will both miss the showdown with Los Blancos through suspension if they are cautioned in Tuesday’s tie with Leverkusen.
In the Champions League league phase, players will be suspended for one game if they pick up three yellow cards, as well as any odd-numbered cautions – their fifth and seventh yellows – after their first three bookings.
Mac Allister and Konate have already been booked twice in the current tournament, meaning that a third yellow for either man on Tuesday evening would trigger the one-match ban, which they would serve in the visit of Real Madrid.
Despite the risk, Slot will be expected to involve both men in the midweek clash with the Bundesliga champions, as Konate has provided a reassuring update on the arm injury he sustained against Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend.
Meanwhile, Mac Allister should reprise his regular role in midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberchbut Harvey Elliott, Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota and Federico Chiesa are all expected to miss the contest through injury.
Who could replace Konate, Mac Allister against Real Madrid?
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Konate may very well be kept in reserve against Leverkusen anyway, as even though the Frenchman did not sustain any broken bones in the freak incident with Virgil van Dijk at the weekend, he was in serious pain and left the stadium with his arm in a sling.
Joe Gomez stepped in for Konate on Saturday and would likely be given the nod alongside van Dijk against Real Madrid if his colleague is suspended, although Jarell Quansah is another option.
Mac Allister’s possible absence could lead to more of a headache for Slot, who has recently used Curtis Jones in a more advanced role in place of Dominik Szoboszlai rather than in the double pivot.
The Englishman is seemingly the top option to stand in for Mac Allister, though, as Wataru Endo has only started EFL Cup games this season while Tyler Morton is yet to make a Premier League or Champions League appearance.
Of course, Trent Alexander-Arnold has also dabbled in midfield for England – sometimes successfully, sometimes unsuccessfully – but it would be a shock to see him line up in the engine room against his reported admirers.
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