Paul Joyce reveals Liverpool duo set to miss Ajax clash through injury | OneFootball

Liverpool duo Joel Matip and Thiago Alcantara are both set to miss the Champions League clash with Ajax on Wednesday night through injury.

The Times journalist Paul Joyce claims that both players missed training with Liverpool on Tuesday and are now unlikely to travel to the Netherlands to face Ajax.

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Joyce says that Liverpool are being cautious with the duo because of the current schedule of games. They are seemingly not ready to take any risks on their players’ fitness.

ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

Liverpool have options to cover the loss of Thiago for one game, especially if it is only a precautionary measure due to the knock he picked up against Everton. Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum, Curtis Jones and James Milner are all capable of slotting in across the midfield three, mitigating Thiago’s absence. This means that, for this specific game, Thiago is not a huge loss for the Reds as they have cover in the position and can deal with him being injured for now.

Matip, on the other hand, is more of a complicated issue as it leaves Liverpool with just one recognised senior centre-back. Joe Gomez – who was benched for the draw with Everton – is now Liverpool’s only senior option and will need to be partnered by either a youngster or an out-of-position Fabinho against Ajax. If Liverpool want to keep Fabinho in midfield, Rhys Williams could get the call-up to play at centre-back alongside Gomez and be given a chance to show what he can do.

Williams has played twice for the first-team this season, both in the League Cup, and could now be in line for a Champions League debut if Jurgen Klopp deems him ready for it. Throwing the 19-year-old in could be a risky call by Klopp, given his inexperience, but how better to see how good he is than to chuck him in at the deep end?