Reds duo could be losing race to be fit for United clash on Sunday | OneFootball

The Liverpool duo of Joël Matip and Naby Keïta may miss out on Sunday’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash with Manchester United.

Jürgen Klopp’s defensive injury woes look set to continue with Matip missing since going off after an hour of Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with West Brom in late December. The Reds were hoping to have the 29-year-old centre-half back to partner Fabinho at the heart of the back four on Sunday. However, with Matip nowhere to be seen during Liverpool’s training session on Wednesday, it doesn’t bode well for his chances of being fit and available for this weekend.

If Matip is out, then Klopp will have to pick one of Jordan Henderson, Rhys Williams or Nat Phillips to play at centre-back against the club’s biggest rivals.

Keïta has also been out injured since he played the full 90 minutes of Liverpool’s 7-0 win at Crystal Palace in mid-December. His dynamism and breaking the lines from midfield has been missed as The Reds have struggled to break teams down and create clear-cut chances in recent games. The Guinea international has suffered from persistent injury problems since his arrival at Anfield in the summer of 2018, failing to command a regular first-team place as a result.

Disappointingly, Keïta was also missing from Wednesday’s session at Liverpool’s AXA Training Centre. He could still be a part of Sunday’s squad but it appears highly unlikely at this stage.

Liverpool’s other injury absentees are Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Kostas Tsimikas.

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