Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that Liverpool can put their underwhelming start to the new Premier League campaign behind them by bagging an emphatic result on the road against Manchester United on Monday night - but he will be missing a whole host of first-team stars for the seismic showdown.
The Reds are already five points behind title rivals Manchester City, albeit with a game in hand, after squandering points in back-to-back draws with Fulham and Crystal Palace in the opening two games of the season.
While a trip to Old Trafford would not usually represent the ideal opportunity for Liverpool to bounce back, the Reds' arch rivals are currently in complete disarray after a nightmare start to life under new boss Erik ten Hag, who has been comprehensively beaten by both Brighton and Brentford so far this term.
But the Reds have their own issues to contend with heading into the crunch clash. Klopp has a number of big selection decisions to mull over, with up to nine Liverpool players expected to sit out the match due to injury or suspension.
Club record signing Darwin Nunez will serve the first match of a three-game ban against United after seeing red in last week's 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace following a blatant headbutt on Joachim Anderson, leaving Klopp with a major conundrum upfront.
Diogo Jota is one player who is definitely ruled out of the trip to Manchester. The Portuguese forward is currently sidelined with a thigh injury and has not trained this week, alongside Thiago Alcantara, Ibrahima Konate, Calvin Ramsay, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Curtis Jones, who are all also expected to have no chance of playing any part against United.
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Caoimhin Kelleher is also missing with a groin injury, while Joel Matip is not expected to feature against Ten Hag's side despite being pictured training at Melwood earlier in the week - taking the total number of Liverpool absentees to nine.
Klopp will, however, be boosted by the return of Roberto Firmino, Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez. Henderson and Gomez were introduced from the bench as the Reds chased the game against Crystal Palace last week, while Firmino was omitted from the squad as a precaution.
The Brazilian striker, who was pictured arriving with the Liverpool squad, could even be thrust straight back into Klopp's starting XI to lead the line alongside Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz in the absence of Nunez, who will also be absent for the upcoming fixtures against Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Klopp could also opt to nudge Harvey Elliott into an attacking role and move Salah central after the former Fulham youngster was also pictured arriving ahead of Monday night's clash.
Expected available Liverpool squad: Alisson Becker, Adrian; Andy Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, Nat Phillips, Joe Gomez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, Sepp van den Berg; Fabinho, Harvey Elliott, James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita, Fabio Carvalho; Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, Roberto Firmino.
Potential U21 players: Stefan Bajcetic, Isaac Mabaya, Bobby Clark, Luke Chambers.
