Liverpool have been handed a timely injury boost, with Roberto Firmino back in contention for Monday’s trip to Manchester United.
The Reds travel to Old Trafford aiming to seal their first win of the season having been held to draws by both Fulham and Crystal Palace in each of their opening two matches. They will have to do that without the services of marquee summer signing Darwin Nunez, who will serve the first of his three-match suspension for a headbutt on Palace defender Joachim Andersen.
Thankfully, Liverpool can once again call on the services of fellow forward Roberto Firmino, as confirmed by Jurgen Klopp. He missed the clash with Crystal Palace due to a muscular issue.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Klopp said: "Bobby has trained completely normally and is ready."
Despite the big boost of Firmino returning, the Reds’ injury issues are still problematic. Diogo Jota and Curtis Jones remain restricted to the sidelines despite stepping up their respective recoveries, whilst the likes of Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Ibrahima Konate all remain ruled out, among others.
Regardless of the current injury woes at Anfield, Liverpool will still be confident of finally kicking off their season in earnest against Man Utd. The Reds racked-up two comprehensive wins against their great rivals last season; winning 5-0 at Old Trafford before following that up with a 4-0 cruise on Merseyside.
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Their winning run at Old Trafford also extends even further than that with a 4-2 victory in May 2021. However, Klopp has suggested that those wins will have no bearing on the upcoming meeting between the two sides.
He said: "The last two results at Old Trafford, I knew already wouldn't help this time. It just helps a bit to be more motivated if that is possible. This is completely different in a different situation.
"United can change nothing or everything, so it is tricky preparation wise, but it's early and we don't have a lot of info anyway. It's tough but it's fine. United away will never be easy.
"I would prefer to play them after they won 5-0, that's how it is. We drew twice, so is it better to play us? I don't know. We have to deal with all the situations. The whole world will watch it, let's see how these heavyweights deal with the situation."
United will of course be motivated to earn victory against the Reds having endured a woeful start to the new campaign under Erik ten Hag. They lost their opening game of the season against Brighton before following that up with a horrendous performance against Brentford.
