Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp hints at Virgil van…

Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp hints at Virgil van Dijk absence for Man City Carabao Cup tie

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has suggested that Virgil van Dijk is unlikely to feature against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup clash next week.

The German did claim that both Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jordan Henderson could be available for selection, with the England pair having been 'unofficially' training in Dubai following the Three Lions' World Cup defeat to France. City welcome the Merseyside club to the Etihad Stadium on Thursday for the Round of 16 clash.

Van Dijk, who was linked with a move to City prior to joining Liverpool, was knocked out of the tournament in Qatar after the Netherlands lost on penalties to Argentina at the quarter-finals stage. The Dutchman has come up against the Blues on 16 occasions in his career - winning seven times.

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Speaking about the trio potentially featuring in the upcoming clash with Pep Guardiola's men, Klopp said: "Yeah, there's a chance, of course – they train already. Hendo [Henderson] is already training here. Virg [Van Dijk] is training here but I don't think we will try that. Hendo we will see, Trent [Alexander-Arnold] we will see.

"But this group [has] worked now together for nearly two weeks and we made a real step and that's cool. I don't know at this moment. I hope we all get through it and we all know in England, and in Europe in general, there's kind of a virus going around, so we hope we can stay out of that.

"Then we will make the decision obviously on Wednesday who can play on Thursday. But it's good and will be a very interesting game after that period but I'm looking forward to it."

City, meanwhile, should have a fully-fit squad to choose from following the World Cup, barring any major disasters. Only Julian Alvarez remains in the Middle East after his brilliant World Cup with Argentina. The forward is expected to start for the South American outfit in the final vs France on Sunday.

John Stones limped off in England's defeat to France in Al Khor, but the injury does not appear to be serious and the defender should be in contention for the hectic festive fixture schedule.

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