Liverpool make the short trip across the city to take on rivals Everton for the first Merseyside Derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
This Premier League clash kicks off at 2pm (GMT) on Sunday and will be available to watch live on Sky Sports Main Event.
Liverpool predicted lineup vs Everton
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Giorgi Mamardashvili; Jeremie Frimpong, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson; Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch; Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo; Alexander Isak
The first Merseyside Derby at the Hill Dickinson Stadium takes place on Sunday afternoon as Liverpool look to quickly bounce back from their Champions League heartbreak in midweek.
Arne Slot’s side were dumped out of the competition at the hands of PSG, crashing to a 4-0 aggregate defeat to the defending European champions.
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A 2-0 loss to the French giants at Anfield means Liverpool have lost four of their last five matches. A 2-0 win over Fulham is the only bright spark in that run.
Rivals Everton, meanwhile, have picked up 10 points from their last five having twice come from behind to rescue a result at Brentford last week.
Liverpool team news vs Everton
The big blow for Liverpool is the absence of summer signing Hugo Ekitike. The Frenchman was forced off in the first half of their 2-0 defeat to PSG on Tuesday having ruptured an Achilles tendon.
Ekitike’s season and World Cup hopes are over. The former Eintracht man is expected to be sidelined until January, at the earliest.
Goalkeeper Alisson remains out, with Giorgi Mamardashvili set to continue between the sticks.
Wataru Endo, Giovanni Leoni and Conor Bradley are all long-term absentees for the defending champions.
Isak’s chance
Hugo Ekitike’s season-ending Achilles injury is a huge blow for Liverpool. While the Reds have struggled, Ekitike has made an impressive impact following his arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Indeed, the France international ranks top for goals scored (11) and second for assists (4) for Arne Slot’s side.
Fortunately for the Reds, they have a readymade replacement waiting in the wings. Alexander Isak completed a British-record move to Anfield last summer.
The 26-year-old, though, has struggled in the months since his arrival. Without a full pre-season, Isak took time to get up to speed.
A serious injury in the 2-1 win at Tottenham in December also hindered the Swede, who has made just six league starts this season.
With Ekitike now out, however, Slot needs Isak to start delivering in front of goal. A sub-par first half against PSG in midweek hardly helped the former Newcastle man.
Yet with Ekitike sidelined, Isak needs to start finding his form for the run-in. With a Champions League spot up for grabs, a first league goal on Merseyside this weekend would be the best place to start.
