Liverpool team news: Quartet to miss Porto clash, 3 others need to be assessed

Liverpool will be looking to take control of their Champions League quarter-final by securing a positive result over Porto at Anfield on Tuesday night.

Ahead of the game, Jurgen Klopp has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s provided a team news and injury update including the latest on the fitness of several players.

The Liverpool boss confirmed that Adam Lallana is set to miss the first leg against Porto due to a minor muscle problem which kept him out of the win over Southampton on Friday night. Klopp doesn’t think the injury is serious and Lallana should be available at the weekend but he’s likely to miss the Champions League showdown tomorrow.

Joe Gomez travelled with the Liverpool squad to St Mary’s last time out but despite taking part in the pre-match warm-up, the defender didn’t make the matchday squad. Klopp has now revealed he wants to ease Gomez back into first team duty as the centre-back is still not 100 percent fit having spent 15 weeks on the sidelines with a fractured leg.

With Andrew Robertson suspended for the first leg tomorrow night and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain still not match fit, Liverpool will be without four players but Klopp has confirmed he hopes Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Georginio Wijnaldum all shake-off minor issues to be available.

The German coach says the trio all picked-up knocks during the 3-1 comeback victory over Southampton on Friday night but he’s hopeful they will all be passed fit to face Porto at Anfield.

Klopp told Liverpoolfc.com:

“We wanted to have Joe around, not because he is now 100 per cent ready but it was just nice to have him.

“He could be maybe [available] but for him it’s better to have more sessions. Joe needs that, he is not long enough in training.

“If we don’t struggle players-wise, that we don’t have enough, then we should not think about Joe for the next one or two weeks because now he needs really proper training. He was around, that was good.

“Adam was only a little thing, we don’t have to talk about that. It kept him out for the weekend and maybe for tomorrow.”

“All the rest should be OK. We had little problems after the game, back problems here, Gini Wijnaldum a little back problem, Joel, I think even Virg from a fall on the ground. But they all should be OK, hopefully.”

It doesn’t sound like Klopp is too concerned over van Dijk, Matip or Wijnaldum so the trio should all be in contention tomorrow night as Liverpool look to put one foot in the semi-finals with a first leg win over Porto.