After a week of cup-related celebrations, Liverpool restart their Premier League title pursuit on Saturday afternoon, travelling to meet Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Three days on from clinching the 2023-24 EFL Cup title, Jurgen Klopp's side overcame Southampton 3-0 to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals courtesy of goals from Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns (two).
Since they last tasted a slice of top-flight action, Liverpool have seen Manchester City and Arsenal close the gap at the top of the table, but they are still one point clear of the former at the summit.
Here, Sports Mole rounds up Liverpool's latest injury and suspension news ahead of their showdown with the Tricky Trees, who lost 1-0 to Manchester United in their FA Cup fifth-round tie.
© Reuters
Status: Major doubt
Type of injury: Illness
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Nottingham Forest)
An illness struck Andrew Robertson down before the cup win over Southampton, forcing the left-back to miss the contest, and there are no guarantees that he will be back from his virus in time to make the trip to Nottingham.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Ankle
Possible return date: Unknown
Ryan Gravenberch's EFL Cup final ended with the Dutchman being hauled off on a stretcher, having suffered a nasty-looking ankle injury in a challenge from Moises Caicedo. There was no update from Klopp in his pre-match press conference, suggesting that Gravenberch will be missing once again here.
© Reuters
Status: Major doubt
Type of injury: Knock
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Nottingham Forest)
After also departing Wembley on crutches due to a heavy knock, Wataru Endo was nowhere to be seen on Wednesday night, and the tight turnaround makes a City Ground comeback highly unlikely for the Japanese midfielder.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Thigh
Possible return date: March 10 (vs. Manchester City)
Mohamed Salah has now sat out each of Liverpool's last three matches with the new thigh issue he sustained against Brentford, and while he will not be available here, he could return to team training before next weekend's crunch clash with Manchester City.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Knee
Possible return date: Unknown
One attacker who is a guaranteed absentee this weekend is Diogo Jota, who sustained a knee ligament injury during the win over Brentford earlier in February and is facing a recuperation period of around two months.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Shin
Possible return date: March 10 (vs. Manchester City)
Curtis Jones damaged his shin in that same game at the Gtech Community Stadium, and while a comeback this weekend is beyond the realm of possibility, he might be at Klopp's disposal again before the international break.
© Reuters
Status: Minor doubt
Type of injury: Unspecified
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Nottingham Forest)
Despite appearing to be free of pain as he charged about in the EFL Cup final celebrations, Darwin Nunez did not make the squad for the beating of the Saints, but he is now back in training and has a chance of being available at the City Ground.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Hamstring
Possible return date: March 31 (vs. Brighton & Hove Albion)
Alisson Becker has already been ruled out until after the March international break with the hamstring injury he picked up before the clash with Brentford, allowing Caoimhin Kelleher to enjoy a rare run of Premier League starts.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Knee
Possible return date: March 31 (vs. Brighton & Hove Albion)
Similarly, Trent Alexander-Arnold will be out of the first-team picture until the end of March in the best-case scenario, as the right-back recovers from his second knee injury of the year.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Muscle
Possible return date: Unknown
Ahead of the Saints encounter, Klopp conceded that he was not sure if muscle victim Thiago Alcantara - who has made just one appearance this season - would play for the club again this season, sparking fears that the Spaniard may have been seen in a Liverpool kit for the last time ahead of his contract expiry.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Knee
Possible return date: Unknown
Ben Doak was present at Wembley to join in the trophy lift, but the Scottish attacker is still on the mend after hurting his knee while playing for the Under-21s, and there is no telling when he might be back in action.
© Reuters
Status: Minor doubt
Type of injury: Hamstring
Possible return date: March 2 (vs. Nottingham Forest)
Dominik Szoboszlai is bidding to prove his fitness after suffering a hamstring issue before the loss to Arsenal on February 4, and having also returned to team training on Thursday, he is in with a strong chance of being involved.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Knee
Possible return date: Unknown
Joel Matip has been recuperating from an ACL injury for just over two months now, but he still has an incredibly long road ahead of him and will not be seen on the field again until next season, when he could very well be representing another club.
© Reuters
Status: Out
Type of injury: Calf
Possible return date: Unknown
Stefan Bajcetic is now being put through his paces in training on a regular basis following a calf injury, but he is yet to be given the green light to return to competitive action by the medical department, and Klopp is still in the dark over when the thumbs-up might arrive.
LIVERPOOL'S SUSPENSION LIST
Liverpool have no players suspended for this match.
Ben Knapton
