Joel Matip and Naby Keita will be in the Liverpool FC travelling party for the visit to Atalanta on Tuesday night as Jurgen Klopp’s men face the Serie A side away from home turf.
The Liverpool FC boss confirmed in his pre-match interview that both Matip and Keita could play a major part in the Reds’ upcoming fixture, but the availability of summer signing Thiago Alcantara remains a major doubt ahead of the Atalanta showdown.
“Yesterday was recovery for some and normal training for the others, so now we have to see how the boys feel today. It’s pretty early now and I have not all the information, but I hope nothing serious.”
“Naby and Joel trained yesterday with the team, full, Thiago didn’t. So, that’s the situation.
“I have really no idea what I do with this information in the moment because yes, they trained, that’s good, it’s better than if they don’t train. But we have to see what we do with it.
“We have another day to make these decisions. A lot of players will be on the plane hopefully, and so decisions will be made late, late, late.”
With Matip coming back to the first-team fold at Anfield, the recent display of Nat Phillips in the centre-back role during the victory over West Ham United would give Klopp something to think about prior to selecting his XI for Tuesday.
The 23-year-old defender excelled against the Hammers’, but Matip represents a much more experienced option in the heart of the four-man backline, especially coming up against an attack-minded side like Gian Piero Gasperini’s Atalanta side.
