Liverpool have a really tough hurdle to overcome in Manchester City as they will be without two key players in the Community Shield match this weekend. Both Alisson Becker and Diogo Joto will miss the tie against the English Champions on Saturday.
Head coach, Jurgen Klopp, has confirmed that the shotstopper has not recovered from the injury he sustained in their pre-season matches against Manchester United. The Reds were hopeful that he would return in time to play against City because his condition was apparently diagnosed as “not serious”.
However, the coach stated that Alisson will be fully fit in time for their Premier League opener against Fulham. Alisson’s absence will force Liverpool to start with second choice goalie, Adrian.
With Jota also unavailable for the tie against The Cityzens, Liverpool will have to start with either new signing, Darwin Nunez or Roberto Firmino up front. The Portuguese forward sustained a hamstring injury on international duty for his country before the pre-season tour. It is still unlikely for the player to be fully fit in their Premier League opening games.
Jota scored 21 goals in 55 appearances across all competitions last season for Liverpool while Alisson kept 27 clean sheets in 53 appearances. Jota’s absence however, will not be as painful for fans of the Merseyside club as they look forward to seeing Nunez in action.