With the Europa League Round of 16 safely navigated on Thursday, Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool can now focus on the visit of Manchester City on Sunday.  The match could go a long way to deciding the destination of this season's title, with both teams looking to land a knockout blow.

Klopp was able to welcome back several key players on Thursday night, including Salah, Nunez, and Szoboszlai, but a potential injury to Ibrahima Konate means the Reds still have a lengthy injury list.

Most of Liverpool's injured players are out for the long term, with the likes of Alisson, Jota, Matip, Thiago, and Bajcetic not expected back for another 6-8 weeks at the earliest.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ryan Gravenberch, and Curtis Jones meanwhile, are all hoping to be back in full training after the upcoming international break, with Klopp hoping they will be fit to play at the start of April.  That would give the Reds a huge boost toward the end of the season but means all of them will be missing for this weekend's crucial game.

During Thursday's game at Sparta Prague, defender Ibrahima Konate was taken off at the start of the second half, with what looked like a muscle problem.  The player himself said that is it nothing serious, and Klopp confirmed that Konate asked to be substituted, to prevent any further injury, but the club is still waiting on the results of scans, to determine the extent of any damage already done.  We'd rate Konate 50/50 at best for the City game, which will be a massive blow to Klopp and Liverpool, as Konate's pace and power would have been very useful against Erling Haaland.  It also means Klopp may have to decide between Joe Gomez or Jarell Quansah in central defence alongside Van Dijk.  Gomez is far more experienced than Quansah, but the youngster has shown that he can most situations he is thrown into.

Man City also missing key personnel

Liverpool are not the only team with injury concerns, as Manchester City have also been hit by several injuries in the last week.

First, Jack Grealish suffered a recurrence of a muscle problem in the game against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday, meaning he will certainly miss the game at Anfield.  Then, tricky winger Jeremy Doku missed training this week and also looks likely to miss the game.

The news will be a big boost to Liverpool, with young defender Conor Bradley likely to start at right-back.  Although Bradley has excelled in the position recently, if he does not have to face either Grealish or Doku, he will have a much better chance of playing on the front foot, helping Liverpool to attack and pushing City back in the process.

We'll have more team news on Saturday after Klopp and Guardiola have given their final press conferences, so check back with LFC - Back On Our Perch for all the latest news ahead of the big game on Sunday.

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