Manchester City and Arsenal have been handed a major boost in the Premier League title race as Liverpool suffer injury blows.
Jurgen Klopp’s men are currently four points clear at the top of the Premier League after their 4-1 win over Luton Town on Wednesday night.
However, both City and Arsenal have the chance to close that gap when they take on Bournemouth and Newcastle United respectively.
Champions City can cut the gap to just one point, whilst the Gunners can close to just within two points of the Reds.
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Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Wembley, Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has confirmed that four players have been ruled out until the end of March.
He told reporters: “Ali(Alisson Becker), muscle injury, after the international break, it will really take time.
“Trent(Alexander-Arnold), lateral ligament. He will be after the international break. Jots(Diogo Jota), medial ligament. He will be after the international break.”
Lijnders added: “Curtis(Jones) has high ankle strain. He will be (back) in and around the international break.”
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Liverpool are also sweating over the likes of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Dominik Szoboszlai, who are major doubts for the final this weekend.
Lijnders said: “Dom, Darwin and Mo we have to really see, we have two more days. So today’s session and tomorrow’s session. We will check if they can be there.
“Would be great, to be honest!”
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Liverpool have had a brilliant season so far as they continue to lead the Premier League whilst still fighting on all fronts.
However, injuries have come at the worst possible time as the season clicks towards a crucial stage.
The likes of Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic have been missing for the majority of the season as they continue to deal with long-term problems.
During the match against Luton, Klopp had to call on the likes of Bobby Clark, James McConnell and Jayden Danns from the substitutes bench.
Marcus Chan