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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Samuel Meade

Trent Alexander-Arnold's 'unexpected' Liverpool absence explained as six line up changes made

Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold is a notable absentee in Saturday's match against Crystal Palace with Jurgen Klopp ringing the changes.

The right-back, so often a regular, is absent through what is being described as an illness.

James Milner will fill in having previously played as a full-back under the Reds boss.

READ MORE: Find out how Liverpool got on without Trent against Crystal Palace

Alexander-Arnold is expected to return for next week's trip to Brentford according to the Liverpool Echo.

“It was one [team change] we weren’t expecting," said Klopp.

"Trent woke up this morning and wasn’t feeling well so we had to send him home. It’s not Covid, though, to be clear.”

His left-back colleague Andy Robertson is on the bench, with Greek star Kostas Tsimikas coming in. He played during pre-season and began the season due to the Scot suffering with injury.

Ibrahima Konate comes in for his Liverpool debut having failed to feature since his summer move from RB Leipzig.

He will play alongside the returning Virgil van Dijk, who missed the midweek Champions League win over AC Milan.

It means Klopp has fielded an entirely different back four to the one that played on Wednesday night, but he has been keen to manage the workload of the Dutch defender.

He said: "If you like we're still in extended pre-season for him. I don't want to talk about injuries, but Ibou, Joe, Joel all have had injuries. Now we just make sure we have a proper pair on the pitch."

Thiago comes back in to midfield alongside Fabinho and Jordan Henderson, who scored the winner against Milan earlier this week.

Sadio Mane scored against Leeds in Liverpool's last league outing and replaces Divock Origi in attack.

The Reds played Palace on the final day of last season, easing to a 2-0 win.

Three points on Saturday afternoon will see them keep pace with the leaders.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Where will Liverpool finish in the Premier League this season? Comment below.

The Eagles do head to Anfield full of confidence however having seen off Tottenham last weekend.

Patrick Vieira's side saw off their London rivals, who had been unbeaten, 3-0 at Selhurst Park with new signing Odsonne Edouard grabbing a brace.

Klopp said on his opposition: "Massive [difference] in Palace. A proper football side. Patrick has a clear idea of how to set up and use the players. Incredible how strong they are up front.

"Edouard came in and scored twice. Ayew, Benteke, Zaha...quality. Gallagher in midfield, a talent."

He added on his team's fixture schedule, which has seen them play three times in a week: "We spoke about the schedule, this one is normal for us, 3 games a week, Sun, Weds, Sat is a tough one so you have to think about this.

"We came through [so far] and the boys did really well. We'll make changes again, that's clear."

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