Arne Slot Reveals Alisson's Availability for Crucial Liverpool-Tottenham Clash
While providing no guarantees, Arne Slot shared that he remained "optimistic" about Alisson returning between the sticks for Sunday's Premier League clash against Tottenham Hotspur.
This current version of the north London side doesn't command the same level of respect as in previous seasons. Tottenham are experiencing their worst streak of defeats in the club's history, stuck with a caretaker manager already facing potential dismissal and a group of players allegedly clashing amongst themselves. Nevertheless, Liverpool will still require a reliable goalkeeper.
Spurs have found the net in 13 of their previous 14 fixtures. Only in their encounter with Manchester United, when they played with 10 men for over an hour, did Tottenham fail to score despite their clear struggles across all areas of the field.
Liverpool don't possess a particularly solid defensive unit—the title holders have the Premier League's ninth-strongest defensive statistics—and cannot afford to go extended periods without their primary goalkeeper in position. Nevertheless, they might need to be patient a bit longer.
Arne Slot Rates Alisson's Chances of Playing Tottenham
Arne Slot Rates Alisson's Chances of Playing Tottenham
Alisson was absent from Tuesday's Champions League encounter with Galatasaray due to a muscle problem that Slot has been eager to describe as "minimal." Having already been sidelined for seven weeks with a hamstring injury during the fall, the Reds were not in a position to hurry the Brazilian back for the midweek fixture.
"He experienced discomfort when distributing the ball in one of his muscles, but after examination it was so slight we believe it won't require much time," Slot informed the media on Friday. "However, as usual matches come so quickly that he had to miss the Galatasaray game and hopefully he'll be fit and ready for Sunday.
"If not," Slot continued, "I'm anticipating him, if everything proceeds as expected, certainly for the Galatasaray match."
Liverpool's last-16 return leg against the Turkish side occurs on Wednesday at Anfield. The Reds are behind 1–0 overall but created numerous opportunities in Istanbul to indicate they can overcome this narrow disadvantage. Securing the defense during this attacking push will be vital and would benefit from Alisson's presence. Though his replacement performed admirably.
How Will Giorgi Mamardashvili Fare Against Tottenham?
How Will Giorgi Mamardashvili Fare Against Tottenham?
Giorgi Mamardashvili entered his debut campaign at Anfield appearing ready to compete with Alisson for the starting position. That scenario never developed. In reality, the Georgian looked uncertain during his spell in the team while his colleague was injured in October and November.
Nevertheless, Mamardashvili produced a composed performance in the hostile environment of Rams Park against Galatasaray. Only conceding to Mario Lemina's close-range effort from a set piece, the 25-year-old made three stops, including one elastic save around the upright to brilliantly thwart Davinson Sánchez, keeping Liverpool competitive ahead of the return fixture.
Alisson remains among the finest goalkeepers globally, but if Mamardashvili can repeat that solid performance against Spurs, Liverpool shouldn't feel the absence of their number one too severely.