Liverpool take on Fulham in the Premier League with their best summer signing absent and an Arne Slot favourite returning to the starting XI after the goalless draw with Leeds United
Liverpool striker Hugo Ekitike is missing as the Reds face Fulham in the Premier League with Arne Slot’s line-up leaving fans stunned on Sunday afternoon.
Alisson Becker takes his place between the sticks for Slot’s team, with Conor Bradley, Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk and Milos Kerkez forming the defensive line. Kerkez makes his comeback after being rested for the scoreless stalemate with Leeds United, when Andy Robertson featured.
Mac Allister partners Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones in the engine room. Dominik Szoboszlai, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo round off the XI. Wirtz, who has been managing a hamstring problem, makes the line-up. But it’s the absence of in-form Ekitike – arguably Liverpool’s one successful summer signing – that has left fans shocked.
Liverpool explained the absence as they posted the teamsheet on X, with the statement: “Hugo Ekitike misses out due to a minor fitness issue.”
Speaking before kick-off, Slot said: “I expect a different game against Fulham because of their manager. When we’ve played them and what I’ve seen from them, and they play a home game, I think they will try to attack a lot and want to have the ball a lot.”, reports Liverpool.com.
“At least that is how I know their manager, so it probably will be a much more open game and so then we have to show in games like that we don’t concede a lot as well. Maybe, maybe it will help us create more chances as well, but it’s a difficult one because last time I went there we lost against a good Fulham team.
“They had a draw against [Crystal] Palace [on Thursday]. I expect a different game, but let’s see. I don’t expect five defenders but I didn’t expect five defenders [against Leeds] as well, but they did.”
Slot believes that with a few minor changes, the Reds could have been higher up in the league standings.
“The margins are small,” he stated. “I’ve said a few things already in this press conference, so that could have influenced us having three, four, five, six points more maybe.
“Like [against Leeds] and like so many other games, if we would have done a bit better in set-pieces then we would have had five, six, seven points more as well, so that could have changed it a little bit.
“But from open play, from where we are if I look at Arsenal, look at [Manchester] City and look at us, I think it’s fair we are not above them.
“That we are many points behind them, there are reasons for that, which I just explained. But it wouldn’t have been fair if we were above them for the way we’ve played.”