Liverpool is finally back in Premier League action today, and will look to pick up where it left off after stringing together an unbeaten start prior to the international break. Jürgen Klopp will not have been thrilled about the interruption to his momentum, but has at least seen the majority of his squad return unscathed.
The confirmed absentees for Wolves are made up of players who were already carrying injuries: most notably Trent Alexander-Arnold, but also Thiago. Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk is suspended.
However, the South American contingent will give Klopp a further headache. There's been an update on Darwin Núñez, who was withdrawn at half-time in Uruguay's latest match due to 'muscular difficulties' — but Liverpool will be sweating on all of the players involved in such far-flung fixtures, none of whom had reported back with less than 24 hours to go before kick-off.
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However, there were some success stories from the international break. In a way, Núñez was one of them, having got a brace of assists in his first game under Marcelo Bielsa — while there was a truly special occasion for a former Liverpool player.
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Darwin Núñez injury update
Predictably, Klopp did not cut a happy figure in his pre-Wolves press conference when asked about the early kick-off slot straight after the international break. However, he did bring some positive news on Núñez.
His 'muscular difficulties' always looked a little like they were lost in translation, with Bielsa effectively just citing fatigue. And Klopp confirmed that while he has not seen Núñez, the striker has given himself the all-clear.
Whether that will be enough to see him earn a second straight start remains to be seen. Injured or not, the turnaround is short, and Klopp may prefer to turn to Diogo Jota and/or Cody Gakpo. Read the thoughts of Andrew Beasley here.
Xherdan Shaqiri earns standing ovation
Plenty of Liverpool fans have a soft spot for Xherdan Shaqiri. Never much more than a peripheral figure, he nonetheless played a part in some huge moments under Klopp — not least the Barcelona comeback, in which he set up the goal to bring it all square.
At international level, he is something of a hero. But not only for his own national team — he is loved in Kosovo as well as Switzerland, given his Kosovar Albanian heritage. In the past, he has worn boots featuring the flag of his country of origin, while he and Granit Xhaka caused a stir by celebrating with the 'Albanian Eagle' against Serbia in 2018.
As such, it was a special moment for him when Switzerland travelled to play Kosovo in a EURO qualifier. Before the game, Shaqiri put his hand over his heart for Kosovo anthem — and he earned applause from the home fans when he was withdrawn.
Read the full story from James Martin here.