Soccer

Liverpool’s Caoimhín Kelleher likely to miss out on start against Wolves with Alisson’s return

The Republic of Ireland goalkeeper impressed while the Brazilian was sidelined with a muscle injury

Caoimhín Kelleher was praised by Liverpool manager Arne Slot for his performances during Alisson's absence. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Caoimhín Kelleher was praised by Liverpool manager Arne Slot for his performances during Alisson's absence. Photograph: Jan Kruger/Getty Images
Fri Sept 27 2024 - 14:17

Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher is expected to miss out on a starting spot for Liverpool’s Premier League clash with Wolves on Saturday with the return of Alisson from injury.

Liverpool manager Arne Slot said the Brazilian, who had been sidelined with a muscle injury, is expected to be available for the game at Molineux Stadium, but was quick to praise Kelleher and the enviable depth of his squad overall.

Kelleher played in Liverpool’s 3-0 league win over Bournemouth last weekend and Wednesday’s 5-1 League Cup third round thrashing of West Ham United while Alisson recovered.

“We think he is (ready to return),” Slot said of the Brazilian. “He trained yesterday for part of our session, we expect him to do the whole session today.

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“We're really happy, but I want to emphasise we did really well with the two games with (Kelleher). Another example of where we have two or three good options in some positions.”

Liverpool, second in the league standings, trail champions Manchester City by a point and have just one loss across all competitions in a strong start to Slot's tenure.

The team's depth poses some tough questions for the new manager. Slot rotated the squad against West Ham due to the gruelling match schedule, with Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota staking their claim for more playing time with two goals apiece.

“For me, it says two things,” Slot said of his attacking options. “The players have a lot of quality and the team are always creating chances for the players that are selected for that game.

“Because we have so much quality, we can create assists or goals.”

Slot admitted that Luis Diaz’s goal return last season was below the standard expected of him but the Colombia winger appears to now be back on track.

Diaz had personal issues to deal with following the kidnap of his parents in his homeland last October, with his father not released for 13 days. He managed 13 goals in the campaign but only eight of those came in the Premier League.

But he has scored five in his last four league matches, behind only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland in the goalscoring stakes, and in an interview with Sky Sports this week said Slot as a coach was “spectacular”.

The Reds boss downplayed his involvement when asked about Diaz’s improvement.

“It’s difficult for me to judge because I wasn’t here last season,” said Slot. “It’s still a small sample size we are talking about and I said before when it comes to us winning quite a lot of games until now, almost all the teams we have faced have been in the bottom half of the table.

“He scored eight league goals last season. For me he was someone who could score a goal and eight is, for his quality, not of his standard.

“Then I think he comes back to his normal situation. Maybe he was a bit unlucky last season but a player of his quality will always score a lot of goals every season.

“We train on a daily basis trying to get them as close as we can in certain situations and help in the best possible way where to position themselves and what to do in certain situations.

“But it is mainly in the last third of the pitch the quality of the player and the finishing he has and I think he always had this.”

Slot was able to rest Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai on Wednesday, but the trio are expected to feature against Wolves, who are languishing at the bottom of the table on a single point from five matches.