Federico Chiesa will miss Liverpool’s Champions League clash with Bologna tomorrow night but Diogo Jota is expected to be available.
Jota has missed two training sessions following Saturday’s win at Wolves but ought to fit for the game with the Italian side. Chiesa, however, won’t be in contention after suffering “some problems”, although he could be back for the weekend trip to Crystal Palace.
Manager Arne Slot said: “Diogo missed out on two sessions after the game against Wolves, he took a knock. I am expecting him to be with us tomorrow, that he is available to play.
“Federico trained with us yesterday. He came today with some problems so I’m not expecting him to be with us. It’s a shame for him because he was looking forward to a Champions League night at Anfield, and especially because we face an Italian team. It’s a pity for him.
“I am not expecting him to be out for a very long period of time. We will see if he can be in the team for Saturday.”
💬 Federico Chiesa is set to miss Wednesday’s #UCL clash with Bologna:
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 1, 2024
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Slot pleased with attitude of squad
Saturday’s victory at Molineux saw Liverpool go top of the Premier League and Slot is pleased with how his players are pushing each other to get a place in the side.
He added: ”We have quality but we have a lot of players who can help us. I’m very pleased to see when we need a player he shows up. They have quality. If they didn’t have quality, they wouldn’t play here. If they train hard it’s hard to tell them they don’t play.
“But it’s part of my job and part of their lives as well. You know if you join a top club there’s competition. It is what they are all used to. They are handling, all of them, the situation really well. There is a good energy in the group and that’s the most important thing with competition.”
Bologna finished fifth in Serie A last season under former coach Thiago Motta but have struggled to replicate that form in the early weeks of this Serie A campaign.
Vincenzo Italiano’s men are 13th in the table having won one of their first six league games while they could only manage a goalless draw at home to Shakhtar Donetsk in their Champions League opener.
Slot is expecting a difficult game, nevertheless.
“Bologna showed last season and this season they are a really difficult team to beat,” he said. “We as Liverpool know how difficult it can be against a team that man mark all over the pitch. Atalanta did that last season. To face an Italian team at Champions League level, we don’t underestimate them at all. That’s not what they deserve based on last season.”
Behind-the-scenes at the AXA Training Centre this morning 📸 pic.twitter.com/bvWBu3CGOk
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 1, 2024
Mac Allister not interested in talking a good game
Liverpool opened their European campaign with an impressive 3-1 win at Milan and have received plenty of plaudits for their performances this season.
Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister says talk is cheap and has urged his team-mates to maintain their fine form.
The Argentina midfielder said: “I could say a lot of things but we have to show it. We have an amazing team and we will try to do out best to win every game. We will see by January and February if we will be in the competition to win a trophy.
“We have an amazing team and a good coach. When you play for Liverpool you have to be up there. We know it’s quite early and there’s a lot of time to see if we are in the title race.”
