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Alexis Mac Allister raises 'important' point about Federico Chiesa as Liverpool prediction made

Liverpool duo Federico Chiesa and Alexis Mac Allister.
-Credit: (Image: Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)


Liverpool forward Federico Chiesa will not be involved in the Champions League clash with the Italian side Bologna this midweek and he faces a race against time to be fit for the visit to Crystal Palace at the weekend.

"Federico came in today with some problems and I'm not expecting him to be available tomorrow," Arne Slot explained during his pre-match press conference. "It is a pity but he will have many more Champions League nights. This game is not possible and we have to see if he can be in the team for Saturday."

But Argentine star Alexis Mac Allister believes that Chiesa will make a positive impression at Anfield in the long term. He has backed the 26-year-old to be a hit at Liverpool having come in as a potential bargain transfer from Juventus.

"From the day he arrived, you can see how happy he is to be here," Mac Allister explained to the media. "That is a very important thing. He is showing in training how good he is and he will be very important for us. He will compete against our players and I'm pretty sure he will do well here."

Chiesa's only start with Liverpool came a week ago against West Ham United in the Carabao Cup. He hasn't played since having been kept on the bench against Wolves over the weekend.

He arrived at Liverpool with a lengthy injury history but for the price that the Reds paid for him around $16.6m (£12.5m/€15.0m) — meant that was worth the gamble. Slot doesn't expect that he will be out for long and after facing Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, there is a two-week break for international fixtures to take place.

Liverpool.com says: Chiesa still needs to get up to speed at Anfield so hopefully that can happen and the injury is only minor. Only once he has managed to do that will we be able to properly judge the level of winger that Liverpool has acquired.