Arsenal and Man City's missing players and injury blows particularly relevant for Liverpool
Liverpool has a favorable injury situation at present in comparison to potential Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal. Arne Slot will have his fingers crossed that it continues.
Nathan Ake was in tears as he left the field with what appeared to be a serious muscle issue while playing for the Netherlands midweek. "Every time he goes there, he comes back injured," Pep Guardiola bemoaned during his press conference today.
Manchester City will be without the 29-year-old until the next international break, meaning he will have to sit out seven matches in total. Erling Haaland has been given compassionate leave this weekend after the death of a family friend. Oscar Bobb, another young Norwegian, is sidelined with a knee injury after he stood out during the summer as someone to watch out for.
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For Arsenal, its captain Martin Odegaard looked set for a sustained period on the treatment table but Mikel Arteta refused to rule him out of the North London derby earlier today. "We need some more tests so let’s see what happens in the next day or so," he said.
"Let’s see what happens, what the extent of the injury is, and how quickly we can get him back. He’s super positive about everything. We know Martin — he wants to be there every single day but we have to wait and see."
Declan Rice is set to be suspended for this weekend's match while Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Riccardo Calafiori are among those to have injuries at the moment for the Gunners. Arsenal has away games with Spurs and then Manchester City in consecutive weeks.
Liverpool.com says: The only Liverpool player out at the moment is Harvey Elliott, which is a big blow for the Reds. Arne Slot labeled his setback, which could keep him out until the end of October, a "big disappointment" during his press conference earlier today.
He would have got plenty of game time in the next few weeks. Instead, Slot will have to hope that his roster stays roughly the same size this season, with Curtis Jones coming back just as Elliott is ruled out for a few weeks.
If Liverpool can maintain its early-season form, there could be a chance to create a bit of a gap at the top of the table. Arsenal winning both of its next two matches seems unlikely no matter the ultimate outcome of the Odegaard setback. If the Gunners do drop points somewhere, the Reds need to ensure that they don't do the same.